Organizing Team

Bear Carnival started as a dream—an idea by David Lobo to create something different from the usual bear events. Instead of centering around nightlife and partying, he envisioned an event where fun and friendship took center stage, with a wide range of daytime activities and smaller gatherings designed to build community rather than just make money.

Back in March 2014, David—whose background was in business and marketing—was working as an LGBT travel blogger and community manager for the Canarian Government. He saw an opportunity to extend Gran Canaria’s carnival season with a bear week unlike any other. To bring this vision to life, he approached a key player in Maspalomas’ LGBT business scene: Phil Brocklehurst, whose company, Igon Canaries, was already successfully running Maspalomas Fetish Week (now Fetish Pride). Phil and his team immediately saw the potential in David’s idea and joined forces with him. Together, they laid the foundation for what would become Bear Carnival.

After a year of planning, networking, and gathering support from bear clubs and businesses across Europe, the first edition of Bear Carnival launched in March 2015. The team was just three people: David, Héctor and Ryan from Igon Canaries, but the excitement was huge. The welcome party alone saw 80 bears from around the world—a modest number by today’s standards, but a thrilling start! (For context, nowadays, the smallest equivalent party attracts at least 400 attendees.)

As the event grew, so did the team. The real expansion happened when Patrick and Brian joined the project a few years later. Their involvement was a game-changer, as it allowed David to step back from production and partnership management and focus on marketing, public relations, and tech—essentially making the event more sustainable and professionally organized.