Tale as old as time …
Two people bump into each other at a friend’s drag show and don’t talk to each other because they are intoxicated … then magically find each other on social media and immediately begin dating. Classic.
In the beginning …
Ethan’s Story
Ethan was born in Ohio, where most of his relatives still reside. He moved out west to Wyoming, just outside Cheyenne with his parents for a number of years while growing up. In the big sky country he enjoyed learning about the great outdoors. This is also where he found his love of horses, spending many days at stables. When his family moved back to Ohio, the introvert that he is, he began playing online video games. He was so good that he was the number two ranked Holy Paladin in the game “World of Warcraft” - which is an online game you play with people from all over the world. He was so good he earned sponsorships and touch of prize money. It was an extremely sad day when he decided to lay down the controller and focus on his school studies. Sadly, this was just before the dawn of “Twitch” and other live streaming services that allow watchers to support online players and ultimately has created entire careers for professional gamers. He might have had a very different life as a Gamer Celebrity.
He was an excellent student in high school and got his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree at Bowling Green State University. Both degrees were in business and finance, and after getting his Master’s Degree he immediately began teach at BGSU. Ethan is still an educator and teaches at multiple colleges and universities, and is currently getting his Doctorate at the University of Southern California in Leadership and Diversity in Higher Education. While in school (the first time) he had varied other interests including sculptural art - he once created an igloo with a friend out of styrofoam for an art class, as well as band - where he played multiple instruments including the trumpet, theatre - he was in a number of musical productions including playing Antony in Sweeney Todd, and most especially travel - he studied abroad for multiple semesters in Hong Kong, France, and Japan. You know he speaks Japanese right? It was during one of these study abroad semesters when Ethan discovered the therapeutic benefits of regularly using the gym. Everyone has benefited from that love affair.
Ethan has continued to travel, visiting friends in Curaçao, and taking trips around the country, to Asia, to France, and to Canada and even went on a spontaneous trip to Europe to join Reid and some friends after only 4 months of dating (more on that on the registry page). His knack for travel, love of culinary adventure, and ability to sit in a seat and play a single video game quietly for the entirety of a long haul flight, has given him an appreciation of the world, the importance of family, and an appreciation for the differences - and ultimately the similarities - between all humans and cultures that make us beautiful.
It was while living in New York, after college, with his Aunt Angie - the lone other relative not living in Ohio - that he started to really get the itch for performing. So, after a short return to Ohio, he packed up his bags and moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at it. It was in this moment that Ethan got a job at a bar in West Hollywood, and thus “Shot Ethan” was born.
Undoubtedly, if you have ever been out for a night on the town with Ethan, you have met “Shot Ethan”. If not, be prepared to do so at the wedding! He’s fun! Sometimes too much fun, but hey, it’s the legendary stories about your own behavior - that you barely remember yourself - that create the magic and mystery of a person right? As many of his chosen family members - from his kickball teams to Burning Man campmates - will tell you; it is a magical thing when he pulls you aside at the party to do a shot, and in the midst of pouring tells you all of the myriad beautiful and admirable qualities about yourself that others may have overlooked, that he sees in you, that you might have been needing a little confidence boost about, and which make you the incredible being that you are, only to release you back into the party like a proud lion strutting confidently across the Sahara. A truly magical thing I tell you.
Though he ultimately decided that the more rewarding path forward was teaching, we are forever grateful that the itch brought him west where he was embraced by so many friends, who have now become chosen family, and ultimately where he found Reid, who was waiting not-so-patiently for this prince charming to walk into their life.
Reid’s Story
Reid’s story begins in Beeville, Texas where his family was living when he was born. After receiving the quintessential small town upbringing, complete with soccer teams, t-ball, and trick-or-treating around the block, Reid’s family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, when he was 8. Giving him just enough time to settle in there before his formative Junior High and High School years. In school Reid was an athlete, playing on many sports teams including Tennis, Football, and Track & Field, but always leaned towards performing. He was a Texas All-State Choir Member and an ACDA National Honor Choir member as well as the lead in a number of Theatre productions, winning awards at multiple theatre competitions.
