Albert Sanchez
Innovators
Trixie Mattel
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Trixie Mattel is renowned for drag, but she was also voted Out100’s Readers’ Choice in the Business category. As a queer entrepreneur, Mattel has run a beauty empire, Trixie Cosmetics, for five years. She became co-owner of Wisconsin’s oldest gay bar, This Is It!, amid lockdown closures. She also launched the Trixie Motel in Palm Springs, Calif., which led to HGTV/Max’s Trixie Motel renovation show.
“I think of Trixie as a critique on Americanized beauty and capitalism, but also a rags-to-riches story — or burlap to sequins,” she says. “The largest obstacle I’ve faced is learning that work matters, but not as much as relationships. Call your mom, kiss your boyfriend, and buy your parakeet some extra millet.”
Even during Mattel’s widely-reported 2024 hiatus, her multimedia empire released new episodes of The Bald and the Beautiful podcast, installments of Netflix’s I Like to Watch web series, and content for her YouTube channel, an ever-growing platform that she calls her “proudest” accomplishment. Oh, and Mattel became the first-ever RuPaul’s Drag Race alum to reach 4 million followers on Instagram…while on a break! @trixiemattel
Bernardo Sim
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
inKind
Daniel ReynoldsDaniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Johann Moonesinghe
Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
inKind
Johann Moonesinghe is the CEO and founder of inKind, an ingenious app that rewards diners with credit for supporting their favorite restaurants (inKind gives businesses funding in exchange for food and beverage credits for users).
The app has marked a milestone year, exceeding 1 million users — 1.4 million at the time of this reporting. Moonesinghe, a foodie, personally owns and operates restaurants in order to improve his business model. One establishment, the Guest House, is currently the top-rated restaurant in the company’s base city of Austin. The entrepreneur and angel investor (Uber, Allbirds) grew up in a working-class family with parents who emigrated from Sri Lanka. Today, he is a successful, proudly gay man with a loving husband. But he knows the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in the U.S. and abroad is far from over.
“We’ve come a long way, but we’re still far from the finish line. I encourage our community and our allies not to take anything for granted, but also to recognize and celebrate the progress being made every day — whether big or small.” @johannmoon