With a charming smile and “can’t miss him” presence, Charles Gassaway would make a great ambassador to the city. I’ve often seen him socializing at various functions around town or wowing the crowd from the karaoke stage. So it makes sense that he would be a member of a group called The Welcoming Committee, whose goal is to create a fun and … well, welcoming atmosphere for LGBT people throughout the city.
PGN: So where does a name like Gassaway come from?
CG: I actually don’t know! I was born in Atlanta and my dad’s American Indian and Egyptian but it doesn’t sound like either of those.
PGN: Tell me about the family.
CG: My dad was in the military — the Air Force — which required a lot of moving around. My sister was born 14 months after me and it was hard traveling with two babies, so my parents split when I was 2. My mother’s name is Valerie and she’s wonderful. We moved to Atlantic City and she kind of ended up playing mom and dad. She’s all about the support. She still lives in the A.C. area but comes to Philly all the time and knows all my friends. In fact, she talks to my best friend on the phone more than she talks to me! [Laughs] It’s a little disconcerting!
PGN: Yeah, I’m always running into friends who tell me they were hanging out with my mother at this event or that.
CG: Luckily, I get my work ethic from my mom and she’s working all the time. So she doesn’t get out much!
PGN: And you have one younger sister?
CG: Yes, and a younger brother. My sister just turned 29 and she has four kids, all boys.
PGN: She’s been busy!
CG: Yes, wait, no! She had twins her first time, so it wasn’t four separate pregnancies. My mom helps out; she lives right down the street from them so it’s convenient. I love my mom, but I could never do that. Once I got out of Jersey I never looked back. Well, except to go to Sand Blast!
PGN: What was it like being a shore baby?
CG: It was actually a lot of fun. I loved it. I’m still in love with the beach and try to get down there as much as I can. I went to Indiana for college and I lost my mind being landlocked with no beach anywhere close. The closest thing was a lake with standing water. [Shudders] I can’t … I left school after a year because I couldn’t take it. I need to be able to get to the ocean.
PGN: What did you study?
CG: I went to a Quaker high school in Bucks County, The George School, and that helped me get a scholarship to Earlham in Indiana. It’s a Quaker college, but I kind of hated it. There were cows walking through campus and I was like, this is not where I want to be. I stuck it out for a year and then, sorry … I have to go back East. I went to Penn State and got a degree in secondary education with a minor in bio.
PGN: Bio?
CG: Yeah, I’ve always been a science- math guy.
PGN: What was a favorite science class?
CG: My favorite was the one that everyone else seemed to hate, organic chemistry. Everyone hates O-chem and I don’t know why. It’s so interesting, I mean it’s basically what the human body is, chemical reactions. It got me interested in the field of medicine. Well, that and the show “ER”! My mom is really into holistic medicine and I studied a lot on my own.
PGN: Jumping back, what was your worst beach day?
CG: I’ve never had a bad beach day. I can’t lie, I’ve never had one. Maybe the most memorable was learning how to swim. My dad basically threw me off the end of the pier. I mean, he jumped in right after me and it worked. I learned how to swim real quickly.
PGN: I know they do that with babies but usually in a pool!
CG: Right? With chlorine, in the shallow end and clear water so you can see where the kid is … No, this was right off the dock.
PGN: You grew up where most people vacation. What’s your best vacation/travel story?
CG: When I was in high school, we had to do a service project in order to graduate. We went to South Africa for three weeks and I learned so much. Most people at that age are so jaded by first-world problems. We don’t get to see the world and real problems. There’s so much that can go wrong in a country without running water or reliable electricity and so many things that we take for granted here. It was an eye-opening experience that really humbled me. I still try to do a lot of charity work and do things to give back as a result of that trip. I went to a prestigious — i.e., expensive — high school, so a lot of people get all, “Oooh, you went to so and so, fancy!” but I was there on an academic and sports scholarship. But if I hadn’t gone to that school and on that trip, I would be a totally different person today.
PGN: What sports did you do?
CG: My freshman year I played football.
PGN: What position?
CG: Safety and tight end.
PGN: Tight end? No comment.
CG: Ha. But it didn’t work out too well. I dislocated my shoulder early on, plus I wasn’t that good. People thought I was because I caught a ball in one of the first games and started running until I crossed the goal line and scored. But I’d done track and field for ages, so the running part was natural — the catching part was just lucky. In track and field, they did the captainship based on what event you did and I was the only one doing hurdles, so I became the captain! Looks good on paper. Eventually I got some other guys to do hurdles too, but they were scared. I have ridiculously long legs and it was scary for me. So I was the four-year captain of my track team, the three-year captain of my swimming team, which I did in the summer, and in the fall I did dance as a sport. I loved the camaraderie of sports, but I loved the feeling of dancing. If you’ve seen me in the clubs, you know.
PGN: What dance did you study?
CG: I studied tap and modern as a kid and in high school, I studied jazz, modern, lyrical and a variety of styles. I actually went back to my school later and taught a master class in hip-hop. My old dance teacher is still there, by the way. It was awesome to be able to give back.
PGN: Tell me about what you’ve been doing lately.
CG: I currently bartend at Continental Midtown, and before that I was the beverage supervisor for the Art Museum through Stephen Starr catering. I did their internal and external events and traveled from Philly to New York to Miami.
PGN: What were some of the best aspects of the job?
CG: At the Art Museum I helped renovate and revamp the Art After 5 program. The bar was really lacking and something had to be done, so we made it happen. Me and a coworker, it was a big job. I’ve decided to go back to school for hospitality management. Temple may let me use my six years in the field to count as my internship, which would be awesome. I was also the fundraising director for Stonewall Kickball. That was a lot of fun too.
PGN: I didn’t know you were such a jock!
