Home / 2002 / From Buried in the Closet to Gay Activist, His Inspirational Story

From Buried in the Closet to Gay Activist, His Inspirational Story

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Matt Rosler in 2002

In November of 2008, after the passage of Proposition 8 in California, one very inspirational (and good looking!) Penn alum decided to become quite the activist and model in all regards…

You may remember Andrew Oldershaw (C’02 Phi Delt, DP) from a story I did on him last year on how he and some other Penn alumni executive produced THESE fantastic “No on Prop 8” viral hits.

Since then, Andrew has helped found (and is the Director for) the Shepard Fairey Equality Project task force for the grassroots marriage equality organization in LA called FAIR.

He and a team of fellow activists commissioned the Defend Equality Love Unites image from Shepard Fairey, who was kind enough to give them over 100 original 24×36 screen prints of the image for fundraising purposes which starts this Thursday for the movement. (fyi, Shepard Fairey was responsible for the Obama HOPE print which became an iconic centerpiece of the President’s visual campaign.)

Per Andrew,

“It truly is the grassroots on-the-street activists that make the difference in these campaigns, and unfortunately these are also the most frequently under-funded groups. It is FAIR’s goal to provide the resources and financial support critical to this effort. We realized we could do something bigger and better than just selling the prints, so we embarked on what became a year long journey of utilizing our personal and professional contacts here in LA to engage celebrities in the marriage equality movement in a way that wasn’t possible before.”

Tomorrow, on November 12, FAIR will debut a select group of celebrity-customized original screen prints during an event taking place at the Andaz West Hollywood and also kicks off the online auction of the prints, which will be available at http://www.CharityBuzz.com for four weeks starting Nov. 9th to Dec. 9th.

Celebrity participants who have signed – and in some cases customized – the original screen prints include Julia Roberts, Robert De Niro, Marc Jacobs, Anne Hathaway, Ellen & Portia, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pine, Jessica Biel, Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Lance Bass, Dave Matthews, Jared Leto, Virginia Madsen and Charlie Sheen among the group of over 100 actors, musicians, political leaders and other notables. Shepard Fairey, who created the original print, DEFEND EQUALITY LOVE UNITES, which has become a symbol in the fight for marriage equality, will attend and serve as DJ for a portion of the evening.

Andrew’s Journey: From Penn to Now …and How He’s Making Up for Lost Time

In addition to being an activist, Andrew’s day job complements his passion. He is a publicist who specializes in LGBT Media and Talent Relations in one of LA’s top PR firms.

And as you can see by the pictures in this post, Andrew is also a print model.

…But more importantly, a model to people struggling to live their lives honestly.

Read Andrew’s honest account of his journey from his days at Penn until now…

Per Andrew,

“I was buried in the closet at Penn. It was my own fault – my own cowardice. I was trying to figure things out, and I let a lot of things get in the way of dealing with it. It wasn’t until I decided to spend a semester studying abroad that I was able to remove myself from the distractions I faced at Penn and really discover myself in ways I had been subconsciously delaying for years.

Shortly after graduation, I moved to LA and began what became a six year journey in the world of entertainment. I was part of the founding team at MTV Networks/Viacom to launch the first ever basic cable LGBT television network Logo, I’ve volunteered with several nonprofit LGBT organizations over the years, lead fundraisers, founded two youth-oriented nonprofit entities, and now I work with out publicist guru Howard Bragman at Fifteen Minutes Public Relations specializing in LGBT Media and Talent Relations.

I guess you could say I’m making up for lost time…but the truth of the matter is, it’s easy to do these things when it matters to you. Equality matters to me. Gay rights matter to me. Providing a vehicle for over 100 celebrities to voice their unwavering support for marriage equality matters to me. Being able to have the same 1000+ rights and privileges that my amazing parents do when I want to commit to my future partner matters to me. Looking back on my life and being able to say I’ve positively contributed to the world around me matters to me. What matters to you? If you don’t know, find out. Do something.”

Get tickets to the Nov 12th event HERE