Zachary Zane is a Brooklyn-based sex and dating expert, columnist, activist, and author of 'Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto' and co-author of 'Men’s Health: Best. Sex. Ever.'
7 Unexpected Places Where You Can Meet Single Gay/Bi Men
Bars, through mutual friends, gay dating apps...these are all the obvious ways to meet new people. But they are only just a fraction of all the possibilities out there! Here are some of the best unexpected places to meet single gay/bi guys!
Goose is live. It's the newest dating app "for the boys," as Out reported earlier this month. Now, this isn't your daddy's Grindr, founder Derek Chadwick wants you to know. The hunky model, actor, and beauty brand entrepreneur pitched the app as an "anti-algorithm gay dating and lifestyle platform," aimed at offering gay men dating opportunities, not just hookups.
It does so by being "intentionally social-first" and uses human beings to screen users, who can only download the app via Apple's AppStore.
Sorry, Android gays.
And even though it only went live on Thursday, it's already generating a lot of buzz, both positive and negative.
"It's super cool and a great way to meet new people," one user wrote on the Apple site. "First day with the app and already got 10 dates," wrote Sylvester on Instagram. But another user complained of technical glitches in signing up: "After I type my verification code the app breaks every time it’s unusable."
Francesco of New York City's West Village told his 21K followers "Goose is basically Pokémon Ho," showing how the app uses a map to connect its users with potential singles nearby. And then there was this common refrain, posted by Nick: "Give this two weeks tops before it just becomes another hook-up app."
PopCrave boosted the app's launch to its 5.2 million followers, and Goose's own Instagram account has already gained nearly 10,000 followers since Out reported on the app on June 12.
Chadwick spoke to assistant editor Alex Reimer of Queerty about his app, saying in a statement that Goose is a “direct response” to what he and his friends have experienced using dating apps. As Out reported, Chadwick posted a selfie video last month revealing he's been single for two years and asking, "How come there's no cool gay dating apps in 2026?"
Goose, he says, is his solution.
“While we can’t control individual user behavior, we’ve designed Goose from the ground up to move away from the transactional, high-pressure dynamics of traditional dating apps,” he said. “Our goal is to create an experience that reflects real-life connection, where people can engage more authentically, discover shared interests, and build relationships at their own pace.”
Unlike most dating apps, Goose doesn't match users; instead, they "wave" to each other, which connects them if both people do it. Waving is all it takes to signal interest.
Reimer wrote that the premise "sounds promising enough," noting that the company claims it logged 56,000 “pre-downloads” before the app even launched. "I downloaded Goose to try for myself, and can confirm the interface looks a lot like Hinge," wrote Reimer. "One note: it did take a couple of hours for my profile to be verified. Clearly, Goose is not trying to facilitate immediacy."
That's because profiles are reviewed by humans rather than algorithms for approval, allowing for what Global Dating Insights called "a more natural connection." Among Goose's features are the ability to scroll through profiles, to post photos, videos, and real-time updates, and privacy tools such as Vanish Mode and screenshot protection. No membership fees are required, the report added.
Out reached out to Chadwick for comment, and his rep told us he's traveling today but promised to respond to our emailed questions. We'll just have to "wave" to him until then.
Even before he came out back in 2018 while starring in Love, Simon, Joey Pollari has brought queer representation to the big and small screens with a slew of notable roles over the years.
Pollari's latest project is no exception as he stars in the adorable LGBTQ+ rom-com Things Like This, where his character Zack deals with crippling anxiety as his life starts falling apart once he reunites with his middle school crush.
"I thought the opportunity would be really fun! Playing this role was a blast because of that level of fear and anxiety eating at him nonstop. [The] hope is that someone will have some kind of recognition that's helping them along," Pollari tells PRIDE.
Pollari is beyond grateful that his dynamic gay roles have opened minds and started conversations for many people struggling with their sexuality.
"What I like about all of the stories that I've portrayed is that, although they're pushed a gay agenda, they've ultimately gone past that at some point. I played those characters where they had so much struggle about their identity. You're just trying to portray the emotion of shame, anxiety, chaos, and self-sabotage."
Besides the very challenging aspects of coming out, Pollari loves showcasing queer joy on and off screen. Since Things Like This depicts a beautiful gay love story, the star dished on what his ideal first date looks like.
"I'm actually really simple! I don't like an activity for a first date. I do not want to go bowling or on a hike. My perfect date is you and I sitting down. We have a drink, we have a meal, and we actually get to just talk to one another. That's just me!"
Things Like This is out now in theaters. To see the full interview with Joey Pollari, check out the video at the top of the page.
South Korea has launched its first ever lesbian dating show, and we’re so ready for it!
The adorably named ToGetHer features seven contestants who all move into one home together on Jeju Island for the duration of the show. While there, they’ll engage in activities and conversations to get to know one another and see whether they have a romantic connection with anyone in the house.
