It shouldn’t be surprising that Stuart Fallaize-Cunningham, Mr. Bear Manchester and Mr. Bear UK, has a degree in drama, “typical gay style.” It’s his comfort with being on stage and being the centre of attention that helped him win his titles.
“I’m not shy, put it that way,” says Fallaize-Cunningham, whose day job is IT in the healthcare industry.
Since taking the sash, he’s participated in many Pride parades and represented the United Kingdom at bear parties all over the world. With the 2024 Mr. Bear UK finals coming up in December (location of final event TBA), Wander+Lust decided to find out where Fallaize-Cunningham, his husband and his sash went in 2024.
You’re approaching the end of your year-long reign. What has it been like?
It’s been really fun. It’s opened a few doors, especially with regards to travel, when I’ve reached out to the organizers of some events. Apart from marching in Pride parades, which is always fun, the thing that stands out most is when I went to Beef Dip (January 26 to February 2, 2025) in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I had to stand on stage and auction off my trunks to raise money for local LGBTQ+ charities. They wouldn’t let us take them off on stage, but let’s just say that the winner of the trunks got his money’s worth.
What are some of your duties as Mr. Bear UK?
I’m basically promoting the brand on social media, walking in parades. There are no official responsibilities. I’m very approachable. Mental health is a key issue for me, so if anyone has issues, I’m a friendly guy to talk to. Mainly, I’m an ambassador.
What are the assets that won you the title?
Confidence is the main one. Don’t take yourself too seriously, that’s another one. And plenty of outfits to get you through the rounds of the competition. I’m a bit of an exhibitionist, I guess you’d say. I came into myself pretty late in life, so I’m making up for lost time. The younger me was more reserved and often felt out of place. Older me likes showing off in skimpy outfits, leather and stuff. Younger me would keep his top on; older me never puts it on.
You’re based in Stoke-on-Trent, which is not too far from Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield and even Liverpool. So you have a lot of choices for a night out.
It’s very easy to get about. I actually grew up just outside of Birmingham, then I came here for university, then I lived in Manchester for a bit—because everybody who’s gay in England has their Manchester years. I moved back to Stoke because it’s cheap and I was able to save money to travel. I’m probably in Manchester more than Stoke, just through visiting friends, so that’s lucky.
What’s your favourite place in the United Kingdom to visit for the scene?
Liverpool is beautiful. Birmingham’s got a bad reputation, but it has a lot of nice places. London I can only stand for a couple of days before I’m fed up. Everybody up north is polite, but as soon as you get to London, you hold doors open for people and nobody says thank you.
Manchester, definitely, has the best gay scene because it’s all on one street, Canal Street, plus a couple of blocks behind it. It’s all very close together. You’ve got a lot of places for younger guys, but I like REM Bar (33 Sackville St., Manchester), which is short for the Rembrant. It’s a bit beary. The music is not too loud, which makes it a good place to start drinking, chat, then carry on to heavier places with dancing and music. There’s also Eagle Manchester (15 Bloom St., Manchester). You can have a little play in there, which is always nice. It stays open late and it tends to be my crowd of people: bears and older guys. The music is good, no inhibitions.
Setting aside the scene, what’s your favourite place in the U.K.?
Brighton. Not so much for the going out. It’s the daytime cool of the place. Hipster, chill, modern. It’s like San Francisco—everyone’s queer or might as well be. I could imagine retiring there if I was rich, because it’s pretty expensive. There’s an area called The Lanes, close to the Royal Pavilion & Garden, with windy alleyways with loads of cool stores and stuff.
What one place in the world has the friendliest bears?
Last summer I went to Lazy Bear (July 28 to August 4, 2025), which was just amazing. It’s in Guerneville, California, about two hours north of San Francisco. The vibe is very chill, very friendly. Not so much partying, not so much a circuit party, just chill daytime fun. You have a night party that doesn’t go too late. Lazy Bear is an apt name. Of course, you can’t go wrong with the Great British Bear Bash in Manchester (May 1 to 5, 2025).
What’s your favourite bear bar, or bear-friendly bar in the world?
