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Mitch Medcalf, aka DJ Galleon, is the current Mr Bear Queensland and Australias only professional DJ who is blind. Determined not to let his disability hold him back, Medcalf, as a producer, has found himself entering the Aria Club Charts and is now using the position his success has given him to improve life for other disabled people in the community. He talks to YOUR EX ahead of his sets at Bear NZ Week.

Where did you grow up, and how was growing up there for you?

I grew up in Brisbane in the 90’s and into the 2000’s. There was a lot of really good music around at the time that I started listening to. I finished school in Grade 10 and went and got a law degree, which I did part-time for about eight years. I started DJing professionally in 2014 and came out in 2017 when I was 25, which pretty much no one expected. It was right in the middle of marriage equality, so there were some people with some interesting opinions about that, but my family was really good.

Did the whole marriage equality conversation and Australias majority support for it empower you to come out?

It was a good vibe to be around when I came out. I knew several years earlier that I needed to. I was at a party and had had a few Apperols when someone asked me if I liked guys. And I said yes. I’d never done that before. None of my friends knew. So I had to have a few conversations very quickly. They went very well, and when marriage equality was passed, I put up on Facebook something to the effect of, Now I can get married!It was just this really powerful time when the weight had been lifted. I could have conquered the world.

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Why did you want to come and play Bear NZ Week, as a proud Aussie?

I’ve always wanted to travel internationally. I’ve played in Sydney quite a bit. Berlin is probably my biggest goal, but New Zealand Bears approached me when I was competing for Mr. Bear Queensland, and I jumped at it. I’d heard the Kiwi bear scene is nice. So Im playing Tri-Nations and UnderBear parties.

What was the experience like of entering and winning Mr Bear Queensland?

Mind-blowing! I did it a couple of years ago. I didn’t win it, but I became a committee member, and I started helping out with raffles. When we got to the 30th anniversary, I thought I wanted to be in it for that, so I entered again. I have a very good friend called Archie, who is a performer, and he’s in the kink scene and has helped me on my kink journey as well. And I wanted to put kink on display, as well as disability and disability positivity. So I wore a uniform in the first round and a blindfold in my talent round, with Shabari restraining my hands. I also played a really kink and disability-positive DJ set, which I called a ‘mega-Mitch’ because it had so many different components to it. And all of that got me over the line. I felt really good through the whole comp but having my name called out on stages was different again.

For our readers who have thought about entering a Mr Bear competition but are too nervous, any advice?

Just do it. It is nerve-wracking, but the fun you have, the people you meet and the camaraderie that you will experience with your fellow competitors are great. It helps to bring up your confidence and gets your name out into the community a little bit more. Even if you don’t win, just enter it again! I couldn’t talk any more highly of it!

What can we expect from your sets at the likes of Tri-Nations and the Underbear party?

Tri Nations is going to be very happy. I’ve got the peak set. So lots of happy house, a few classics, a few surprises thrown in. I do a lot of my own edits and mashups. So there’s a few that I’m going to bring with me that no one’s heard. Then for UnderBear, its the first set, so pretty cruisy and funky, lots of funky house and some disco, maybe getting a little bit dirty towards the end of the set.

You mentioned the importance of sort of having a disability on display. Have you felt that your disability has had any impact on your career as a DJ thus far? And on your life on the gay scene in general?

As a DJ, it generally hasn’t because I’ve always had my own method of learning where all the buttons are. So I’ve always had to have my own way of doing things, whether that be structures of how I have my music or how I learn a piece of equipment that I use, and I’m lucky that nearly all the clubs have pioneer equipment. So it’s pretty much similar, if not the same.

In terms of the queer community, people are generally really good. When it comes to flirting, I can’t do the eye contact thing, but maybe thats good. But it’s…it’s bad, but it’s kind of maybe good in a sense because it has to happen more organically. I have to meet them and hear their voice and go, you sound like a genuine person.

So in general, you’ve found gay spaces to be welcoming as a blind person?

I haven’t experienced any issues myself. People are good with understanding that I will need a hand getting out of the venue. I always try and go with a good friend, as walking into those spaces on my own for the first time can be a bit daunting. As Mr. Bear, I’m going to start working on a bit of a document for our bear club over here and just working, hopefully, with the venue and the bear club to just outline exactly what is accessible. Because I’ve had a really good experience, but there may be people that sort of don’t quite know what to expect. And maybe we need to flesh that out and make it very specific.

Any advice for a prosperous 2024?

You just have to be you. So do what pleases you!

Bear New Zealand Week takes place from 1 to 6 February, with events running throughout Auckland. For more info, click here!

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