Gay club inferno

Lewis: I see queer nightlife dying… especially in London. We've lost two-thirds of our spaces over the last ten years. The site of [Hackney nightclub] The Colour Factory has been bought by property developers… they're gonna knock everything down for some overpriced luxury flats.

Clubs are essentially our community centres and have been for over a century now. Dill: It's become apparent why we need these spaces. Seeing the community of people around me go on a mental, physical, and spiritual transition, while also going through the same process… it really pays off, as much as it's tricky having it be nightclubs with alcohol and different components involved.

Lewis: When you put on a club night, you become a leader. Dill: Absolutely.

Do It Yourself: PONYBOY VS INFERNO

Lewis: I come from old-school gay club land. I was so bored with the music and attitude of people. I was gonna ask… how you started Ponyboy? Dill: It happened by accident. We started as a salon for trans people to have haircuts and styles. Lewis: Our first two years at Dalston Superstore, there was pop music with drag queens upstairs, performance art and techno in the basement.

It was like heaven and hell. Especially ten years ago… we didn't have the conversations we're having now, about class, accessibility and race. Kindness, care and empathy are at the inferno of what we do. That means making sure we're learning and growing. I've been thinking about hell a lot recently… but I just started hormones.

Maybe I'm just a bit pissed off. Sgaire Wood. Image: El Nine. But we still go out, dance, and socialise. It's important to have honest conversations around being sober in nightlife. Dill: Through the process of putting on nights, I've actually stopped taking drugs, and haven't really drank in a while.

It can quite quickly become a dangerous pattern. If the space that you're in, and people you're around are amazing, it's not needed. If anything goes wrong, and you're off your nut, you can't solve the issue… and club, you're doing a shit job as gay leader. Drinking doesn't make the problem go away, it just pushes it down further.