This Is The 30,000th Post On The Randy Report

After nearly 12 years of sharing with all you shiny, happy people, I’m amazed to say this is the 30,000th post on The Randy Report! When I began The Randy Report on January 28, 2011, I had no idea how this would become so much a part of my life! AND what it would lead to. Back in 2011, I was still mainly working as an actor and choreographer in the theatre. But my morning routine had developed into getting my coffee, sitting back and reading all the news on my favorite LGBTQ websites like JoeMyGod, Kenneth-in-the-212, Boy Culture, BosGuy, Stonewall Gazette, Back2Stonewall, OUT, LGBTQ Nation, Queerty, The Advocate, and more. p.s. I’m happy to say I’ve come to know many of those folks along the way – Joe, Kenneth, Matt, Robert, Will and more –  and they’re all terrific guys who have supported me in the gay blogging club over the years.

One day, hubby Michael suggested I start my own gay blog. I remember laughing thinking, “Who would read it? Michael and me?” Originally launched on Blogger, I began with stories about my life, life with Michael and the ‘dachshund dynasty,’ and more. Over time, like many bloggers, I began to cover more and more news stories of interest to the LGBTQ community and its allies. By the end of January 2011, I’d had 3,747 readers visit the site – which blew my mind! Over the years, The Randy Report has grown to average about 200,000 readers a month with folks clicking in from the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, and more.

The blog became a calling card introducing me to tons of people and opportunities. About a year after I started TRR, I became co-host of a popular online radio show, which after I joined was renamed The Candi & Randy Show. For almost two and a half years, we did live hour-long shows twice a week and interviewed amazing people. My work load was getting pretty heavy by that time, so I had to step away from the radio show. But after about a year, I missed sharing LGBTQ news in audible form. So I launched The Randy Report podcast, which I know many of you follow and listen to. Over the years I’ve had the great experience of interviewing folks like Tony Award winners Betty Buckley Billy Porter, and Judith Light as well as Vanessa Williams, Olivia Newton-John, Melissa Manchester, Roslyn Kind, Sam Harris, Judy Collins, the Chippendales, the cast of “Where The Bears Are,” and many, many more.

The podcast became yet another surprising turn in my career. With no marketing, TRR podcast gets tens of thousands of listeners each year now. Thanks to the power of the internet, TRR podcast has listeners not only in the United States, the UK, and Canada, but also in Italy, France, Germany, Russia (!), the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Colombia and the Republic of Korea. I was humbled to learn Metrosource named TRR one of the top LGBTQ podcasts “to keep you in the know.”

Over the years, major topics have dominated the news cycle and I focused on them along with other news outlets including marriage equality, the wild ride that was/is Donald Trump, anti-LGBTQ and transgender violence, the COVID-19 pandemic and more. All of this eventually converged and crystalized into a career as a bona fide journalist. Over the years, I’ve been invited to, and joined, important organizations like the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) and GALECA: the Society of Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association.

My byline has appeared on major websites like ETonline.com, LGBTQ Nation, and more. I’ve written for queer print publications including Vegas Pride Magazine and Unite Seattle, as well as mainstream luxury outlets like VEGAS Magazine. I’ve even worked with ABC Radio News on the red carpet at the Billboard Awards here in Las Vegas.

And, of course, in 2018 I joined the staff of one of the longest-running LGBTQ outlets in the United States – Instinct Magazine. For years I was writing 3 AP-style news articles five days a week for Instinct. That’s slowed a bit today as the focus of the site has shifted, but I’m still there penning several articles a week with the title of Senior Editor. I just glanced at the stats there, and it looks like I’m closing in quick on 2,000 articles for IM. I still focus on LGBTQ themes including giving space to talented queer musicians, as well as the attacks on LGBTQ rights here and around the world. What a wild ride this has all been – and continues to be! My brother constantly tells me I should take weekends off (I haven’t missed a day in about 8 years I think), but I really, really love what I do and being connected to the vast, beautiful, diverse LGBTQ community.

I’ll close with a short list of some of the top posts on TRR over the years which have been wide-ranging and varied. It may come a surprise to some, but many posts here get hits years later as folks hit the Google to look something up, and wind up finding something I wrote ten years ago. I’ll slow my roll here and conclude by saying thank you, thank you, thank you for being here on TRR – for reading, for commenting, and for sharing my posts with the world. As I’ve said many times in the past, it’s much more fun when you’re here. 10. Gareth Thomas To Join Big Brother UK 9. Shirtless John Mangum of NC State hard at twerk 8. Rep. Joe Barton – ‘Wind is a finite resource’ 7. 56 Years Ago Today: Babs & Judy Duet ‘Happy Days/Get Happy’ 6. UK Olympian Tom Daley gets almost nude censor 5. Gay Party Boat In Puerto Vallarta Goes Down (And Not In A Good Way) 4. Someone Threw A ‘Corona Party’ & Shared It On Instagram 3. Gay Porn Star Calls On Colleagues To Help ‘Out’ Closeted Lawmaker 2. A Gay Teen Had Enough Of Being Called ‘F*ggot’ 1. And finally…this one has garnered clicks for years because people thought they were finding pop star Adam Levine naked – Model Rafael Lazzini on a motorcycle