Interview: 5 questions to Raph, the organizer of the Beardrop

Mar. 28 2014

by Marc Dedonder

Tomorrow night, the Beardrop takes over the YOYO at the Palais de Tokyo for the already 101st edition of the French bear night. Almost seven years after the first edition at the Vinyle, on May 15, 2007, the two promoters, Raph, the organizer, and Rob, the producer, have come a long way. After the Scène Bastille and the Divan du monde, the party was exported to the biggest cities of France and even a little abroad. On the eve of welcoming more than 1200 faithful gay clubbers, five questions to Raph.

For this new season, the Beardrop has become more rare but eventful. Why this choice?

Raph: Last season, we noticed that the place and maybe even the party were getting tired. To come back to an event in an area four times bigger allows us to book international artists, to propose to them an incredible working tool (sound and light), a 10 meters diagonal LED wall, and especially to create the lack among the most assiduous clubbers of our evening (yes we are small perverts!).

The Beardrop is now firmly established in the French gay scene, Paris, and provinces. What is the recipe for this success?

Raph: Is there a recipe? Everywhere we go, we have a friendly and sincere relationship with our partners, we know most of our clubber friends, and we form a small family; we work a lot on instinct and emotion with people, and then our resident DJs (MANUE G and RICARDO OSOLOCO) now have their fan clubs in Paris and the provinces.
Before being an organizer, I was a habitual clubber, and as soon as I started to organize parties, my first imperative was not to make live the clubbers what I hated to live as a clubber! All our teams (security, bartenders...) are briefed before all parties; we ask them the smile, the welcome, and the respect of the clubbers.

Until now, Paris didn't have the reputation of being a bear, leather, or fetish city like Berlin, San Francisco, or Amsterdam. Is that changing, or is it just that it's not visible anymore?

Raph: The fact is that when we speak about a "fetish" evening, it is necessary that the evening is exclusively male; I do not believe that we can organize an evening bear or leather gay but mixed; the mixture cannot be made. Besides, some tried it, and the result was a failure...
For information, the most stylish clubbers have been present at BEARDROP since the first date...

Do you still work on the side or devote yourself to it full-time now?

Raph: I'm working with my producer husband exclusively on Beardrop, a daily job, but I don't think we've been living off it for seven years... far from it...

What is your next big project for Beardrop? There are rumors that the party could be exported to Europe or Berlin.

Raph: Since the first date, it already took place in Barcelona (Souvenir) during the first CIRCUIT FESTIVAL, in GAYVILLAGE in Rome, in Brussels. Otherwise, I remain very discreet about our future projects; as for Berlin, maybe... ;)

Photos club © Jean-Noel Thierry Digikode
Teaser © Christophe Robert
Flyer © Samir Ouari