Knysna guys fly rainbow flag high

KNYSNA NEWS - Knysna is flying the rainbow flag high as local Chris Emmanuel was crowned Mr Gay World South Africa this week.

He was one of two Knysna locals among the 11 finalists in the running for the title and will be representing the country at Mr Gay World 2019 which will be hosted in Cape Town on 4 May.

After a week of frantic voting via SMS, the public chose Emmanuel as Mr Gay World South Africa 2019.

Not only did he score the most votes, his self-promotional YouTube video was also the one with the most number of views.

"It is with great joy and surprise that I accept the title. I am overflowing with ideas and powerful topics that I will use my title to explore in the coming year. I am humbled by the support from family, friends and total strangers that has seen me through to take the title," Emmanuel said.

The 42-year-old Crossfit Knysna owner said winning the title was a great responsibility that he did not take lightly. For him, happiness is for the brave, as it takes the bravest of people to come out to parents at the risk of rejection, and to stand up for their rights in places where doing so could condemn them to death.

"It takes the bravest of people to walk the township streets declaring their true self at the risk of corrective rape, it takes the bravest of people to cry in the dark, alone, only to wake up and fight another day for what is right. You are my heroes and I can't wait to spend this year trying to be as brave as the people you all are, hopefully sparking that fire of happiness within you that you all deserve."

Emmanuel entered the competition after encouragement from friends. Due to his age Emmanuel feels he has gained enough experience in life and business to be a role model to others.

Passionate about health
He is also passionate about health and fitness and lives out this passion through operating Crossfit Knysna. "Unfortunately there is a body obsession among many and I would like people to move away from this – to focus less on having the perfect body and more on having a healthy one," Emmanuel said.

He added that he only came out quite late in his life, at the age of 29, and has not experienced much prejudice as a result of his sexual orientation. "I once sat next to a stranger at a bar who asked me if I had a girlfriend. I told him that I don't as I am gay. He got up and left immediately."

Emmanuel explained that he believes this isolated incident is a sign that people are becoming more tolerable of others, but that there are still many "deep pockets" in society where the opposite is true.

Knysa also produced another finalist, Geoffrey Bezuidenthout (35), a local financial consultant and model, entered the competition as he believes it was a great platform for him to be a role model for others.

"Throughout my youth and adult life I have experienced prejudice because I'm gay, but this has given me a thick skin. It has taught me to not care what others think and that it is okay to be myself. That is the message I would like to pass on to youngsters," Bezuidenhout said.

'Be who you want to be'
He added that he wanted others to feel comfortable in their own skin. "Be who you want to be, look how you want to look, wear what you want to wear and don't worry about what others might say or think. Life is too short to worry about this."

Bezuidenhout is not a newcomer to the limelight and has won The Bachelor Cooks competition last year, was Mr Personality at Mr Eden 2019 and is a part of Ace Models International.

Mr Gay World South Africa 2019 winner Chris Emmanuel.