Wednesday may have been a characteristically chilly Berkeley day, but the competition between participants in the Queer Alliance Resource Center’s “Heated Rivalry” lookalike contest was certainly heated.
“Be the Shane Hollander you dream of,” said QARC Public Relations Director Lilirose Luo at the beginning of the event. Luo was formerly a staffer with The Daily Californian.
Contestants took that as a challenge.
On April 22, the Hearst Field Annex lawn was transformed into the stage for a “local version” of “Heated Rivalry,” as Luo put it. Contestants competed for the titles of best Ilya Rozanov and best Shane Hollander — the lead characters in the wildly successful show.
The show follows the 10-year-long relationship between hockey players Hollander and Rozanov, who meet while playing for opposing teams. The two fall into lust, and then into love — a storyline that one contestant described as reminiscent of “a Hallmark Channel movie done well.”
However, Wednesday’s competition, presided over by four judges, involved some creative liberties from the show’s original plot.
Contestants had 30 seconds to introduce themselves. Then, they could reenact a scene from the show, act out a new scene or present a talent for the judges and the crowd.
Both Hollanders competing chose to act out new scenes — and both brought up respective Rozanovs.
The first Hollander, who wore a white T-shirt decorated with “Wasian” and “24” written in permanent marker, brought up an accompanying Rozanov dressed in a leopard print shirt and a blond curly wig. Rozanov began to tell “the story of how (he) got (Hollander) pregnant.”
The second Hollander, wearing a palm-tree patterned shirt, was joined by a Rozanov in a blue-striped shirt, who promptly instructed this Hollander to drink from a bottle of water.
When Hollander protested, one audience member said, “It’s pretty canon,” as the leopard-print-wearing Rozanov shouted, “I can treat you better!” from the crowd.
Then, the competition turned to the Rozanovs.
Leopard-print Rozanov completed the story he previously began of how he got his Hollander pregnant. Blue-striped Rozanov boogied to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” to cheers from the audience.
The third Rozanov, decked out in a white button-down shirt, eyeliner and dark red lipstick, took the shirt off entirely for a rendition of “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC that included a running somersault and multiple sets of push-ups.
Ultimately, the white-shirt-wearing Hollander won the competition, along with the white-shirt-wearing Rozanov.
Contestants were able to choose from QARC’s selection of various sex toys, including a vibrating egg and a rainbow dildo.
Sophomore Ella Akin, who claimed victory as Hollander in the competition, said she appreciated how the event allowed people to “experiment with their gender identity (and) sexual orientation … and in that way figure out who they are and who they want to be.”
“I’m cis and I use she/her pronouns, but it was cool to be Shane Hollander for a day,” Akin said.
Luo said “Heated Rivalry” served as a “very beautiful” outlet for “very explicit queer joy and love,” adding that QARC hosted the contest as “one last big event to cap off the (school) year.”
“Gay people love to judge, and gay people also love to serve c—, so this is like both in one,” Luo said.