Dan Harry

When fierce LGBTQIA+ campaigner, beloved television personality and PR manager Dan Harry graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2017 with a BA in Multimedia Journalism, becoming a reality TV star wasn’t at all on his radar.

Dan said the decision to star in the UK’s first all-gay dating show, the BBC’s I Kissed a Boy, while continuing to build a highly successful PR career in 2023 was initially a tough one to make.

“I was approached to do the show and, at first, I was so reluctant because it was the first-of-its-kind, and I had no idea what it was going to be like,” he said.

“But it has become something that really represents our community in such a positive way and, for that, I’m so proud to have been a part of it.

“It was a very stressful and emotional, but absolutely magical, experience.”

Using fame to help drive change

Dan quickly became a fan favourite on the show and has since used his platform to support organisations and initiatives that help the LGBTQIA+ community.

“For example, I work closely with Terrence Higgins Trust and marched with them at London Pride to help deliver their current campaign mission to end HIV transmissions by 2030,” he said.

The 28-year-old has also partnered with charity Stonewall, to help battle hate crimes and is taking part in a ground-breaking, year-long medical trial which aims to create a HIV vaccine.

“I’m one of the only people in the world to be given this vaccine, and I will be documenting the testing process over the next year on my socials,” Dan said.

“I have been given three doses of a vaccine which has never been tested on humans before, in the hope that it helps the doctors understand how it reacts with human DNA.

“We won’t know for a while if it's actually worked, but this vaccine has been in development for over 20 years so it's the closest we’ve ever gotten!”

University days and Dan’s journey after GCU

Looking back at his journey so far, Dan said he was drawn to GCU after witnessing the success of other graduates who had gone on to pursue successful careers in the media industry.

“I wanted to study at GCU because so many of the people in the media industry in Scotland whose careers I admired had started out at GCU,” he said.

“I loved that the university was in the city center, and it felt like culturally the best fit for me out of all the other universities I was considering.

“My favourite memories of GCU are of being on campus with friends, hanging out in the library, and living the student lifestyle.”

After graduating, Dan pursued his passion for public relations and started his PR career at Glasgow agency, John Doe.

“I emailed them out of the blue, without any job role being advertised, to say how much I loved their work and clients, and they took a chance on me,” he said.

“At that agency I worked hard and found lots of success while working on PR campaigns, events, stunts, launches for brands like Tennent’s, IRN-BRU and BAFTAS and also created a woman’s health initiative called Bloody Big Brunch in aid of period poverty.”

Within five years, Dan was promoted to Manager, Senior Account Manager and then Account Director with the PR agency, moving to London to work with major brands including Absolut, Tinder and Tesco.

Dan’s next step saw him take on the role of Global PR Manager for TicketSwap in 2022 in Amsterdam, where he managed multiple international PR agencies to create world-wide campaigns for famous artists and music festivals – his most recent role before taking the leap to star on I Kissed a Boy.

“There I was managing multiple PR agencies that I hired from countries around the world - it was a huge step in my career,” he said.

Be brave, take risks, trust your gut

In future, Dan wants to continue to be a positive role model and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and fight for causes that are important to him.

He recently took up the role of Communications Manager with Snap Inc, the company behind social media app, SnapChat.

“I'd like to keep diversifying my experience with more international work for big brands that I would be proud to work with.

“From a personal perspective, I want to be a positive role model for my community, and fight for causes that are important to me in any way that I can.”

Dan is also the presenter of the BBC’s latest documentary about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a medicine that helps reduce the risk of getting HIV.

It airs on BBC iPlayer from Tuesday, May 21.

“The documentary is about PrEP, sexual health and the LGBTQ community, as well as my own personal story about growing up gay in Glasgow,” Dan said.

Looking back on his life and career, Dan shared the best piece of advice he’s learned through it all.