The Wigan go-go dancer who's 'changing the way people club' with cheeky queer rave night

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The very same week the prestigious Met Gala takes place, a gala of a whole other variety will be held in Manchester. Iconic queer club event Your Dad Sells Avon will be celebrating a bit of ‘Northern Glamahh’ and embracing the ‘nasty, tacky and trashy’ with The Manc Gala rave party at The Deaf Institute on May 7.

The queer house and techno rave will feature the likes of Coco Deville, Alexa Allana, Meme Gold, the House of Blaque and event founder Ali Saeedian AKA Ali Stopit.

Originally from Wigan, go-go dancer Ali created YDSA - as it's affectionately referred to - last year in response to a lack of events he felt connected to. READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community “Since lockdown and the whole BLM movement, the way I look at myself and my surroundings has completely changed,” Ali, 33, tells the Manchester Evening News. “I started noticing there were rarely any people of colour or trans people - anyone who was slightly different to the norm - around the Village. “None of these people were getting hired, and my friend, Alexa Allana, who is a transgender model and influencer, couldn’t get any work despite everything about her being perfect. “I just decided there and then that I would create a night and hire my friends to ensure they were booked.

I just wanted to help my community and push those who were deserving of being recognised.” The name Your Dad Sells Avon came from a cheeky insult Ali, who works as a treasury analyst for an accountancy firm by day, heard thrown at someone at school.