Jared Lee: 2nd Runner-Up
2013 Coverboy of the Year
Jared Lee
(Photo by Julian Vankim)
In his previous interview with Metro Weekly, Jared Lee said his life’s philosophy was “Don’t be an asshole.” But that’s not a hard task for the 27-year-old Baltimore resident, who comes across as eminently likable the moment he shakes hands and introduces himself.
Born and raised as in a conservative Baptist family in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region, Jared excelled in sports, particularly soccer — he earned All-State honors his senior year — and went to play for Hampden-Sydney College, a small all-male institution in Farmville, Va. During that time, he was very closeted.
Relating the story of his first gay club experience, Jared says it was both eye-opening and surprising, because he had only ever seen stereotypical glimpses of gay life on TV, only to find himself smack-dab in the middle of a bunch of shirtless gay boys dancing to Robin S.’s “Show Me Love” at the Wave, a gay club in Norfolk, Va.
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