Former Great Sankey student wins title of Mr Gay GB

He will go on to speak at the Houses of Parliament and instigate change in the queer community and help young people facing challenges with their mental health as suicide numbers in younger generations continue to soar.

Andrew Gardiner, a business owner from Northumberland who grew up in Warrington, had only one goal when he signed up to the national contest last year, to make a difference for the LGBTQ+ community.

The 39-year-old, who spoke previously to the Warrington Guardian about competing for the title of Mr Gay GB, told of his mission to be a voice for those who do not have one and his excitement to use his platform to “raise awareness and destigmatise mental health related experiences”.

Participants of the contest are expected to complete a variety of different stages before getting to the final judging panel show, which took place at Alnwick Gardens in Northumberland on August 26.

Andrew had to compete in various catwalks during the contest (Image: Supplied) In the months leading up to that date, Andrew committed himself to fundraising for two charities, Pride Action North and The Charlie Carter Foundation, as well as fronting his own mental health campaign for those within the LGBTQ+ community.

Speaking on his fundraising efforts, Andrew said: “Between both charities I raised £6,500 over four months.

“I have basically had no Summer; I have been organising fundraising events on weekends. I did a cabaret show which had comedians, dancers, singers, a drag king performance and a performance from a local band Brick.

“It was an amazing night, and we raised lots of money.”

Andrew spoke of how, despite his ‘landslide victory’ at the contest, throughout the run up to the day he was “riddled with insecurities”.

Andrew won with a 'landslide' victory (Image: Supplied) “There was a lot of great help, and I made great relationships with charities along the way – including Pride Action North.”

In his work with the major charity, who provide services to the community across the north, he is currently organising a partnership to allow him and others to go into schools and support the wellbeing of students in the community, as well as to try and get more LGBTQ+ pupils engaged with physical education again.

On the day of the contest, not only did Andrew and the other contestants have to announce their results of both their campaigns and how much they managed to raise in the fundraising round, but they also had to complete an LGBTQ+ exam, before taking part in the congeniality round which featured three catwalks.

All of which he won, securing the prize of being able to speak in the Houses of Parliament.

The contest included three different catwalks (Image: Supplied) Discussing the contest and its participants, Andrew described a mutual feeling of ‘humility’ that all the people standing on the stage had managed to raise more than £50,000 for a variety of charities. “I was proud of everyone there and what we achieved.”

“I was dealing with a separation through out the lead up to the contest, it gave me a focus and helped me through that time.”

Andrew is now set to speak at the Houses of Parliament in February on a chosen topic he would like to help instigate change for.

Detailing more on his ideas for this, he added: “For me, across the board we are in crisis with mental health across the country.

“The first point of call for the NHS in dealing with mental health is medication, but this can only be prescribed to those of the adult age 18 and over.

“We are also in a national crisis with suicide. People are in panic, and we do not have the resources to address this.

“I want to be able to make a shift in helping tackle the currently overrun NHS, but first I want to help young people and the queer community.”

Andrew emphasised the importance of helping people with a mental health diagnosis at as younger age as possible to ensure it does not affect them for their entire lives.

He continued: “I am so grateful for winning Mr Gay GB and I will be going in to compete for Mr Gay Europe next year.”