BEARDROP

From: Beautiful Mag

 WHAT COMES TO MIND WITH THE WORD BEARDROP. SOME KIND OF PLATEAU IN THE GRAND CANYON WHERE BEARS DROP DOWN INTO SPACE? NO, IT'S NOTHING OF THAT KIND, THOUGH THE METAPHOR ISN'T THAT STRANGE. BEARDROP IS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FRENCH GAY DANCE PARTIES, CURRENTLY ALSO VENTURING OUT TO THE NORTH AMERICA'S (YES IT IS COMING YOUR WAY) AND TRUST ME IF I SAY THAT IT IS LIKE JUMPING INTO SPACE.

Beardrop was born in May 2007 under the leadership of Raph. His goal was simple: creating a party with a strong musical identity for bears and bear admirers, dedicated to an European gay public. The result: so much more. Since the first installation of the Beardrop event it became abundantly clear Raph tapped into a niche. He had created a gay dance event such as the world had not seen yet before.

Starting relatively small, Beardrop now takes residence in the extraordinary room of YOYO in the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, under the never sleeping eye of the Eiffel Tower. Every two months this prestigious room fills up with the hottest, sexiest men from Paris, and far beyond the French borders, dressed in whatever fetish costume they prefer. They come together to dance, to cruise and to have fun, rising up the testosterone level to irresponsible heights while doing so. Needless to say the clientele is exclusively male. One look at the iconic monogram logo should say enough.

Raph wanted to simply organize a party. What he created was an institute. A benchmark and reference of today’s gay parties. Beardrop became so iconic that famous fashion designer Christian Lacroix offered to design the 5 years anniversary flyer back in 2011, and Spanish actress Rossy de Palma functioned as the party’s ambassador in both 2012 and 2013. It wasn’t for long that Beardrop ventured out to other cities in France besides Paris. Toulouse, Marseille, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Lille and especially to Nice at Glam Bar. And wherever Raph takes his Beardrop, he goes with his 2 resident DJ’s Manue G,Ricardo Osoloco and Jon Doe. Over the years Beardrop has evolved into a more progressive and electro music event and seen a large number of internationally renowned guest DJ’s such as Darko, Daniel Portman, Phunk Investigation, Tom Pooks, Javier Medina, Paskal Daze, Nicolas Nucci, Nicolas Dermen, Maxime Iko, Xavier Seulmand, Panda Yohm, Kamille Louis and Baby Bear. Together they make each Beardrop and it’s After at Chez Papillon, Paris a guaranteed success

This year marks another milestone for Raph’s Beardrop. Last August the he moved his organization across the Atlantic on invitation of Montreal Gay Pride. Though YOYO opens its doors this Saturday, October 10 for Beardrop’s 9th season, it seems like it is only the beginning. Raph has the world at his feet. Next stop: North America. Then a world tour. Be ready to jump. Bear or no bear, be ready to jump.

Featured models: Alexandre, Chris, Cyril, Denis, Jérome, Julien, Matt, Nicolas, Olivier, Philippe, Rodolphe, Sté et Yohan.Photography by Samir Ouari.

Beardrop Opening party takes places at YOYO, Palais de Tokyo, Paris on Saturday October 10 2015. Doors open at 23h45 till 07h00. Featuring DJ’s : Chris Bekker, Seb Genre, Ricardo Osoloco and Manue G.

After Beardrop takes place at Chez Papillon, Paris on Sunday October 11. Doors open at 07h00 till 13h00. Featuring DJ’s Nicoals Nucci and John Doe. Free shuttle busses are available from Palais de Tokyo to Chez Papillon.

Internet presale tickets are now sold out but can still be purchased at Rob-Paris, 8 Square Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, 75004 Paris.