COMMUNITY
CONNECTION
A NEW WAY FOR GAY MEN TO CONNECT
SOBER DISCO
CONNECTION WORKSHOPS
CONSCIOUS DATING
Join One of Our Events
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Pleasure Medicine
Community, Connection & Sober Daytime Disco
A fun and playful Saturday afternoon gathering for GBTQ+ men to meet, connect and dance to fabulous music in East London.
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Slow Dating+
Get off the apps and into real life!
A brand new dating event to meet men in an exciting, new and different way
WHAT IS
PLEASURE MEDICINE?
Pleasure Medicine is London’s warmest, kindest, most fun community for gay men; a regular Saturday afternoon gathering to make friends, meet new men, sober dance and true queer joy!
We start with fun, playful guided connection games that help you meet the other men in the room and get past that initial awkwardness. Then the DJ s starts spinning and we dance to fabulous funk, sexy soul, delicious disco, hot house and tribal treats.
Imagine walking into a room full of gay men and feeling like you can actually relax and be yourself. Nobody is trying to be the hottest, coolest or most confident gay there.
You can just be shy, or flamboyant, awkward. You can explore your fem and masc, your non-binary. You can be quiet and introvert, extrovert and expressive… all of it and everything in between! You can simply turn up as yourself…
I know a room full of gay men doesn't always sound like the most relaxing prospect! LOL! I get it baby. It’s why I created Pleasure Medicine
Most of us have experienced spaces where we're sizing each other up, wondering who fancies who, comparing ourselves or questioning whether we fit in. This is different.
There's warmth and kindness and laughter! Fabulous music. Men of different ages, bodies, cultures and backgrounds meeting each other in a more human way.
Friendship, freedom, belonging and a bloody good time… ❤️
What the guys say…
The Pleasure Mission
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Kindness
The heart of Pleasure Medicine is kindness, care and respect for all. No matter your age, body type or background you will feel that you belong here.
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Community
Pleasure Medicine is a real community. Gay men who care for each other, look out for each other and encourage one another to flourish and thrive.
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Belonging
Gone are the days where you try your best to fit in — not feeling good enough, feeling too much, trying to match up. At Pleasure Medicine you show up as you are, however that is, and you belong.
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Self Expression
Masculine, feminine, neither, introvert, extrovert, confident, nervous, awkward fabulous, vulnerable, cunty — it’s all welcome here. Be yourself.
WHO
IS IT FOR?
Pleasure Medicine is for GBTQ+ men who want to meet and connect with other men in a different way.
All ages, bodies, backgrounds and personalities are welcome. It's for you if you:
Feel disconnected from the usual gay scene and you're tired of apps, swiping and ghosting.
Want to make new friends and experience real gay community in London.
Sometimes feel “I'm too much”, “I'm not enough” or wonder where you fit in among other gay men.
Want a space where you can relax, be yourself and meet other men without everything being about sex.
Love dancing, fabulous music and the idea of spending a Saturday afternoon surrounded by a lovely gaggle of gays.
So, what actually happens?
Connection
We begin with an opening circle, followed by fun, playful connection games, conversations and gentle movement so you actually get to meet the other men in the room.
I guide you through everything, get you laughing and help those initial nerves fall away. No awkward mingling. No standing around wondering who to talk to. And no earnest, waffly spiritual language nobody understands!
Everything is explained, everything is guided and everything is optional.
Dance
Then the music goes up for 1 hour 45 minutes of fabulous funk, sexy soul, delicious disco, hot house and tribal treats!
There’s no choreography and it’s definitely not a dance class. Move however you want. Sway. Strut. Twirl. Jump around like a lunatic. You do you, baby.
And if you want a break, there’s a chill-out area with pillows and blankets where you can lie down, rest and take a moment.
And breeeeeeeeathe baby!
Social hangout
We finish by slowing everything down with a magical live flute performance, followed by a closing circle where we come back together before heading out into the world.
And if you fancy carrying on, a bunch of us usually head out around Broadway Market afterwards for food, drinks and more gay socialising ❤️
Hi, I’m Gary 👋
I created Pleasure Medicine because I wanted a space like this for myself…
I’d been going to ecstatic dance and Five Rhythms for years and loved the freedom I found there, but I kept wondering why there wasn’t something specifically for gay men. Somewhere we could meet each other away from apps and the usual gay scene, that just doesn’t work for so many of us! A space to connect in a more human way and dance to music I actually wanted to fucking dance to; soul, funk, house, disco and tribal
So I created Pleasure Medicine.
I’ve spent over a decade working as a therapist and facilitator. I’m also a musician, performer and DJ, and I write about gay life, connection and sexuality for queer media.
Pleasure Medicine brings a lot of those different parts of my life together, but mostly it comes from something much simpler: I bloody love bringing gay men together in kindness, community and joy…
10 guys came to the first Pleasure Medicine and now we regularly have over 40 men attending every two weeks…
I get to watch a whole community forming around it. And you’re invited…