Lavender Community Pride Award – Ryan Coit

The photographic eye captures our best, our worst, and everything else in-between.

Ryan Coit’s eyes have captured many images. They are uplifting and beautiful. He has chronicled parts of our community we often forget about over time.

As his website explains up front: “For the past several years, Ryan Coit’s life and photography has been influenced by his involvement in the [LGBTQ+] Community. Internationally recognized for presenting images that capture the beauty in all types of individuals expressing their sexuality and identity.”

“When I first started photographing more leather and fetish subject matter,” explained Coit, “I was always inspired by taking something that’s dark and taboo and making it beautiful. A lot of times my photography’s very simple and ’cause it’s just showcasing the beauty that is within those fetishes and the people that participate in that.”

In fact, you may have seen his work in our Pride issue for our profile of drag artists Betty Bang.

Coit’s work has evolved over the years. He cites that it is because of the people he worked with. What lead us to name Coit for this award was the impact he has made to his subjects and those who have seen his work through this evolution. However, “when people say that I’m making an impact because it just feels the opposite,” Coit explained, “that they’re impacting me.”

In response to this award, Coit was “just very flattered.” Perhaps very humbled.

For bringing beauty from a different angle, Lavender Magazine congratulates Ryan Coit for his Community Award this year.