On TikTok, the Old Gays weren’t leaving behind their more thoughtful content they were branching out, and that sometimes required, as they would soon discover, some choreography, lip-syncing, and energy in their step. Slowly, they began to understand what resonated: Showcasing photos of themselves when they were younger garnered 13.9 million views, camping in the “Sexuality? Isn’t there just one? meme got 35.2 million views and guess what “slip into someone’s DMs” means got 7.5 million views. But Ryan saw something else.Ī canny director-slash-stylist-slash-social media manager, the 35-year-old’s TikTok push was first fueled by a desire to give audiences a chance to see behind the scenes of the Old Gays. The move toward creating videos for TikTok, an online space that thrives on lip-sync videos, viral dances and wacky challenges, might seem like a departure from the early spirit of Old Gays. The Old Gays offered lessons that continued to feel timely: Living authentically is paramount life advice at any age.Ĭlockwise from top left: Bill Lyons, Mick Peterson, Jessay Martin, and Robert Reeves. Videos where they reacted to contemporary queer culture, like when they watched “ RuPaul’s Drag Race” for the first time or when they witnessed the exciting spectacle of a Lil Nas X video-he urged viewers to make their own intergenerational connections. This history lesson was neither musty nor black and white. The Old Gays had become a bridge between generations they offered a piece of queer history made flesh. His stories illuminated more than half a century of history of gay life, through protests and parties, through chaste kisses and passionate hookups, through historic political victories and ongoing culture wars. This was what it was, could be, had been like growing old as a gay man in the 21st century.
YouTube videos about her coming out stories, past relationships, and, perhaps most crucially, HIV (both Mick and Robert have spoken openly about their respective diagnoses) unabashedly elevated their group’s name. The quartet then slowly evolved into large-scale generational knowledge curators: what was once shared anecdotally among friends now reached millions of strangers. The Old Gays started out online as long YouTube videos (hosted on the Grindr channel) of Mick, 66, Robert, 78, Bill, 78, and Jessay, 68, sharing their experiences in candid and hilarious conversations. Then Ryan James Yezak, the group’s social media manager (whose now-husband, John Bates, once rented a room from Robert) helped transform the moniker into a full-fledged phenomenon. The Old Gays began as a term of endearment and an inside joke. Mick and Robert are roommates Jessay lives across the street. he lost his home and moved into a senior housing a few blocks from robert’s house. “I thought I was living such a fast life that I was worried it would catch up with me too fast.” He did not do it what did hit him hard was the financial crisis of 2008. And I didn’t die.īill faced a similar situation: “I didn’t think I’d live to be 40,” he recalls. The desert revitalized me and I began to make my art. … But when I came here, there is something in the desert that gives you life. Because in San Francisco I found out he was HIV positive. “I moved to the desert thinking I’d be dead in a couple of years,” Robert tells me once we’re past Lizzo and sitting down as everyone catches their breath. Whether they’re recreating an iconic Christmas dance “Mean Girls”delighting viewers with tales of his pastRejecting rigid gender norms or, yes, dancing to Lizzo’s latest bop, the Old Gays show their fans what it means to age gracefully in their own way.Įven before these four became social media superstars, they led lives they couldn’t imagine before. the self-proclaimed old gays they have become a vision of pride that is rarely front and center on youth-focused floats or parades. Reading the comments on his posts is meeting a crowd of fans who enjoy watching Michael “Mick” Peterson, Robert Reeves, Bill Lyons, and Jessay Martin loosen up. The foursome have built a 7 million-strong fandom on TikTok, collaborating on videos with the likes of Paula Abdul and counting celebrities like Rihanna among their following. Until they make it, oozing charm like only these four old gays can. Swirling overhead hand gestures continue to trip up some of the guys, while a transition from two middle fingers in the air to a less confrontational motion demands that they take it from above. As “About Damn Time” blares at half speed from the poolside patio, it’s clear that learning these dance moves may take longer than anticipated. On a dry, sunny day in Cathedral City, California, four men in their 60s and 70s practice choreographing Lizzo’s new song.