Last month, Mr North American Bear 2016 was won by the very handsome Raymond Smith. We caught up with him for an exclusive interview. Over the coming year Raymond will also be exclusively reviewing the Bear Runs he attends, so keep checking back for those articles. 

Hi Raymond, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Let’s start with you… tell us about yourself.

I’m 28 years old, I’m originally from South Eastern part of Kentucky but I have currently been living in Louisville, KY since May 2008.  During the day, I work as a Data and Technology Analyst and at night, I go to school at Indiana University Southeast where I’m majoring in Operations and Information Management.  I have an amazing husband, Emmett and we are the proud parents of an extremely fat cat named Nickels. 

Cool, how was your childhood?

Growing up I was involved in theatre and band. I also grew up very religious.  I spent time as a student of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where I was majoring in music ministry.  However with family issues, I had to return back home.  I knew Sassafras wasn’t where I wanted to spend all of my years because it was difficult to be openly gay there so I looked for opportunities to move away and grow and Louisville was my answer. 

I moved to Louisville with a couple hundred bucks in my pocket a car full of stuff and a goal of making it work. I was working three jobs when I first moved here, An intern with Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, a Family Dollar, and at a Chinese Restaurant in a mall food court (I gave out samples of bourbon chicken).  It sucked but I wanted to make it work.  Now eight years later, I own a home, car, and really enjoying my life.

So, how did you get to be involved in the Mr North American Bear competition?

When I started learning and getting more involved in the bear community, I loved the camaraderie the community had.  Everyone I came across was welcoming and seemed to be really sincere.  Being an awkward fat kid all my life, I never felt like people really understood me.  Here in the bear community, people understood me. It felt good to know there are guys out there just like me who take pride in their bodies and are comfortable with who they are.  I first learned of the Mr. NAB competition after talking to Curtis Bass, a former Mr. NAB.  He told me about his experience competing and I thought it sounded wonderful.  I also spoke with Dan Chesser who was Mr NAB 2015.  He told me about the opportunities he had to represent the bear community as well as during the competition he got to raise money for charity. So a wonderful weekend experience and volunteering? Count me in!

What was the best bit about the competition?

The coolest part of the competition was during a majority of the weekend, we had no idea who the judges were.  This was designed so that during the weekend they could see our candid interactions with everyone at the run. 

Ahh very clever! So how did the competition work?

The competition was broken into 7 categories, Interview, Title Wear, Theme Wear, Bar Wear, Truth or Dare, Fantasy Wear and Raffle Ticket sales.

Friday night, we had Title wear, this was a chance for us to show off the title we were representing.  I was representing Kentucky Bourbon Bear 2015. I had on my title vest, oil-tanned boots, black kilt, and a red undershirt.  Also, Friday night was the start of raffle ticket sales.  During the weekend we sold raffle tickets for a $2,000 cash prize.  The object of this category was who ever brought in the most money from raffle ticket sales would receive an extra point on their final score. 

Saturday was a busy day.  Our first category of the day was Interview, this is when we finally meet the judges. I walked in and recognized them all from this weekend.  I remember having conversations with them all which was a big relief.  The questions were tough.  Each judge had a question that allowed me to reveal more about myself. 

The theme this year was Comic Con.  A lot of guys went as super heroes.  Some of the guys had amazing costumes.  One in particular made himself a full leather Flash costume.  It was insane.  With all of the superheroes, I was the outsider because I went as Zangief from Street Fighter.  I remember as a kid thinking how hot he was, so I was hoping others shared my love for a hot muscular bearded Russian.

For bar wear I came out in tight blue jeans, leather boots, and a button up shirt, I removed the shirt to reveal a leather harness.  While still in my bar wear, I was asked to choose truth or dare.  I looked out in the audience and saw people pointing to truth. So I picked truth.  My question was, “Out of the contestants, who do you think is the most endowed and why?”  Thanks to the joys of social apps, I was able to answer “that’s easy, contestant number 7 because his name on Growlr is Chevy Cub”. 

The last category was Fantasy.  In my mind, I thought how creative and naked could I get within the competitions guidelines.  This was my favorite category because I wanted to do something different and in my mind I was like ‘this will either go really well or really bad’. I came out in a chefs hat, apron and carrying a tray of soft baked chocolate chip cookies.  I sat the cookies down and started thrusting my hips showing something large flopping behind my apron.  I removed my apron to reveal a pack of icing.  I then dropped to my knees and began shooting icing all over the cookies in a very orgasmic fashion.

Haha that’s brilliant! So after all those stages, how did you feel about winning it?

I was in shock.  I wasn’t expecting to win.  My goal was to have fun. I thought everyone there did an amazing job and it had to have been tough to decide. Once it started settling in that I won, I started getting excited but also overwhelmed.  All of the previous Mr. NABs have brought something different and I feel like they have been raising the bar every year, so to follow in their footsteps seemed like a lot. However, after talking to some previous Mr. NABs afterwards, and having them offer advice and help at anytime, those feelings starting going away.

Overall then, what does the title mean to you?

To me, this title is a service title.  Being Mr. North American Bear, you have a responsibility of representing the North American Bear Run in a positive light. You also have an opportunity to do great things in the bear community.  You get a chance to meet and connect with so many people and travel to other bear events and really see what bears do in other parts of North America.

Do you think it will change anything for you?

I think it’s going to allow me to travel more.  It’s something I planned on doing this year anyway, but it’s really just helped solidify where I should go.  I think change is inevitable, so it will change me.  I know one thing that was said to me was that I would never have to sell raffle tickets again. I chuckled, because deep down, I know that if an event needs someone to sell raffle tickets, I would be honored to sell raffle tickets if it can help bring in a couple extra dollars then I would be more than happy to help. 

To finish then, how do you plan on using the title?

I was going to initially use the title for world domination but since the rules state that I can’t do that, I’ll have to settle for something else! But seriously, I hope I use it for good.  I love what the bear community has done for me. They have welcomed me with open arms, and have been nothing but amazing.  Over the weekend I gained so many brothers, people that I know I could crash on their couch if I needed to.  They could also crash at my home.  I think with keeping my self focused on my goals, I will be able to make this year an amazing year for myself, my charities and North American Bear Weekend.

Raymond Smith, Mr North American Bear 2016, thank you very much and good luck for your year ahead.

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