Celebrity and local Entertainers Rally Together to Support Rich’s San Diego

by Alexander Rodriguez

If anything positive has happened because of COVID, it’s the way the LGBT community has found new ways to come together to support each other and celebrate Pride.  A couple of weeks ago, a mysterious campaign hit social media featuring posters with LGBTQ and beyond personalities with the verbiage “I Have A Secret” with an accompanying, non-descript Facebook page “Secret XPosted” telling us to stay tuned.

All secrets were revealed this last week as celebrity and local entertainment personalities rallied together to honor Rich’s San Diego and its general manager become new owner, Ryan Bedrosian who, unfortunately, took the reigns over the Hillcrest long time establishment just in time for COVID to hit. 

Initiated by SoCal club favorite DJ Taj, the live stream of filmed performances were led by celebrity DJs Dave Aude, Robbie Rivera, Luciana, and Bright Lights accompanied by Dirty Kurty, Will Z, MRxHEK, Kidd Madonny, Ryan Skyy, Taj, Michael Paul, K-Swift, Kinky Loops, Kiki, John Joseph, Ivan Mariscal, MYXZLPLIX, Jinx Mirage, Ramiro V, and Nikno.  Also doing their part were members of the drag and go-go community, featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race current All Star personality Mayhem Miller with Kickxy Vixen-Styles, Allusia Allusia, Strawberry Corncakes, Bebe Gunn, Erica Foxx, and Crystal Bullet, go-gos Cristian Kirkland, Tiffany Depfer, Joe Santos, Felicia Lopez, Jabriel Stephon Jordan, Michael Atanante, Marvin Ranma Saotome Garcia, Stephen Land Jr., and CA$H, and even a pop up visit from the donation fairy, provided by podcaster Alexander Rodriguez. 

Rich’s San Diego has been a part of the Hillcrest community since 1991.  Rich’s has a reputation of setting the bar high for local residents and nationwide tourists with high production values, specially themed nights, and celebrity guest performers.  Its yearly Pride party alone is a contender for one of the most popular events in the nation.  Rich’s is currently still closed, even as other gay clubs in San Diego are reopening. 

We chatted with DJ Taj about the special online event, currently streaming at  OutAt.TV/XPosed.

How did you come up with the idea?

I and a few other DJs were talking about the impossible situation Ryan was thrown into, being that he JUST took over ownership of the club a few months before the shutdown. He’s always doing things for others in the community, so we wanted to do something for him to make sure he felt supported too during these crazy times! We started brainstorming ideas and I came up with the collaborative DJ livestream set idea after I watched a short video a bunch of local drag-queens made.  The collaborative aspect of that video is what really planted the seed in my head for the project!

What is your history with Rich’s?

I’ve DJed there for the last 12 years or so. Ryan was the GM that brought me into the family. and I will always be so appreciative of him for that! But even before I started working there, Rich’s has always been THE club that I frequented the most as a customer! Even before I started working there, I’ve always had close relationships with some of the staff, so I’ve always felt like I was an extension of their family unit.

How is Rich’s an important part of San Diego’s LGBT culture?

Well besides being the longest-running & sole surviving premiere LGBTQ dance club in Hillcrest, Rich’s is an important part of our culture because it provides a safe space for so many people in our community to express ourselves as our authentic selves, without the fear of judgement that we might be prone to experience in everyday society. Besides being a sanctuary of sorts, Rich’s is also important to our community because it hosts many community events for several LGBTQ groups, charities & causes! Ryan has always been incredibly open and accessible to lending the space out for a greater purpose!

What’s the craziest memory you have from a night at Rich’s?

OMG, so many!! But one of my favorite events at Rich’s is the ‘WTF?!’ party where anything goes, and you can expect the unexpected! We’ve seen everything at those parties from a jacuzzi on the dancefloor to Sweet Brown (“Ain’t nobody got time for that” viral sensation) hosting and gyrating with the go-go boys, to a string quartet playing live with the EDM DJ.   Those parties have seen some of MY craziest moments at that club… I just don’t know if they’re PG enough to discuss in this interview!

What does Pride mean to you this year?

This year, Pride is more about inclusiveness than ever before! With everything that’s going on in the world right now, I think we need to celebrate Pride 2020 by highlighting and uplifting the diversity of our community. The trans community has been under attack the last few years by the current administration so we need to show up & fight for them! The Hispanic community has been under attack since the beginning of this administration, so we need to do the same for them. And the black community has been under attack since…well, since the birth of this country and is at a crucial crossroads right now with the rise of white supremacy and all the police brutality/systemic racism we’re seeing in clear sight! We really need to show up and fight for that part of our community! Pride celebrations can be full of fun & partying but in times like these we can’t forget why we celebrate Pride in the first place… to commemorate the Stonewall riots! Pride’s origin was rooted in political activism to fight systemic oppression so this year, more than ever, it’s important for me to stand in solidarity with groups within our community that are still fighting for equality!

You can follow Rich’s on Facebook and Instagram: @Rich’s San Diego

Follow DJ Taj on Facebook: DJ Taj and Instagram: @DjTajSD

http://OutAt.Tv/Xposed