A Nottingham man joins comedian Joe Lycett, England Lioness and I'm a Celebrity winner Jill Scott, and actor Ben Aldridge in a elite line-up LGBTQ+ trailblazers changing the world in 2023. Attitude 101, compiled by the country's best-selling gay magazine, shines a light on the work being done by people across the rainbow community.
The list includes 25-year-old Max Taylor, who was born and raised in Nottingham before moving to London. Max has played a transformational role in National Student Pride - which took place this weekend - as it has grown into a staple event of the UK Pride calendar and is the biggest event of its kind in Europe.
Relaunching in 2023 as a charity, it brings together a 2,000-strong crowd each year for a weekend of parties, panels, a careers fair and celebrity appearances. Previous headliners include Sir Ian McKellen, The Pussycat Dolls and Nick Grimshaw.
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Max, who is passionate about opening doors for the next generation of LGBTQ+ leaders, is listed in The Future category for people aged 25 and under, alongside Noah Schnapp, who played Will Byers in the Netflix series Stranger Things. Max, who grew up in Watnall, is a former pupil of Bluecoat Academy in Aspley and Bilborough College.
He said: "I'm delighted to have been recognised by Attitude magazine for my work for National Student Pride over the last few years. I was truly very shocked when I got the email. The Future category is full of some really inspiring people."
Max is one of four National Student Pride directors who support the volunteer student committee to put on the event each year. He has volunteered since 2017, when he was a first year student at SOAS, University of London. After graduating in 2020, he has worked as a strategy consultant in London.
Max said: "There are Pride groups for lots of different communities out there, but I think there's a real magic about Student Pride because young people can face real issues wrestling with their sexuality as they grow up and mature. In many cases, leaving home to go to university is the first chance young LGBTQ+ people get to go and explore their sexuality or gender identity, which is a formative and beautiful thing.
"More than any other, our Pride event is often the first Pride event students attend, and each year we have a good portion of students still coming to terms with their sexuality or gender identity and meet a national community of people just like them. Coming out is different for everyone, but it's still an unnecessarily difficult process for so many people. I'm very proud to put on an event that does its bit to make the world a better place by making people's journey with their sense of who they are that bit easier, at the time they need it the most."
Max's inclusion in Attitude 101 follows in the footsteps of flood expert Simon Crowther, from Woodborough, who was listed in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics category in 2021. The annual Attitude 101 list includes names in fields including sport, politics, travel, media, finance, film, fashion and music.
Footballer Jake Daniels, Labour MP Stephen Morgan, David Furnish, CEO of Rocket Entertainment Group and chairman of Elton John AIDS Foundation, and Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, also feature. Author Alice Oseman has been named Person of the Year. Her graphic novel Heartstopper was turned into the uplifting LGBTQ+ drama about teen friendship and young romance on Netflix.
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