Grindr has welcomed Travis Shumake, the first openly gay professional drag racer, as an endorser.
On Aug. 17, the queer dating app confirmed in a post its sponsorship of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRDA) drag racer, Travis Shumake.
The post featured the racer’s statement that reads, “[A]s a gay man in America’s oldest conservative Motorsport, authentic representation matters. At 280 MPH, I’m proud to be turning heads and raising eyebrows with Grindr as a partner.”
“As a gay man in America’s oldest conservative Motorsport, authentic representation matters. At 280 MPH, I’m proud to be turning heads and raising eyebrows with Grindr as a partner”@ShumakeTravis is queering the racetrack as the first openly gay professional drag racer 🏁 pic.twitter.com/c7KzU4p8Pr
— Grindr (@Grindr) August 17, 2022
The announcement confirmed the post of Shumake wearing a “Grindr” race track suit on his Instagram account last August 12.
The gay racer was born into a legendary drag racing family. His father, Tripp Shumake, was a drag-racing legend back in the days. He used to attend races at the Kansas Speedway and accompanied his father to races in the 90s.
Two years ago, he had already planned to debut in the world of ‘somewhat-conservative’ drag racing as the first openly gay racer. Fast forward to this year, he was able to do so as he historically returned to the race track with his rainbow parachute.
He also made history by being the first out gay driver who competed in a national event on the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) racing circuit.
He’s paving the way for a change, making a sport embrace diversity.
Shumake brought the colors of pride not only to the racing field, but also in the world of sports.
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