Mr Gay NZ to take on the world in South Africa
It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours for the newly-crowned Mr Gay New Zealand, but the adventure is only just beginning.
Ricky Devine White, of Marlborough, took home the title of Mr Gay New Zealand 2018 in Auckland on Sunday.
And while the win has been difficult for Devine White to wrap his head around, there’s no slowing down anytime soon as he is set to take the title to the world stage.
‘‘I now can be an ambassador and a voice for the LGBTQI community and really speak to some of the prevalent issues that we have in our community and I get to take New Zealand to Mr Gay World to try and win the title there too,’’ he said.
Devine White will be representing New Zealand at Mr Gay World in South Africa in May, with the support of his husband Arthur Devine White.
He will be battling it out against representatives from 33 other countries for the 2018 title which will include a photo challenge, sports challenge, fashion and runway challenge and an interview challenge.
‘‘I’m trying to take it [the title] to the world and promote how wonderful it is to be in New Zealand,’’ he said.
While his role will see him gallivanting around the globe attending Pride parades, he wanted to use his position to help break down barriers between the LGBTQI community and the rest of the community.
‘‘One thing that I’m really passionate about is fighting for human rights,’’ he said.
He said he hoped the word ‘gay’ would not be needed in the future and everyone could be treated the same.
‘‘For me, I would say that in time, we won’t have to use the phrase ‘gay’ anymore, for example gay marriage will just become marriage,’’ he said.
Devine White flew back to Blenheim on Monday night where he was be greeted by proud friends and family.