Metro Weekly

Coverboy First Runner-Up: Rich McPherson

This bear-lovin' cub makes his own way, one disciplined step at a time

Rich McPherson

Rich McPherson

(Photo by Julian Vankim)

Rich’s discipline made him a star wrestler. True to independent form, however, he ditched wrestling his senior year. Instead, he thought he’d stretch his show-biz muscles.

”I tried out for the school musical, Annie,” he shares, seeming pretty happy to revisit the memory – particularly the part about making the cut, playing four supporting characters. ”I found out I could actually sing. I shocked a lot of people. I had the greatest time.”

While he also started up a backstage romance with a girl, Rich says he had already started getting a twitch for the boys. Wrestling saw to that, though he’s quick to point out, ”I wouldn’t get boners or anything when I was wrestling.”

That tumescent compass instead pointed him to Washington, for a guy he’d met while still living in North Carolina. At 19, Rich sealed the deal in D.C. Just shy of his 23rd birthday, however, last March, that romance came to an end. Since then, Rich is again unpacking his discipline and independence to see him through the rough patch. He’s just gotten a new job, he wants to enroll at the Corcoran College of Art and Design to study graphic arts, and he even managed to squeeze in a little vacation as part of this new stage of life.

Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism

These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!