Deep Reads: A gay uple ran a rtrant peace. Then new neighbors arrived. - The Washgton Post

Contents:

• LAKERS AMONG TEAMS LKED TO RUDY GAY
• OUT GAY PRO WRTLER AC MACK LEAV THE RG AS AN SPIRATN
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• GAY BEAR VIOS: THE BT OF THE BT

LAKERS AMONG TEAMS LKED TO RUDY GAY

In a sea of nned cktails, Gay Water wants to stand out.

In other words, where Bud Light has buckled unr prsure as bigotry grows agast the LGBTQ+ muny, Gay Water’s creator Spencer Hodson wants his new boozy brand to be the anthis of that. “The key issue that Bud Light tapped to was the fact that they didn’t unrstand their re dience and know enough about them,” Hodson, a gay man, told CNN about the ntroversy that began when the Anhser-Bch beer brand sent fluencer Dylan Mulvaney a n of beer. Gay Water, however, is out and proud.

The nned cktail is named after a lloquialism given to the popular mixed drk (vodka and soda) orred at bars by the gay muny. “Puttg a product wh the word gay the tle is reprentatn self,” which he hop reclaims the word om the negativy ’s sometim associated wh.

OUT GAY PRO WRTLER AC MACK LEAV THE RG AS AN SPIRATN

He thought of creatg Gay Water about a year ago while on a vatn wh his iend that had got a job wh the beverage dtry. The two chatted about the limed amount of gay people wh , and wh Hodson burnt out om his tradnal day job tech, started the nned cktail. Hodson built up a strong social media followg on TikTok and Instagram durg Covid-19 and is g some of the money om that (as well as om iends and fay) to help fund Gay Water.

“Gay is an umbrella term and the ia behd the brand is to be as clive as possible, which means we want alli, we want straight people to be part of this muny we’re buildg.”.

For now, Gay Water is sold largely onle (wh a few retailers) and four sugar-ee flavors — watermelon, lime, peach and grapeu — at lnch. Gay Water might not have the ep pockets pared to s petors, like Whe Claw, but “even at small sle, pani of many siz are havg succs makg spir-based seltzers and premixed cktails,” Bryan Roth, an analyst for Feel Goods Company and edor of the alhol beverage newsletter, Sightl+, told CNN.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

“There’s lots of space the spir-based seltzer tegory which Gay Water n play, pecially if the brand n offer a cultural or emotnal nnectn that will feel more excg than the prospect of another peapple-flavored vodka seltzer om natnal or ternatnal rporatns,” Roth said.

Of urse, other drks e the word “gay,” too, cludg Gay Beer and So Gay Rosé, Hodson noted, which are also tryg to reach the queer muny and offer them an alternative the straight-domated space. Acrdg to Michael Stto of HoopsHype, the Lakers are among several teams who uld potentially have tert Rudy Gay. Veteran forward Rudy Gay is expected to draw tert om several playoff-liber teams, cludg the Goln State Warrrs, Los Angel Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Chigo Bulls, and New Orleans Pelins, league sourc told HoopsHype.

GAY BEAR VIOS: THE BT OF THE BT

Perhaps this is a role and avenue that Gay n also provi value like he did for a young Jazz team. While his on-urt productn certaly isn't where ed to be at this stage of his reer, Gay still do posss the reque size and strength to pete. Standg at 6’8” and sportg a 7’3” wgspan, Gay has the exact type of proportns the Lakers lacked their seri agast the Denver Nuggets particular.

The se agast Gay is simple — he would not shore up the Lakers’ glarg need at center.

Gay put up reer lows 3-pot shootg (25%) and eFG% (43%) wh Utah this past year.