Oh, Old??

 

You know how much I love @theoldgays. They are one of the most joyous group of people I have encountered: free, unbothered by fuckery and always ready to show us a good time. Life goals, TBH.

We’re here to discuss their new book: The Old Gays Guide to the Good Life. As always on occasions like this, they’ve coalesced at 80-year-old Robert’s place: a house in Cathedral City, deep in the California desert. He’s sitting back right, behind Mick, 67, a committed bodybuilder, and Robert’s housemate for the past 10 years. Then there’s Jessay, 70, whose home is directly across the street. He’s a professional singer; the only Black member of the group. “And I’m Bill, 79,” comes the final introduction. “I live a couple of miles down the road. Before the Old Gays, we’d all get together and have dinner parties, get stoned, celebrate the holidays. Now we see so much of each other at work we stay away in our spare time.” He winks. “More colleagues than friends.”

For those unfamiliar with the wider Palm Springs area, where they’re based, it’s a unique place. “We live in a very strange spot here in the California desert,” Mick explains, “just 100 miles east of Los Angeles. Here there’s a large community of older queer people that’s very active and vibrant.” A magnet for gay men in particular, it’s estimated that half of the Palm Springs population identifies as LGBTQ+ (compared to 7% of Americans nationally); right next door in Cathedral City – where the Old Gays are based – that figure is similarly high. “Down the road in LA,” Mick continues, “the culture of youth is everything. Once you turn 40, unless you’re married and with a big career, you’re becoming invisible. It’s the same in many places across the world: mainstream culture emphasises that. We exist to put the lie to that: to spread our energy. Showing the world how life can be, and bringing hope – I think – to people in places where that might not seem possible, whether because of age or sexuality.”

Their online fame has made its way into the mainstream. Regular guest appearances on primetime TV; modelling for Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty fashion house; Forbes listed the Old Gays in its 2022 Top Creators List; and lucrative brand deals with Netflix, T-Mobile and US retail giant Walgreens. With their new book – a mix of memoir, self-help and salacious snippets – the guys can each now add “published author” to their ever-growing list of late-onset accomplishments.

@theguardian

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And @wmcollinsbooks in the UK: