Victoria man wins Mr. Gay Europe
Medical student aims to use title to promote gay men’s health
A Victoria man with a talent for testicular exams has been named Mr. Gay Europe.
Medical student Robbie Obara, 26, said he hopes to use the title to promote reproductive and gay men’s health.
“I see this not just as some glamour thing, but as a platform that I can use to target LGBT youth across Europe to improve mental health, physical health and social health,” he said in a telephone interview.
Obara, who lives in Ireland, earned the 2013 European title on July 30 in Prague against 16 other entrants. He placed first in the interview category and talent portion, for which he demonstrated a self- exam.
“The interview was just sitting down with the judges and discussing the work that I do with Gay Men’s Health Services, working with HIV and mental health,” he said.
Obara grew up in Victoria, attended Claremont secondary school and studied biology at the University of Victoria. He moved to Dublin in 2009 to attend Trinity College medical school, after completing a master’s degree in public health in Australia.
Obara first got involved with a gay pageant because it was a fundraiser for the Irish HIV clinic where he was working on rotation. He ended up winning the title Mr. Gay George at the George pub, which is one of Ireland’s oldest gay bars, and the event raised more than 20,000 euros for his clinic.
He went on to be named Mr. Gay Ireland, qualifying him for the European competition.
“It’s just a continuation of my career, going into medicine and public health,” Obara said. “I want to use this as a platform to continue that, but I think I’ll just have some fun along the way, too.”
Obara said he is most passionate about gay men’s health and women’s health, especially abortion rights in Ireland. On the same day Obara won his crown, abortion became legal in Ireland in cases where a mother’s life is at risk.
He also wants to improve mental health services for members of the LGBT community, who face higher suicide and depression rates and are the target of violence and discriminatory behaviour.