GRAND MARSHAL – OLYMPIC MEDALIST GUS KENWORTHY
ALLY GRAND MARSHAL – NBC6’s ROXANNE VARGAS
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Miami Beach Gay Pride today announced a dynamic duo of Grand Marshals – Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy and NBC6 anchor and host Roxanne Vargas. The two Marshals will be honored at events throughout Pride Week and will lead the loud and colorful parade down Ocean Drive on Sunday, April 8, beginning at noon. Miami Beach Gay Pride is presented by Celebrity Cruises and takes place April 2-8 at venues throughout Miami Beach.
“Gus and Roxy are two preeminent public figures who well represent and support the LGBTQ community. Gus for being a role model as an out and proud sportsman who excels at his craft and Roxy for being a prominent ally for the community and equal rights,” said Mark Fernandes, chairman of the Pride board of directors.
GRAND MARSHAL GUS KENWORTHY
Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy is proud to serve as the 2018 Grand Marshal for Miami Beach Gay Pride. Hot off his competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Gus is thrilled to lead the parade at Miami Beach Gay Pride.
Gus is one of a kind. Not just for his skiing but for his personality, determination and heart. At the age of 23, he earned the privilege of representing the USA in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi Russia, and proudly brought home the silver medal in slopestyle. Gus has been active on the competition circuit for years as well as an active social networker.
Born and raised in Telluride, Colorado, Gus has skied his whole life. At the age of 16, Gus compiled footage of his skiing into a one-minute video submission for the Jon Olsson Invitational — one of free skiing’s most prestigious events. The video quickly began to circulate on the web turning the heads of industry professionals and helping Gus pick up his first sponsor and his professional career began to take off.
Gus has taken his talents to the highest accolades in his sport, earning seven World titles, and five X Games Medals to go along with his Silver medal from the Olympic Games. Gus is also credited with the first ever to perform a double cork 1080 and right side 1440 in a halfpipe, the first ever double flip on a hip jump and the first double flip off a rail! His dedication to his craft has established him as one of the top freeskiers in the world and one of the select few athletes to consistency make podium in slopestyle, halfpipe and big air events.
In 2015, Gus made the bold and courageous decision to come out as a proud gay man. Never one to shy away from the camera or his fans, he chose the cover of ESPN magazine as the vehicle to deliver the news. He was met with widespread support, love and praise for his choice to reveal his true self. The caught-on-camera kiss of good luck from his boyfriend in PyeongChang went viral globally.
ALLY GRAND MARSHAL ROXANNE VARGAS
EMMY® Award winner, host of NBC6’s “6 in the Mix,” NBC6 weekend anchor and Pride Parade Emcee, Roxanne Vargas has been an enthusiastic supporter of Pride and of the LGBTQ community for many years. She has been a vocal advocate of the LGBTQ community and continues to spread messages of diversity and inclusion from the platforms provided through her station.
Vargas has more than a decade of extensive on-air news experience including consumer, health and entertainment feature reporting as well as covering local and national breaking news. She also regularly contributes reports in Spanish for NBC6’s sister station Telemundo 51. During her time at NBC6, Vargas has received various distinctions including ten EMMY® nominations. For the last six years, Vargas has served as host of NBC6’s entertainment show ‘6 In The Mix,’ which airs weekdays at 11:30am.
She joined the NBC6 News team in May 2006 and has been part of the NBC6 and Telemundo 51 family since 2003. She was voted “Best TV Host” by the Miami New Times in 2012 and inducted into famed fashion designer Donna Karan’s Women Who Inspire Program in 2014. She has been the recipient of the coveted Pink Flamingo award for “Favorite Media Personality” three times.
A native of Miami, Vargas earned her bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Florida International University.
For its momentous 10-year anniversary, Miami Beach Gay Pride 2018 will feature a week’s worth of events, April 2-8, which include highlights such as a Friday night VIP Gala, Saturday beach party and festival, and Sunday parade and festival.
Miami Beach Gay Pride is an extraordinary week-long event that features a Beach Party and a Festival & Parade with more than 125 LGBT-friendly vendors and businesses, exciting celebrities, musical performances, refreshments, food and a family-friendly play area. Since its inception in 2009, Miami Beach Gay Pride has grown from a neighborhood event to an event on the global stage with A-list celebrities such as Ross Mathews, Bebe Rexha, Mario Lopez, Elvis Duran, Iggy Azalea, Jordin Sparks, Gloria Estefan and Adam Lambert. Attendance has grown as well. An estimated 15,000 spectators turned out for the first Pride parade in 2009; an estimated 135,000 attended the event in 2017. In addition to Parade spectators, last April’s event included more than 70 parade contingencies, 35 floats and 3,000 participants.
Miami Beach Gay Pride is produced with the support of the Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Authority. In addition to Celebrity Cruises as the presenting sponsor, other sponsors include: AIDS Healthcare Foundation, AMBIENTE Magazine & Unity Coalition, American Airlines, Atlantic Broadband, Avita Pharmacy, Azuri, Bank of America, BB&T, BLICK, CAN Community Health, Capital One, Care Resource, Castlebrands, Inc., Creative Male, Crunch Fitness, CVS Pharmacy, Edge Media Network, Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Fiji Water, GayTravel.com, Gender Unlimited USA, Gulfstream Park, Here Media, Hotspots / Mark’s List, iHeartMedia (939 MIA, Y-100, Tu 94), Jackson Health Systems, Jenis, JP Morgan Chase, Lincoln Road Business Improvement District, Inc., Marriott Hotel, MasterCard, MDGLCC, Miami Heat, Miami New Times, Miami-Dade Democratic Party (DNC), NBC 6 / Telemundo, Nexus Radio, OutClique, Perez Art Museum Miami, Perry Ellis/Original Penguin, South Beach Hotels, South Florida Gay News, Sprint, Stella Rosa, SunTrust Bank, TD Bank, Tito’s, SunTrust Bank, Twist, Wet, Wells Fargo and Wire Magazine.
For more information visit www.miamibeachgaypride.com.
To view a video from last year’s festivities, click here.
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