CG: [Laughs] I don’t know. I’ve always been athletic and that was the best of both worlds: sports that were a little bit competitive but not overly, and giving back to the community. It was a great opportunity that they afforded me last fall.
PGN: Are you single or hooked up?
CG: I have a boyfriend, Tim. We met on Tinder so we both swiped right. This was in March, about a week after my birthday. We’d been talking for two weeks and he wanted to meet me. It was on a day that we had off from kickball and I didn’t want to meet this guy by myself, so I had him meet me in a public setting with the whole team at drag brunch. The team and I get pretty crazy on Sundays and we drank … a lot. When he walked in he was like, “Who are all these people?” We were all wearing the same shirt, even though it was our day off, so it probably took him aback for a minute. I must say he was handsome! The picture on Tinder didn’t do him justice.
PGN: I’d think it’s usually the opposite. Where you’re like, “And when was this picture taken?”
CG: [Laughs] I know, but he was absolutely gorgeous with a personality to match. I slowly drifted away from my team and spent the whole day talking to him. And my teammates really grilled him because they’re very protective of me. I tend to jump in with two feet and make stupid decisions. I go for long-term relationships and don’t always make good choices when I’m lovestruck. I was engaged once and it didn’t go well, so they wanted to check him out first. So far, so good.
PGN: Early sign you were gay?
CG: When I was 12, I was deceptively tall so people always thought I was older than I was. This kid told me that he was having a party and asked if I wanted to come. I asked my mother and she said OK. At the party, they were all drinking Natty Ice.
PGN: Natty Ice?
CG: Natural Light beer. It’s like five steps down from Miller Lite; it’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted. So several of his friends passed out and he asked me to play a video game, N64, which was the thing back then. When the game was over, he started kissing me and I was like, “Yo! What are you doing?” I knew I liked him and thought he was attractive but I didn’t quite explore those feelings until … uh …
PGN: [Laughs] You had a guy’s tongue in your mouth? That wasn’t an early sign saying “curve ahead,” that was one of those red-dot “You are here!” signs.
CG: I know! After that I was like, “Oh well, at least now I know!” and that was that.
PGN: I meant to ask, what was the fanciest gala you did with Stephen Starr?
CG: We did the reopening of the New York Botanical Garden with 3,500 guests. It was huge! I had to oversee seven bars and it was a mad house, very stressful but also a lot of fun. When it was over, it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done.
PGN: It must have been beautiful.
CG: Goodness. It was so beautiful. So many plants and flowers and decorations all over the place. There was one room representing the seasons all in plants, I still have pictures. And the area where they had the tropical plants smelled incredible — mangoes and pineapples, all the tropical flavors done in flowers melding all together. I can’t even begin to describe the fragrance.
PGN: What was your worst kickball moment?
CG: Ugh, when my team decided to drink before a big game. I wouldn’t have minded so much but it was one of the last games before championships and against a team that everybody hated and I really wanted to beat them. About 60 percent of the team was drunk, even my co-captain! I was so heated. I lost it. I get competitive, but for this team I was overly competitive and really wanted to stick it to the cocky team. And we were good enough to beat them sober, but not drunk. It was horrible.
PGN: So let’s talk about your favorite group.
CG: The Welcoming Committee! I’m in the corps and it’s one of the best organizations I’ve ever been a part of. Hands down. Essentially what we do is make safe options for LGBT people to go to places in and outside the Gayborhood: a place where you can feel welcomed and just have fun. We do a take-over every first Friday, that’s where we go into a normally “straight” place and take it over. It’s called GQB — Guerrilla Queer Bar takeover — and it’s a blast. Our last one was at Franky Bradley’s, where Sisters used to be, and we had a great time. #GQBeyourself. We really try to help people discover their worth, and see more than just the way other people may see them. If you come by yourself, there’s always someone to make you feel welcome, a corps member who will be your insta-friend. We also do concert takeovers and sporting events, vacations, you name it. We’ve recently partnered with Equality PA to do some outreach. It’s a great group to be a part of.
PGN: What’s coming up?
CG: Oh, we have a really cool Paint and Sip night on July 16. For $25 you get a canvas, instructions and drink specials, which should result in some interesting art. Then there’s a “Newbies” night on Aug. 5 and — drum roll, please — we’ve scored discount tickets to go see Ariana Grande on July 29!
PGN: Sweet! OK, random questions. What four people would you want in your band?
CG: Guitar, hands down Jimmy Hendrix. Have to have him. Vocals would be Sam Smith or John Legend. Don’t make me decide between the two, I can’t do it. My voice is pretty similar to both of them so I could do their back-up vocals … while I played the drums, ’cause that’s my thing! Syncopation and rhythm, drums are the backbone to everything. And on keyboards I’d have Jeffrey Beiter; he’s a pianist over at Tavern on Camac and my secret crush!
PGN: Two shows you DVR each week?
CG: Oh, “Mistresses” on ABC, I love that show. And “Falling Skies” on TNT, though it may be on SciFi now.
PGN: You’re in great shape, but what’s your guiltiest indulgence?
CG: I once ate two large pizzas, cheesy bread, Chinese food, Mexican food and Korean food all in one day. I love to eat — all day, every chance I get. Fortunately, I have a high metabolism and work out ’cause I eat way too much.
PGN: Any pets?
CG: I had a puppy, Anastasia, who was born prematurely. I had to bottle feed her and put her in a little enclosure with a heat lamp. It was a lot of work but worth it. She’s awesome, my little princess. My mother has her now because I can’t have her at my current address.
PGN: The thing that I like most about myself is …
CG: Oh I hate that question. I just like being me. People always tell me they’ve never met anyone like me and that feels good. It’s good being me.
For more information on The Welcoming Committee, visit http://thewelcomingcommittee.com/philly/.
To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email [email protected].