The show is Thisplay Company’s follow-up to their dating show centered around gay men, His Man. That series premiered in 2022 and earned the title of South Korea’s first-ever gay dating series.
ToGetHer has already drawn international attention from fans who are excited to see this sort of representation in South Korea and can’t wait to see how things shake out for the contestants.
That said, there’s also already been some drama surrounding the cast. After the show premiered, one contestant, Kim Riwon, was accused of queerbaiting after her past as a cam girl came to light. The production said they had been unaware of her past and called for an end to the backlash against her.
Riwon herself shared an apology to social media, which was translated into English by an X user. In it, she confirmed that she had previously created adult videos but reaffirmed to viewers that she identifies as a lesbian.
ToGetHer debuted its first two episodes on April 25 on Wavve, where it is currently ranked 14th in viewership on the streaming platform. It will continue airing weekly through June 20, dropping 10 episodes total.
In what’s quickly becoming one of the most alarming digital privacy failures of the year, a series of LGBTQ+, fetish, and sugar dating apps have been exposed for leaking troves of sensitive user data — and the worst breach yet might be an app called Gay Daddy.
Touted on the App Store as a “private and anonymous” space for gay and bisexual men over 40, Gay Daddy: 40+ Date & Chat was found by Cybernews researchers to be leaking over 50,000 user profiles and more than 124,000 private messages, including locations, names, HIV status, relationship details, and explicit photos. The database was so unprotected that anyone with a little technical savvy could snoop through users’ most intimate content without restriction.
“Users expect the app to be discreet, but it is completely the opposite,” Aras Nazarovas, a Cybernews security researcher, said in the April 2 report. The leak stemmed from hardcoded credentials in the app’s code and a misconfigured Firebase database — a back-end tool developers use to manage things like logins and chat features. Gay Daddy also leaked its cloud storage bucket, authentication keys, and other sensitive endpoints, potentially giving attackers long-term access to its users' data.
The app’s developer, Surendra Kumar, did not respond to Cybernews’ request for comment, though the leaking database has since been taken offline. Still, the damage may be done — especially for queer users in countries where being gay can mean harassment, arrest, or worse.
“This data leak compromises app users’ security, allowing threat actors to read private messages and obtain contact lists and location data,” said Nazarovas. “Not only does this expose individuals to cyber threats, but also to risks of financial, psychological, and even physical harm, particularly given the prevailing stigmas surrounding homosexuality in certain countries.”
And Gay Daddy wasn’t alone. Cybernews also revealed on April 1 that apps like BDSM People, CHICA, TRANSLOVE, PINK, and BRISH — many owned by a single developer, Mobile Apps Developers Limited (MAD) — were all found leaking private user photos due to similarly shoddy coding practices. In total, more than 1.5 million explicit images were exposed, many of which were shared in private chats or used for profile verification.
While none of the leaks directly exposed names or emails, experts warn that open-source intelligence tools like reverse image searches make it possible to identify individuals — raising the risk of blackmail, harassment, and outing.
As Nazarovas put it to Metro, “Images accessed by bad actors could have been used for blackmail and intimidation. Finding out that these images were leaked would likely cause distress, trust issues, as well as other harm to the user’s mental health.”
With LGBTQ+ users already vulnerable to targeted attacks, the implications of such a sweeping breach are chilling. At a time when queer lives are increasingly politicized and policed, privacy should not be optional.
Jade Carey of Team United States poses with her gold medal during the Women's Floor Exercise Final on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
This gymnast is leaping into love!
Queer Olympian Jade Carey just went Instagram official with her girlfriend by posting a sweet carousel of photos.
The 24-year-old gold medalist is now dating Aimee Sinacola, director of creative content for the University of Oregon Ducks, and celebrated their love by posting sweet couple's photos of the pair along with the simple caption, “happy” followed by the white heart, lock and key, sparkle, and love letter emojis.
This also marks the first time Carey has ever spoken publicly about her sexuality, People reports.
Carey was part of the iconic “Golden Girls” US Women’s Gymnastics team that also included Simon Biles, Suni Lee, and Jordan Chiles, and was named after the popular sitcom because the average age of the team members was the highest of any gold-medal winning American team in history.
Her fellow “Golden Girls” made sure to congratulate the happy couple, with Biles commenting “freaking cuuuuuute,” and Chiles writing, “Periodt!!!! with heart emojis.
Infamous pommel horse Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik also showed love for his fellow Team America athlete by commenting, “GO JADE!!!” and the Team USA gymnastics account wrote, "always applauding your authenticity."
Carey was one of the 195 LGBTQ+ athletes from across the world to make it to the 2024 Olympics. Over the course of her gymnastics career she took home the gold in 2020 as the Olympic champion of floor exercises, won a bronze medal in 2024 in vault, and scored her second gold last year when the “Golden Girls” won an overall team medal.
Now we’re wondering if Carey is going to teach her girlfriend how to do a scissors leap!