On Monday afternoon, amid the heat and chaos of Thailand’s Songkran festival, Gavin Chow was crowned Mr Bear International 2026 – the first Malaysian to win the title at a pageant that has quickly become part of Thailand’s growing queer festival circuit.Back in Chow’s home country, the climate is very different.Malaysia criminalises same-sex intimacy under federal law, LGBTQ gatherings have faced police raids and the 34-year-old activist’s own national qualifier earlier this year struggled to find a venue willing to host it.“It’s definitely still a very surreal experience for me,” Chow told This Week in Asia in an exclusive interview after the win.“Now that I have won, I’m still trying to figure out the industry and what I can do with the title.”Chow’s national costume at the pageant used food and dress to express his cultural identity: a Chinese samfu jacket, Nyonya batik details, a sarong, a tray of traditional kuih cakes and a packet of nasi lemak, Malaysia’s best-known coconut rice dish.