GayAppeal was born from the idea that there's too much focus on sex and drugs within the gay community. We're not trying to be the anti-Gay.com but we are trying to give people of all sexualities an alternative place to go when they want to escape from the porn sites and stereotypes. We wondered: what are people passionate about other than physical pleasures?

At first, we faced cynicism. One of my best friends at one point laughed in my face and said, "Gay people don't want sophistication. We want sex. We want penis pictures. Nobody will ever visit your site once they realize there's no porn or nude photography. Sex is what appeals to gay people." I won't pretend his words didn't sting. But after the pain faded, there was nothing left but a determination to prove him wrong. After a year of all-night shifts spending time and effort writing, marketing, brainstorming and - above all else - dreaming, John Paul and I managed to pull the site together and found a few talented, passionate souls who shared our vision. How fitting that everything pulled together when it did.

Even if this is our first and only statement, in my opinion, we've succeeded because we've reached out to and perhaps even changed the lives of people around the world.

Thank you for letting us reach out to you. Let us know what you think!