Mahlon Lovell

Mahlon Lovell was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and moved to Arizona when he was about one year old. He was introduced to gay rodeo through his volunteer work with the Joshua Tree Feeding Program and has been a member of the Arizona Gay Rodeo Association since about 2014. Mahlon is a member of IGRA royalty; he fundraises for the IGRA, frequently volunteers at rodeos, and is also an active member of many IGRA-associated charities. Mahlon was Mr. IGRA First Runner Up 2020.

Interview Location: Denver, Colorado

Date: November 22, 2019 | Interviewer: Renae Campbell

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What does it mean to be a cowboy or cowgirl and are you one?

I consider myself somebody that wished they were raised with horses and stuff like that. I don't know if I would be any different had I been raised with it or not. But, no, I don't consider myself a cowpoke, so to speak.

-Mahlon Lovell

What is special about gay rodeo?

[T]he thing that I noticed the most is: in regular rodeos the men do these events, the women do these events. And our rodeos—in the gay rodeo association—it doesn't matter what event we have, men and women can participate in all of our events. And that's something I really like, because we are very inclusive.

-Mahlon Lovell

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