Finalist 2011 – Rudy Cupido
Name Rudy Cupido
City / Town Evander
Province Mpumalanga
Age 25
Career I am currently a Project Information Manager(IT), completed Computer Science Engineering Diploma and International Advanced Diploma(Business), I would like to redirect my career path as my creativity is stronger than my technicality, looking to start my own furniture label.  
Previous Competitions No, but hopefully something in this competition!
Why do you want to be Mr. Gay South Africa™ 2011? When it comes to morals, I have always had an elevated sense of right and wrong. At the age of 22, I reached a point in my life where I realised that living in secret is not who I am. Since then I have grown as an individual, facing many challenges, which have made me who I am today. We live in harsh times, and falling into the unaccepted class in life is daunting, however, we seldom realise that being unaccepted, is often the norm. Following Mr Gay in the past, I have always been impressed with the perception it tries to emulate: that we, the Gay community are normal every day individuals. Being gay is part of our lives, but it is not our entire life. We as a community have a great opportunity, to stand out from the rest of society, as people who care for each other, and the well-being of our community. Having said this, we do still have a ways to go, to ensure that our community is supportive of our differences, understanding towards those who do not share our ideals, and proud of who we are. Being a part of Mr. Gay SA, is a great opportunity for me as an individual to become an integral part in achieving a community which is united, proud and respected.
Which public gay figure, South African or otherwise, do you see as a role model and why? Inspiration to me, has always come in many forms. For me, it is not set in stone, yet something that I can relate to. Dan Savage, being the person that he is, is someone that I can look up to… Family is very important to me, it has taught me to stand up for what I believe in. Standing up for what you believe in, can often jeopardize the ones you love most. Taking that into account, and planning for the outcome can help mitigate any negative influence on your family, which is something Dan does Brilliantly. The youth of today, are the building blocks for the community of tomorrow. To ensure that we build a strong community for tomorrow, we need to invest in the youth of today. As a Community, which faces many challenges, and is often ridiculed by society at large, our youth are especially susceptible to depression. In an attempt to combat this, Dan has founded the “It Gets Better” campaign. Dan is a confident, outspoken advocate for the rights of Gays. He has fought for the right to marry, and was quick to defend the rights of gays everywhere, when it comes to the sanctity of the bedroom. And while he may appear to be rather single minded in his approach, he has shown a willingness to understand others and accept his mistakes. It is not beyond him to even change his mind, when presented with an alternative. While Dan himself, would point out his flaws, it is this selflessness, and determination that I can relate to.
Chosen charity to support Health 4 Men
Web site / Blog http://facebook.com/rudy.cupido
SMS Code SMS GSA 3 to 34008.Each SMS costs R2 – maximum of 100 SMS per Phone Number per day. E.g. SMS “GSA 3” to 34008.