For the past six months, Robert Geller has had a specific goal in mind: to become GayTravel.com’s next Gay Travel Guru. And to attain that title, he needs the help of his local community.
Geller, who once operated a clothing store at the Suncoast Resort and now operates Outings and Adventures in Tampa Bay, has submitted a video to GayTravel.com and to advance to the final round, he needs to collect votes.
“I had to create a three minute video and I went with the concept of ‘my favorite thing,”” said Geller. “There is just so much to do in Tampa Bay and I highlighted just about every single thing I wanted.”
Geller took a swim with the mermaids of Weekie Wachee Springs, visited the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, stopped by a few locations in Ybor City, rode the TECO Streetcars and even danced the Flemenco with performers at the Columbia Restaurant.
Overall the community and local businesses were great to work with,” Geller said. He and his photographer, Jorge Alvarado, spent six days shooting footage for the film, which Alvarado then edited down into the allotted 3-minute post.
“There was a lot of planning, shooting and editing that went into this project,” Geller said. “Now it’s a popularity contest and if I get enough votes, I’ll make it into the top 5 to face the final challenge.”
If the whole set up sounds like a reality show, that’s not an accident. Geller describes the experience as a reality show without the show. Instead, it’s all web-based, and his fight to win the Second Season, so to speak, has been successful, overall.
He’s already contributed one video, impressed the site with his blogging and now hopes to bring an active role to the title of Gay Travel Guru.
“A vacation for me is biking, waterfall repelling, rock climbing or paddle boarding,” Geller said. “Tampa Bay offers so much of that and as Travel Guru, I’d get a chance to do that around the globe.”
The winner of GayTravel.com’s second Travel Guru contest will win $20,000, and the opportunity to travel around the world to blog and experience hot destinations. A person’s on-camera persona is important for the role, as is his or her potential to bring in visitors to the website.
“I see this as a large springboard for me and for Tampa Bay,” said Geller, who features 14 locations in his short video. “Now I need votes to make it happen.”
To vote for Geller and to view all of the contestants’ videos, visit GayTravel.com.
