Chris Rushton
First Runner-Up: 2010 Nightlife Coverboy of the Year
Chris Rushton
(Photo by Jeff Code)
No matter how you ask it, the answer is ”No.” Chris Rushton is not doing porn.
The 19-year-old has received a lot of weird requests from some of the 5,059 subscribers on his YouTube channel to show more flesh.
”Sometimes people are just asking for too much,” he says. ”I’ve had someone off of YouTube ask me if I’ll make a video of me and my armpit hair.”
And while there have been ”scouts” asking Rushton to consider adult entertainment, he can’t be bought.
”I would never do it,” he says. “I have never considered it.”
Instead, Rushton, who hails originally from Chicago, creates videos on a variety of topics: self-improvement, makeup and hair advice and even clips featuring him singing. That’s the online life of Rushton, a presence that began on MySpace just before Rushton dropped out of high school due to what he calls ”gay hate.”
”I was constantly picked on,” he says. ”I was a pretty gay boy and my school just didn’t accept it.” Rushton swapped another year of agony in school for a GED.
When he debuted on the Internet as ChrisJellyBeans, he discovered a sense of acceptance. ”I was like, ‘Oh, I really like this attention and this mental stimulation.”’
Chris Rushton
(Photo by Jeff Code)
The music note tattooed on his inner right arm signifies another passion. Rushton discovered his vocal abilities in the sixth grade, singing along to the Carpenter’s ”Close to You.” Watching the first season of American Idol on TV, Rushton believed he would be a success on the show.
”I just really believed that that could be my life someday,” he says. ”I felt like I had the personality with the voice and the looks.”
Rushton got the the tattoo at the age of 15, after winning second place in his hometown’s American Idol-inspired singing competition.
”I told my mom it would be so small she wouldn’t even know it was there, and then I got carried away when he started drawing it.”
He would go on to audition for American Idol in San Francisco. And while he didn’t win the approval of the producers during that audition, Rushton is not deterred from trying again. But that won’t be anytime soon, as he’s currently finishing a program at Aveda Institutes. He was inspired to go into hair and makeup by his mother, who also worked with hair.
Rushton knew he was gay when he was in the eighth grade. He describes his coming out process as difficult.
”One time we were talking about anal sex,” he says. “And I told [my mom] I wasn’t opposed to it. She threw her hot-cocoa spoon at me.
”Looking back on it, it’s a funny moment now because of where we are at,” he continues. “On the phone talking to her, I don’t have to hold my breath for anything anymore. It’s not always easy talking to your parents, but I definitely don’t have any hesitation when it comes to talking to her.”
Out of all the videos that he has made, Rushton is most proud of sharing his coming-out story.
”It’s got like 150,000 views,” he says. ”I just put it out and talked about where I’ve been, where I am now, what it took to get there, and just gave the most real and authentic and organic story. That was a good video.”
First Runner Up Prize Package
- $250 Cash
- Annie’s — $150 Dinner Certificate ^ Blowoff — Admission (+1) to January 15 Event at the 9:30 Club
- DC Cowboys — $100 Certificate for Dance School Winter Session
- Capital Queer Prom — 1 Ticket to Put on the Gloves Fashion Show
- Cobalt — $50 Bar Tab
- DC’s Different Drummers — 2 Tickets to Spring Concert, April 9 or 10, 2011
- DC Eagle — $25 Bar Tab
- Freddie’s Beach Bar — Saturday Breakfast Buffet for 2
- GALA Hispanic Theatre — 2 Tickets to Mainstage Production in the 2010-2011 Season
- Gay Men’s Chorus — 2 Tier-One Tickets to The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, March 18
- HRC Store — $50 Shopping Spree at DC Store
- JR.’s — $25 Bar Tab
- Landmark Theatres — 2 Weekday Tickets
- Leather Rack — $50 Gift Certificate
- MAL Weekend 2011 — 1 Ticket to Reaction Dance
- Miss Gay DC America 2011 — 2 VIP tickets to Miss Gay DC America 2011
- Miss Pixie’s Furnishings & Whatnot –– $50 Gift Certificate
- Nellie’s Sports Bar — $25 Bar Tab
- Reel Affirmations XX — 1 Film Festival Pass
- Robert Dodge Photography — $99 Basic Portrait Photoshoot
- Shakespeare Theatre Company — 2 Tickets to Any Production for Remainder of 2010-2011 Season
- Signature Theatre — 2 Tickets to Sunset Boulevard, playing through Feb. 13
- SKIN Cosmetic Dermatology of Georgetown — $150 of Professional Skin Care Products
- Strathmore — 1 Star-Level Membership, 1 Pair of Tickets to any “Strathmore Presents” event (restrictions apply), 1 Pair of Tickets to any “Friday Night Eclectic” event
- Studio Theatre — 2 Tickets to Tynan, Jan. 19-Feb. 6
- The Lodge — $25 Bar Tab
- The State Theatre — 4 tickets to Michael Jackson Dance Party, Jan. 8
- Town Danceboutique — $50 Bar Tab
- Washington Shakespeare Company — 1 TheatrePass, Good for 5 tickets to Final 3 Shows of Season
- Ziegfeld’s/Secrets — $50 Cash
Our thanks to all those nightspots, restaurants, businesses and performing arts venues who graciously provided prizes to this year’s Coverboy winners. Certain restrictions apply to some prizes. Prizes are non-transferable.
The 2010 Coverboy of the Year was photographed on location at Donovan House – A Thompson Hotel in Washington, D.C. Visit donovanhousedc.com.
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