‘It’s not an orgy’: Man uses Grindr to organise an annual BBQ but insists its just to meet people
Chris Bowman used the gay dating site to send out the open invitiation for all
By Steve Brown
A man used Grindr to invite people to a summer BBQ but specifically said it wasn’t an “orgy”.
Chris Bowman, from North Carolina, used the gay dating site to invite “men, women, gay, bi, str8, trans” people to a BBQ at his home and after the post went viral, it appears everyone had a fantastic time.
The invitation read: “5th annual 4th of July BBQ June 30th from 1 until ?
“Why do 90% of u think this is an orgy? It’s not it’s open to all. Is it because I’m on this app? I try to invite all types of people men, women, gay, bi, str8, trans doesn’t matter to me.”
The 61 year old also reached out to several people with personal messages telling them there will be plenty of food and plus-ones were welcome.
Matthew Setzer received an invite from Bowman and admitted he was reluctant to go at first until he saw it going viral on social media.
He told BuzzFeed News: “You get a lot of spam and odd messages on Grindr, so initially I just glossed over it and didn’t think much of it.
“But everyone was really supportive on Twitter so I though, ‘Hey, I got the message! I might as well go to this thing’.
“Everyone was super sweet, really engaging, and it was actually a really diverse group of people.”
Bowman – who identifies as bisexual – also said the annual BBQ is a way of “giving back”.
He said: “As an alcoholic, I haven’t spoken to or seen my kids since 2004. I haven’t talked to my mother since ’99.
“There’s things that go on in life that you make choices about, and I chose wrongly. I chose the drink.
“I’ve been sober for eight and a half years now, and I just kind of feel the need, instead of being the asshole that I was, to be a softer, kinder, gentler, let’s-get-together kinda guy.
“I’m a people-person, and I enjoy people, so what better way than to have strangers over and invite people and just have fun?
“It probably sounds really weird, but you can get away with it in North Carolina.”