Julien Chambon, from Forest Fields, has reached the final ten of the annual Mr Gay UK contest, beating allcomers from across the country.

He tells us why he entered the competition, why he loves the gay scene in Nottingham and what one thing he would change in this world!

On life in Nottingham...
I've lived in Nottingham for three years now and I love this city and feel it's home.

Julien Chambon

Having been out mainly in England, I know very little of the French gay scene but consider knowing the British one well enough to represent it, especially the Nottingham one.

I think a bit of French makes it a little sexier...

On the Nottingham gay scene...
I think the gay scene in Nottingham is really good for the size of the city!

We've got a variety of pubs, bars and monthly run nights that cover different tastes gay people might have regarding somewhere to go to have a drink, which is very good!

Also, we've got a fantastic night club, NG1, that has been elected three years in a row best gay night club outside Birmingham by the Midlandzone magazine! That's quite good for Nottingham!

So my perfect night out in Nottingham would probably involve a few drinks in some trendy pubs (Coco Lounge types), a few in the Lord Roberts of course (where I work), then across the road in Wax and straight to NG1 to finish off the night!

On the competition...
At first I didn't really want to get involved with the Mr Gay Nottingham competition, but my friends convinced me to enter, saying that whatever happens it would be a laugh! And indeed, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!

The competition involved a lot of showing yourself and your body and also a mini interview on stage... It was stressful - I must admit I had a few drinks to relax...but on the whole, it was very thrilling!

On the Mr Gay Nottingham competition...
The judges were mainly the crowd that picked their favourite by text voting. We didn't have a chance to do any personal stuff, so everything mainly went down to the looks...! There was indeed a swimwear-type of section but with underwear! My Tommy Hilfiger pants did the trick!

Cheesy beauty contest-style answers...
If I could change one thing in the world... I would like to change the power of money, not at a citizen level, but rather at a industrial and political level! I have nothing against money, but I think the power it has is the source of everything that goes really wrong in our world! (And obviously, I want world peace!)

If I could have a meal with anyone... I would love to have a meal with the Queen, because she is probably one of the best known people in the world, she is probably the richest person on this planet, she is certainly a very cultured woman, and I think she is a very sweet lady!

On the Mr Gay UK finals...
The Mr Gay UK finals will be held at G-A-Y in London on Saturday, 23rd August 2003. You can vote for me in the Mr Gay UK contest. Just visit the Mr Gay UK website.
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Mr Gay Nottingham - Fact file
Name: Julien Chambon Age: 22 Occupation: Bar supervisor Waist: 32 Eye colour: Brown Weight: 12st Hair: Brown Chest: 42 inch Best moment in life: Moving to England after I came out!