One of the perks of writing for PGC is the flexiblity to poke / talk people I’m facsinated by and Zach Palmer is totally one of those people! Read on as I ask the tough question and figure out the heck the title of  World Cub means! 

1. Super thrilled you’re bringing the inaugural title to Philadelphia! What exactly is the title and how did you win it?


Thank you! My title is World Cub, which I earned at World Bear Weekend along with my title family Johnny Benjamin, Mr. World Bear, and Oshun Onyx, Ms. World Bear. My title doesn’t have a honorific because the title is open to persons regardless of gender. But if you want to call me Mr. World Cub, that’s okay, I don’t mind… I’ll probably even sometimes refer to myself with it simply because I do identify as male and titles so often have these honorifics.  

To enter I had to already have a title, and I have had two (Texas Bear Round Up Cub 2016 and North American Bear Hunter 2017). The contest itself took place over three days and involved an interview, presentation of four different themed looks, and a speech. There were also some written items which I prepared before I got there. Pretty standard stuff.

2. Are their particular duties the title comes with?

They expect you to get out there, promote the event, your platform, and raise money. I already have 12 different Bear or Leather events I plan to attend… it’s going to be exhausting, but a lot of fun.

3. Tell me about you!!! When did you come out? Was it easy?

I came out to trustworthy people during high school, but I think you really come out when you tell your parents. My parents divorced and I was raised by my mom, and I told her during my freshman year of college when I was safely 300 miles away. Honestly it didn’t go great at first. She was very unhappy. I was dating a guy at the time, and she once referred to him with some very unfriendly terms I won’t repeat. But people change, drastically. Hell, anyone who knows my mom and the relationship we have will probably be surprised to read that. My mom is so supportive of me… she even helps me plan for my contests and, being a skilled sewer, has made costume pieces for me, including skimpy underwear and a dress. And she’s seen all the pictures… I haven’t told my dad yet. But I think we’ve reached a point where I can’t keep it a secret anymore, so I’m probably going to tell him when I visit for Thanksgiving. We’ll see how that goes. Fingers crossed!

4. What where your looks // what was the toughest interview question ?

I had to do title wear, beach wear, formal wear, and fantasy/fetish wear. My favorite was fantasy/fetish wear. I did my take on goldilocks and the three bears. It started with me in a dress and a terrible 10 dollar wig, and it ended with me in just a jockstrap and covered in about a half gallon of honey. Well, not actual honey, but simulated honey. I still went through a pack of baby wipes to get it off, because then I had to change into my formal wear! If you want to see it, there are pictures the World Bear Weekend facebook, and there will be video soon enough.

I’m not sure to what extent I should discuss the interviews, as they were both private and personal. I will say that the questions were tough but fair. I mean, the judges were trying to pick someone to represent the bear community to the world, it can’t just be questions you can answer with “world peace.”
 

5. Now tell me about you, favorite restaurant in Philly, single or taken? And do you want people to follow you on Instagram or Twitter?

There are SO many good restaurants, I could never say just one is my favorite. That said, I am a big fan of Xochitl on 2nd street- I’ve celebrated my last four birthdays there! I am taken: I’ve been with my fantastic boyfriend Matthew for about 9 months now. I find I can never keep up with twitter or instagram, and although I have both, I don’t really use them, so I’d suggest people check out my title page, Banjo, World Cub 2018, Facebook.com/WorldCub18.