LGBTQ+ activist and organizer @adameli came out in 2009 in what he now thinks of as a “twilight moment of queer progress: Obama was president; Lady Gaga was making her ascent; it was all It Gets Better and ‘Glee!’” The June 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, would be the reality check that prompted Eli, who was working in New York nightlife and real estate at the time, to change his life’s trajectory. “It was a defining moment of our queer generation.” Eli says in W’s annual Originals portfolio. “I couldn’t get out of bed until I joined a group called @gaysagainstgunsny, and I quickly started doing their social media. Later that year, when Trump was elected, people realized that fascism-free life was not guaranteed. In the chaos of that early Trump era, my voice was able to cut through.” At the link in bio, the author of ‘The New Queer Conscience’ discusses his inclusive principles in the fight for equal rights. _ Photography: @TommyKha Styling: @aaalliata Writer: @cocomellors Hair and Makeup: @ittts_sena W VOLUME FIVE 2022, THE ORIGINALS ISSUE