Local student changed by national competition

by Andrew Carranza

Pittsburgh was thrust into the gay national spotlight last November when Connellsville native Troy Smith placed second runner-up at the 2009 USA Mr. Gay competition. It was the first time Pittsburgh was represented in the national event.USA Mr. Gay is hosted by the Noble Beast Foundation, an international equal rights group for gay men. The 2009 tournament was held in Dallas, Texas and 30 gay men from across the country participated in the event.

“I first heard about the competition when I was visiting Los Angeles in 2006,” Smith, 24, says. “I was in a club, and I saw a flyer for it. I thought about it over the years and finally, in 2009, I decided to do something about it.”

Smith, who was born in McKeesport, began training last May, seven full months before the competition. He said he lost 75 pounds during that time.

“It was crazy,” he says. “I ran all the time, starting with one mile a day. I started to lose fat and by the end, I was running 10 miles a day.”

By the time of the Nov. 27 national competition, Smith was ready, although he admitted he was a bit nervous.

“I don’t usually get nervous, but as I looked around the room, I thought some of the contestants looked better than me,” he explains. “But I just reminded myself how hard I worked to get here and to just keep doing my thing.”

The opening routine of the competition didn’t calm his nerves either.

“We had to perform a choreographed routine, which we learned very recently and didn’t have much time to practice,” Smith says. “Luckily, it wasn’t judged!”

Once the actual competition began, Smith hit his stride, however, beginning with the athletic category, which was split into two exercises.

For the first part of the athletic competition, two contestants raced against each other to reach an object at the end of the runway. The winner stayed on until there were only two people left. Smith’s habit of running 10 mile a day certainly paid off, as he won the event, blazing past his competition.

The second part of the athletic exercises was to run back-to-back 100 yard dashes until only one person was left standing.

That last person was also Smith.

“I must have done 30 to 40 dashes,” he says. “It was exhausting but it paid off when I was the only person left.”

Smith said winning the athletic competition gave him a big advantage and took a lot of stress off him for the rest of the event. He also won the philanthropic category, raising the most money out of all contestants.

“I was going into day 2 with a big lead in points,” he says.

The second day of competition included private sit-down interviews with judges, as well as a final performance, in which contestants modeled in swim wear, formal wear, casual wear and were asked a final question.

The finale was his favorite part of the competition.

“It was a big rush to change outfits and there were so many people involved,” he says. “My heart was racing the whole time, and it was definitely an experience of a lifetime.

Smith also said he was proud of the answer he gave for his final question, which earned him a partial standing ovation in the crowd.

“My question was: If Carrie Prejean was sitting in the room right now what would you say and why?” Smith reveals. “I just put my head down and started laughing. It was a very interesting question.”

Smith said his response basically attacked her, as well as the U.S. Constitution. “A lot of people stood up after my answer,” he laughs.

As the finale winded down, Smith was still unsure if he would place in the tournament. He said he was surprised and honored to be named second runner up.

“I definitely didn’t expect to place and get third place in a U.S. competition,” he says. “It’s awesome to be recognized on a national level.”

Adam Boyles of Huntington Beach, Calif., was the overall winner of the competition while Alex Martinez, of Houston, was first runner-up.

Smith is currently attending California University of Pennsylvania, where he is studying for his master’s in law and public policy. While he said his initial goal was to become a civil rights lawyer, his horizons have expanded since the competition.

“My life has completely changed, and I am now much more involved in the LGBT community,” Smith says. “I just want to get our voices heard.”

Smith also received a modeling contract as a result of the competition, as one judge noted he had “the look” for it.

If that were not enough, Smith also got involved with the organizers of USA Mr. Gay to bring a preliminary competition to Pittsburgh.

“We’ve never had a state preliminary in Pittsburgh before,” he says. “It should be a big hit, and I expect an enormous amount of people to participate.”

According to Smith, the Pittsburgh preliminary would follow the same format as the national competition. While still in the early stages of development, Smith said the prelim would be held before November 2010, when the national competition is set to take place.

Smith will serve as executive producer for the Pittsburgh preliminary.

 “It’s very new and exciting,” he says. “Contestants do not even have to reside in Pittsburgh; they can be from the surrounding area. It’s going to be great to put a unique local spin on this event.”