(OUTscene AMERICA) INTER-view: Getting Candid with Jaymes Vaughan; 'A Total Doll'!

 by David Luc Nguyen

You know him as the gay-half of the Chippendale’s duo that won America’s hearts during the 21st season of “The Amazing Race”. People all of the country fell in love with Jaymes Vaughan and his BFF, James Davis as they tried to win the grand prize to help Jaymes’ father battle a rare form of cancer. Though the show may be over, it looks like Jaymes Vaughan’s Amazing Journey is just beginning. Following his team’s respectable second place finish, the heart throb is in high-demand.

“It’s unbelievable the response we (he and his TAR teammate) have received. I feel like a Kardashian!” he jokes. “Amazing Race has opened so many doors for us. We’ve been asked to make public appearances, speak at charity events, been on several TV shows (including “Ellen”), and were just finished filming the pilot for a reality series AND a travel show.” Though all of the high profile media events are exciting for Jaymes, what he has really enjoyed the most is educating young people.

“I hope to be able to take advantage of a platform the show has given me. I want to be an example for anyone who doesn’t feel like they fit in. As a fourteen-year-old growing up in rural Chesterfield County, Virginia I had no one to look up to. My mama told me I better not be gay and my church told me gay people would go to hell. I also had a best friend who killed himself because he didn’t fit in. I know what it feels like to be hopeless. Let me tell you there is always hope. If someone like me can make it, anyone can.”