Jordan Torres, best known as JT, is a Puerto Rican model, influencer, fitness expert, and entrepreneur. Over the years, he's cultivated a massive and intensely engaged audience of gay men who consider him a sex symbol. However, while the practice of straight men nurturing a gay following has grown, most of those content creators make promises that are never fulfilled, pretend that their audiences is all made up of women, and eventually turn their backs on the LGBTQ+ community when it no longer is a source of income.That hasn't been JT's story. With 616,000 followers on X/Twitter, 595,000 on Instagram, and 1.1 million likes on TikTok, JT has never pretended that he doesn't have a massive gay following. He's never pretended to be anything other than straight, either, but did so without disrespecting, alienating, or outright dismissing his audience. When asked to speak with Out about his gay fandom as one interview in a series of stories celebrating International Ally Day (August 8), JT surpassed our wildest expectations as he opened up about his connection to queer fans, growing up with gay uncles, and how Bad Bunny has empowered him and others to break down machismo tendencies among straight Latinos."I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for you guys. I wouldn't be in this position I'm in my life," JT tells Out in an exclusive interview. "So I always make sure to be an ally, and I don't play that. I would never let somebody disrespect gay people in front of me. I would never allow that type of behavior."And yet, JT's connection with the LGBTQ+ community started before he had a career of any sort, at a time when social media didn't even exist yet.JT's childhood wasn't easy. He was raised by a single parents, his mother, who lost two sons over the course of her life."My two older brothers were killed, and dad was not really in the picture," JT says. "I feel like a lot affected him. He was in Vietnam, and then losing his sons He kind of went off ship. So my mom had to take care of us. My mom was actually a super of a building. She got really cool with the landlord of the building, and then she worked in a real estate office for many, many years being an office manager. But my mom started from the ground up. She moved from Puerto Rico to New York at 16 years old with nothing in her pocket."Growing up, JT recalls that he was already surrounded by queer people who played a significant role in his life. Specifically, he references having two gay uncles."My mom's best friend was gay, and my uncle [dad's brother] was also gay," JT explains. "They were both considered my uncles: It was to George and to Robert. I never saw any difference between them and other adults in my life."It took time for JT to realize that his gay uncles dealt with homophobia. "I was growing up in a tough environment, like the Bronx, where everybody is being so macho and tough," he observes. "But I'm not no punk. I'll go pose in my underwear, but I'll still come to the block and beat you up if I had to. So my friends from my block respected who I was."JT explains that his father was a "soldier, a big guy." JT's gay uncle (blood relative) was his father's brother. "He'd always say, 'That's my brother.' He didn't let people disrespect his brother. If I become a dad, I would never judge my son or my daughter for anything as long as they're happy.""I had gay friends in high school, and it was never anything," he adds. "As I got into modeling, some of my best friends as well were gay, and we'd have conversations about their love lives, and my love life, and I don't see the difference. At the end of the day, it's all just love. You know what I'm saying?""I'm happy that now we're in a space where people are more comfortable to come out. Every year I tweet, 'Happy Pride Month,' along with a little message, because I genuinely care," JT notes. "It's funny, too, because I feel like gay people are the strongest people. The amount of stuff they've had to go through to be where they are I've been through a lot in my life, so I look at people with strength and I just want to send them love. If I could just give you some love, then we're happy."While it's hard for some to imagine that JT, an undeniable sex symbol for many women and gay men around the world, would ever struggle in the modeling industry, it's worth remembering that the "type" of models cast by fashion houses and even smaller clothing brands was not, at all, what he's had to present.JT isn't tall and slender; his face is very expressive; and he has a muscular body that is full of tattoos. It's hard to make him disappear in clothes as a stick figure meant to look striking, but not distracting, in ads and/or runway shows."I first got into the modeling industry in New York," JT says. "I played professional rugby, but I wasn't as 'big' as I am now, and I even got cut from the USA team. I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to go and get big and come back.' Then I got scouted for modeling during that time, but I had just put on some size, which restricted me from a lot of jobs. I would literally not fit into the clothes."Nonetheless, JT observed how "everything started to change in clothing and e-commerce" and went on to build "my own brand and my own platform. It allowed me to just create and do my own thing.""When social media came into place, that's when the industry started to change. I was like, 'Man, I think I'm onto something. I don't want to just be a model; I want to build my own brand. If I'm going to do something, I want to be comfortable with myself while I'm doing it.' I started to see the interactions from looking how I was looking. It was suddenly like, 'Oh, we love your arms, you have the best chest.' And I was like, 'So I'm getting booked as the body guy now OK, cool!' [laughs]."Bad Bunny, who is also Puerto Rican and also doesn't look like most male celebrities featured in past underwear campaigns e.g. Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes recently broke the internet with his underwear campaign for Calvin Klein."The [Bad Bunny's real name] Benito thing with Calvin Klein To see a Latino getting the spotlight like that, with a brand like that finally I'm so grateful. I'm a big Benito fan. He's my fellow Puerto Rican. I go to all of his concerts. He's my favorite artist," JT says. "We have [mutual] close friends, so it's great to see his success. And I'm so happy because he's such a deserving guy for it. I was like, 'Man, if I couldn't do it, I'm glad Benito got it.'"Bad Bunny has pushed back against machismo in the Latin community several times, and continues to do so. According to JT, the Puerto Rican superstar is "definitely someone that has made me feel a lot more comfortable. Somebody with a platform quadruple than mine, and the fact that he's allowed to be himself, it creates that movement for us. It brings more of that energy, which more people should be doing."JT adds, "For one of the most-streaming artists, and one of the biggest touring artists, to be moving that way It's like, 'Yeah, we're here. We can all love each other. It's no difference.' He's Puerto Rican, I'm Puerto Rican, and it just adds. Like, 'Let's do it together.' A lot of my fans are also his fans. Especially in Puerto Rico, I got so much love here. I can't go nowhere without getting stopped. I love it, and I appreciate it."JT was one of the first people who saw Bad Bunny's new residency in Puerto Rico. "I was there the second night. And he was literally He could've given me his drink, that's how close I was," he says.When asked about Ricky Martin who is also Puerto Rican and attended Bad Bunny's residency recently JT says that they didn't go on the same night. "But Ricky Martin's cool. He's my homie, too," JT adds. "We live in the same town. I live in Dorado, and he lives in Dorado as well."One of the main elements that contributed to Bad Bunny's Puerto Rican residency was a sentiment of dismissal and disrespect against the island. In October 2024, Tony Hinchcliffe spoke at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden and referred to Puerto Rico as "a floating island of garbage."When asked about that instance, JT recalls feeling very "mad" and "disrespected.""And they said, 'You've got to have a sense of humor.' It's like, it doesn't even matter," JT explains. "There's somebody's grandma up in the mountains, bro, with the happiest soul in the world, and you're telling her that her home is trash a home she had to build for 75 years, by herself. People are so insensitive these days. We live in an evil world. It's sad to say, but we do."Unlike most successful social media heartthrobs of the moment, JT's following has been growing steadily for many years. He's had viral posts, but not really any one thing that made him go viral overnight."It's always just been consistent; it's never been big jump," JT notes. "You know how these guys go on Love Island, and they leave the show with like 1.4 million followers? It's like, 'Damn, I've been putting the work in for so long, and I turned down Love Island like three times.'Wait. What did he just say?!"Yeah," JT replies, smiling. "Second season [of Love Island USA], I turned it down."It's safe to say that the internet would explode if JT was cast on Love Island as a bombshell who entered the villa to turn heads and make waves."It would go crazy [laughs], but I don't know," JT insists. "But it's funny to see these guys come off the island. Like, 'I've built my platform for over seven years. You guys get off the island after two months, and boom,'" he teases.Jokes aside, JT explains that his vision has always been long-term. "I told my team and my agents that I'm focused on the long game. I don't want to be a firework. I want to be able to last. I want to have the longevity, and I'm happy, man. It's very important for me to just be content, and actually be grateful for what I do have. I'm a big believer in getting exactly what you need. I want to be able to be present.""I'm finally launching my fitness coaching program, and it's called EVOLUXIN. I'm so happy, because this is something that I've always been so picky about. I wanted to create something that had a 'luxury' feel and wasn't just strictly fitness. Something that you're actually building beyond your body. It's helping your mind, helping you feel confident, more outgoing, more well-spoken.For the name, EVOLUXIN: "evol" is "love" backwards; "lux" is luxury, and "in" is a referencing to "lock in" because I always tell the homies like, 'You got to lock-in and get focused.' So those are the meanings behind EVOLUXIN.""And it's actually my own app," he briefly pauses, visibly processing the words coming out of his mouth, looking proud of this moment in his career. "I'm coming out with an app An application that you can download from the App Store," he reiterates.See on Instagram"The app will have my workout programs, nutrition programs, mental health programs Everything, all of the above. I'm super, super excited about that. It's something that's coming from my heart. I can't wait to connect follow me, and people who I can inspire. It's going to be super, super dope. I'm super excited for it."As our conversation comes to an end, JT shares a message with the LGBTQ+ community: "Love everybody. I'll always be here for you. If you ever see me out and you need a hug or whatever, don't be afraid to ask."Fans can follow Jordan Torres (JT) on Instagram, and/or visit his official website, WhoIsJordanTorres.com. JT's new fitness, nutrition, and wellness platform, EVOLUXIN, is now also open for VIP waitlist signups.