In Conversation with Haris Eloy
"He competed for Sweden in Amsterdam. He came home with an award. Now he's running the show."
Before the Crown
To understand why any of this matters, you need to know where Eloy started.
Being queer in North Macedonia means hiding. Not as a phase, not temporarily, but structurally, because the alternative carries real consequences. Hate crimes happen and go unpunished. Coming out can mean losing your family, your job, your safety. Pride exists in the face of active resistance. The stigma isn't social discomfort. It's embedded in institutions that are supposed to protect people and don't. Things are slowly changing, carried forward by activists doing brave and exhausting work on the ground. But for Eloy, waiting for that change wasn't an option. He left in order to live.
Sweden gave him room. Not just to breathe, but to turn everything he had survived into something useful.
For the past ten years he has worked at RFSL Ungdom, the Swedish youth federation for LGBTQI rights, across a range of projects both national and international. The scope shifted depending on the work. The core never did. Build what was missing. Support where it was needed. Listen when that was what the moment called for. Act when waiting would cost someone something.
The projects changed. The instinct didn't. And that instinct, shaped by a childhood spent in a country that had no space for who he was, became the foundation for everything that followed.
The work
At RFSL Ungdom, the Swedish Youth Federation for LGBTQI rights, I spent years alongside young LGBTQI refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented people through Newcomers Youth. Community building, legal navigation, storytelling and the quiet but powerful act of showing young people they are not alone. Later, through the Not Alone in Europe program, I helped connect organisations across seven countries. That work confirmed what I already suspected. These struggles are global. The solutions have to be local.
Today I work as Partnerships Manager at RFSL Ungdom, bringing together organisations, movements and companies that want to do better for LGBTQI youth. I have also spent years creating outside my job. Books, guides, digital campaigns, creative projects. Storytelling used as a tool to shift how queer youth are seen and supported.
None of it came from waiting to be given the space to do it.
Amsterdam
In 2025, I represented Sweden at Mr. Gay Europe in Amsterdam. The competition sits at the intersection of pageant and advocacy. That combination is not a compromise. It is a position. Visibility with purpose. Performance with something to say.
The program was full. Stage performances, public appearances, challenges, events across the city. We met hundreds of people. The other contestants were fierce competitors and, more importantly, good people. I made friends there. Real ones. The kind you keep.
The team behind Mr. Gay Europe 2025 worked hard to make sure every one of us had the chance to shine. My stylist, Peter Englund, dressed me for the stage and for everything off it. There were outfits I will not forget.
I did not expect my name to be called for the Photogenic Award. But there I was, receiving it directly from Vanessa, Drag Race royalty, in front of a room full of people who had no idea I was holding my breath. All I remember is that I was happy.
Running the show
Competing for Sweden at Mr. Gay Europe, then signing the papers a year later to become Executive Producer of Mr. Gay Sweden. Those two things sit next to each other in my life and I still feel the weight of it. Big shoes to fill. And still, I know it was the right decision. I want to thank Navid K. for the trust he placed in me. I do not take it lightly.
The political climate has shifted. A lot has changed, and one thing affects another. The spark is there, the commitment is there, but I am clear-eyed about the responsibility. This year's edition is being built with care, with intention and with the community at the center of every decision. I hope people see the work. I hope they reward us with their love and support.
For the new misters stepping into this, I am here to mentor and guide. You will represent Sweden at home and beyond. The community deserves a real show. That is what we are building.
Outside this, I am preparing to launch the Mr. Gay News platform. A space for everything Mr. Gay worldwide, designed to bring the community closer, inside the Mr. Gay family and across the broader LGBTQI world. The launch is coming soon.
What I want to leave you with
If my story teaches you anything, I hope it teaches you this.
You can come from places where hope feels distant and still grow into someone who carries hope for others. You can rise from fear, displacement or silence and still build a life rooted in dignity, purpose and care. When we refuse to let borders, systems or expectations shrink us, we make room for a world where every LGBTQI youth can live with pride, safety and the freedom to imagine their own future.
Systems do not transform because we wait for the right moment or for someone else to take the lead. They change when we decide to act, even in small ways. Show up when you can. Speak up when you're able. Choose kindness in the moments when it feels easiest to turn away.
We all have the power to make life safer for someone else. Start there.