At 18 he spread his wings and went, with the blessing of his parents, to UCLA to join their Opera Performance Program - where only 4 people were admitted for the entire cohort. While at UCLA he found success as a performer and was quickly asked to be the first bridge student linking the Ray Bolger Musical Theatre program in the school of Theatre, Film, & Television, and the Herb Alpert School of Music, double majoring in Opera and Theatre. While, ultimately, the bridge program did not work, Reid did graduate with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre with a Minor in Opera Performance. While in high school Reid was also picked by a local Texas modeling agency and once in college signed on with Icon Model Mgmt and then Ford Models. While at UCLA Reid took a number of modeling jobs for catalogues, runway shows, magazines and ultimately found himself cast in the MTV series “Undressed”.
After graduating from UCLA he went on to perform around the country in shows like Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, CATS, Cabaret, Hello! Dolly, and many others. Ultimately Reid decided that he needed to be in New York City to pursue his career and so made the giant leap from one coast to another to help his dreams come to life. In an incredible turn of fate, Reid booked his very first audition in NYC and began an off-broadway production almost immediately - it was total garbage and one of the worst shows he’s ever done, but hey he was doing it! After getting a taste for the actor’s life in New York - which was mostly auditioning in the city and then leaving for productions of shows elsewhere, he decided that LA was the place he was meant to be and packed his bags yet again to move back to the golden coast. It was then that Reid would study with renowned Maestro Di Canto - Edward Sayegh, and truly learn to master his technique.
It was during this era in LA that Reid began to find his path; he studied his craft, found friends that became chosen family, performed on stages all across the world, took touring jobs through Europe and ultimately decided he wanted to settle down. When his Father, Randy, passed away in 2013 he decided to put down his roots, record an album, and start building his forever life. Luckily the album found success. It placed it in the iTunes top 100, was played in over 47 countries, has songs licensed for commercials, and most notably one of his songs was used in all the marketing materials and finale episode of the Netflix series “Eastsiders”. Though Reid loved (and still loves) performing, it was not the most stable of professions and when you’re trying to put down roots, stability is helpful. It was as his recorded music began to take off that Reid transitioned into non-profit work. Starting with a non-profit that specialized in youth education in conflict resolution and ultimately landing where his now as the Vice President of Operations at an environmental non-profit. Whether performing or advocating for causes important to him, it is ultimately passion that drives Reid forward.
It was his passion for supporting his friends that brought him to a drag show on that fateful night that a 6’2”, dark haired, hazel eyed, handsome bo-hunk of a man bumped into him and smiled. The rest was history.
How it happened
Ethan popped the question on Lover’s Bridge, over the Seine, in Paris, France in November 2022. Reid, thankfully, was blissfully unaware that it was going to happen, though Ethan was a nervous wreck. It had been raining on and off for a few days making it difficult to coordinate a time to visit the iconic location. To be fair, Reid was also a nervous wreck, because they had taken Donna, Reid’s Mother, for her first ever trip to Paris and he was beside himself trying to coordinate the entire trip and all the corresponding details to make it her best trip ever. The long and short of it is that after a beautiful day with a tour of the Paris Opera House, a visit to the Rodín Museum, and capped off by High Tea at the Ritz Carlton, Donna gave an Oscar winning performance about wanting to visit Lover’s Bridge.
Ethan, you see, had planned ahead. Lover’s Bridge is a landmark famous for lovers taking locks and locking them to the bridge as a symbol of their love. He had explained as much before the trip and told Reid and Donna that he had purchased a lock with Donna & Randy’s anniversary on it, as a way to make sure Randy, whom passed away in 2013, would be with us on the trip. After locking her lock and walking away because she was “tearing up” Reid and Ethan locked their own lock to the bridge and turned around to have Donna take their photo. It was in this moment that Ethan proposed - much to Reid’s surprise. Literally, Reid’s entire soul left his body for a few moments, but when he came back to himself he knew the only answer to whatever Ethan had said while he was down on one knee was “yes!”
With a small “woo!” from the couple on the bench about 10 feet away, and many tears had by Reid and Donna alike, they walked off the bridge and into a riverside cafe to order Champagne, take in the moment, and facetime Ruth - Ethan’s Mother - immediately. Where she also began crying immediately. Classic.