I am going to try not to say Manchester again. Woof Berlin (Fuggerstraße 37, Berlin) is very good. It’s a nice bar to start the evening at, for a drink and a chat. The staff are amazing, they make you really feel welcome, like you’re one of their guests. It feels like a small community bar where everyone is welcome. There are cruising areas if you want them, but it’s a breath of fresh air compared to other, more intense bars in Berlin—which I’m for as well, don’t get me wrong. But it’s a good one to, you know, get your courage up before you go to a slightly darker bar.
You’ve been to bear festivals in Torremolinos and Puerto Vallarta in the past year. Let’s put them up against each other, a battle of the bear beaches.
Puerto Vallarta, for me, coming from the U.K., is more exotic. I liked it a lot, not necessarily for the party of it, but for the Mexico of it all. The culture, the food. For Beef Dip, I had trouble trying to figure out which tickets or passes to buy, because you have to buy these passes for this and those passes for that and then a separate one for the club. The beach was lovely, though, I will say that. Whereas Torremolinos is up and coming, you feel like you’re getting in on the ground floor as a bear destination. It’s quite cheap for starters. It has a complex of gay bars, around Plaza de la Nogalera, and the beach isn’t far from the complex. So if you position yourself right, you’ve got the gay bars and parties on the beach, but you’re also close to all the gay bars in the plaza. Location wise it’s the one to beat. There are the Mad.Bear parties out of Madrid, and they’ve started doing a big one in Torremolinos in the summertime. It’s getting to be better known, like Gran Canaria. So I’m going to say Torremolinos wins.
Next round, for the championship, Torremolinos versus Sitges.
Sitges is busier, for sure. I’ve been to their Bear Sitges Week (September 2025) eight times. Sitges has changed quite a bit since I’ve been going. After the lockdown era, it felt like the locals weren’t loving us as much. They had their town to themselves for a bit, and now it’s become busy again. There’s been a bit of a kickback against tourism in that part of Spain recently.
But in Sitges you get to meet a whole host of people from around the world: Canadians, Americans, Australians. Last year I met so many Australians, I kept saying, “Was there a deal on Qantas flights?” The town is small. There’s this square, Plaça de la Indústria, which we call Judgment Square, and there are four bars on the square with chairs all facing the middle of the square, which is where you make your entrance. It’s kinda like a catwalk. Then there’s an alleyway, Carrer de Joan Tarrida, known as Bear Alley, which has about 10 bars, five on either side. It should be about a three-minute walk down the alley, but it gets so packed it often takes you 25 minutes to slowly make your way down it. It’s really good for a sense of community. A lot of my friends go, so I’ll know 30 people there before I start making new friends.
So Sitges is very well developed, but I’m going to say Torremolinos’ Mad.Bear Week wins because it’s newer to me. Sitges has been getting expensive, too—people like a bargain.
When I was googling you, I saw you had some film acting credits.
I love acting. It’s part of my life, but it’s nothing professional. The film I did has a few views. Weirdly, people in China liked it, maybe because they couldn’t tell how bad the acting was.
What do you always pack for a trip?
Jocks. At least one per day, one of every colour so I have choices. More importantly, a Speedo. I’m proper into Speedos—the more flash, the more extravagant the better. My friend bought me a pair of budgie smugglers that have my Instagram handle on the back with a little cartoon graphic of me. Plaster my own name on my butt—why not?
What travel tips and tricks do you live by?
Marry my husband is the best tip, because he’ll find you the best deals and have at least seven activities per day planned. He’s hyper organized whereas I’m not. He’ll find where the locals eat.
But I’d say learn a little bit of the language before you go. If not, Google Translate is your friend. It’s changed everything.
Your reign ends soon. Will you be sad about giving up the sash?
Being Mr. Bear UK is, like, 90 percent of my personality right now, so I’m going to have to find something else. [Laughs.] It’ll be sad—I’ve enjoyed it—but it’s time for someone else, and I get to judge and pass it on. It will be nice to be able to travel and not think about it anymore, because sometimes I do get self-conscious about the sash. Some winners love the sash, sash queens or whatever, and they’ll wear it through the seven days of their holiday. But sometimes it can have the opposite effect—people saying, “Somebody clearly loves himself wearing that sash all the time.” It’s a double-edged sword.
Have you had to be less naughty because you need to be proper? Or more naughty because that’s what people expect from a Mr. Bear?
I’ve always been quite naughty and it hasn’t stopped me from doing anything.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
