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Tristan Schukraft
Erik Carter
Innovators

Tristan Schukraft

Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.

Following in the footsteps of Virgin mogul (and role model) Richard Branson, Tristan Schukraft is known as the “CEO of Everything Gay” for good reason. This year alone, the business mogul bought The Abbey, the iconic gay bar in West Hollywood; Puerto Rico’s Circo nightclub; and a 75 percent stake in the Fire Island Pines Resort commercial district. He also launched Tryst Hotels, with properties set to open in San Juan, Puerto Vallarta, and the Pines.

Additionally, Schukraft is the CEO of MISTR, a PrEP telemedicine company that recently surpassed 350,000 patients. It’s this milestone that his been his proudest 2024 accomplishment. “I’m motivated not so much about building businesses. While that’s fun, it’s about…eliminating HIV, preserving the gay community. That’s what gets me up in the morning — every morning, because I work seven days a week.”

Schukraft urges LGBTQ+ folks to realize the power of the pink dollar. “Support those gay businesses, those gay bars because even though it doesn’t seem like you’re doing anything of major significance [by spending money there], you really are.” @tschukraft

Daniel Reynolds

Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

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Mars Sharrock
Melissa Simpson

Stacey Yvonne

Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com

Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com

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Innovators

Mars Sharrock

Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.

Melissa Simpson

Becoming who you are — and showing people your true self — is essential for queer people, “but it’s also fun!” says Mars Sharrock, program director for The Wardrobe, a Philadelphia nonprofit combating clothing insecurity. Whether you need clothes for a job interview or to affirm your gender transition, The Wardrobe makes sure that you are kitted from head to toe.

“Fashion — feeling good in what you wear — is an expression of self. Self-determination goes beyond basic needs and is about creativity, expression, and freedom,” Sharrock says. And it’s self-determination that they want everyone to have access to, regardless of income, race, religion, or even criminal record.

The organization launched a program called “Returning Wardrobe,” which focuses on clothing and education services for formerly incarcerated people. And Sharrock has helped the program increase its services to transgender and queer community members by over 50 percent in just the past few years. “Clothing is a basic need, so I see the work The Wardrobe does as helping people get their basic needs met,” Sharrock says. @_sharrockin_

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