A-List's Reichen Lehmkuhl likes to test his limits

After the first season of "The A-List: New York," Reichen Lehmkuhl found himself
in a quandary: on one hand he remained one of the most desired men in our gay hemisphere; on the other hand, since his life was put on the small screen, Lehmkuhl has been eviscerated, criticized, lampooned and demystified by the same folks that put him on the pedestal.

It's been a near-360 degree turn from when he first came to the attention of television audiences as the co-winner (with his then partner Chip Arndt) for winning "The Amazing Race" in 2003. At that time Reichen (a professional model) was labeled a role model for the gay community. Then, after he and Arndt parted ways, Reichen became something of the celebrity boy-toy du jour of the gay scene, hooking up with Lance Bass for a much-publicized romance.

This past year with his appearance as the best-known of the participants in Logo's hit series, Reichen's became a community whipping boy as every aspect of his life - his troubled relationship with his Brazilian boyfriend Rodiney Santiago, his flirtation with Austin Armacost and his less-than-successful foray into music - came under scrutiny of his fellow A-Listers and those who watched the show.

Welcomes his status

What also emerged was his dedication to causes he supports. In fact we met up for our sit-down interview just as he returned from hosting an HRC fundraiser in New Orleans where he was being auctioned off for a brunch with one of the event's attendees. Due to scheduling conflicts the brunch had to be postponed, but Lehmkuhl was most concerned about the check clearing on behalf of HRC.

His celebrity came about almost by accident when he was recruited for CBS' competition reality show "The Amazing Race." "The casting director found me in a bar," he revealed, "and I went to the interview with my partner at the time, Chip." Winning the 1 million dollar prize made him an overnight sensation. "I had no plans for a public life - I was going to go to law school and I was teaching AP physics, but when 'Amazing Race' happened the gay community came out and saw me as an inspiration."

At the time, though, gays were gaining momentum in media, appearing as centrifugal characters and leads on television series and sitcoms; and Lehmkuhl, a former Air Force officer, represented a very different "type" of gay male - stolidly handsome and sexy - that was perfect for Madison Avenue and the emerging LGBT media.

Reichen, though, eschews the notion of gay people being pigeonholed into types. "There is no right or wrong kind of a 'gay person'," he says.

Nonetheless he welcomes his status. "I love having the ability to represent the community without trying to project that I'm perfect - which I'm not."

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Watch Reichen Lehmkuhl speaking at the Human Rights Campaign Fund dinner in 2006:

Only human

He doesn't overlook the fact that he is after all human, but if the demand was there and eyes were on him, Lehmkuhl was going to make certain that spotlight was on full wattage. "I decided then to dedicate my life to going public and to do things that are in the public eye." He used that popularity and ability to woo the media to serve several community causes most of which affected Lehmkuhl on a richly personal level. Chief among those efforts was to participate in the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Because of his military service he took great interest in the politics of his fellow gay service men and women. "It was the most rewarding thing in my life," Lehmkuhl says about his career as an Air Force pilot and also of his dedication to supporting and representing those individuals who felt disenfranchised by the country they had served. "Even the creators of the 'Amazing Race' were looking for gay people that straight people could relate to. They loved that I had been in the Air Force and that I'm a pilot."

He used his fame to launch a jewelry line that raised funds and supported our gay service men and women. Almost immediately there was a backlash, but not from the usual conservative suspects.

"I remember while the 'Amazing Race' was airing," he recalled, "my mother forwarded to me some blog that had been written about me." It was the first time he had ever experienced something written about himself in the media. "The writer said that I must use steroids because of my size, and that I was boring and vapid - and I freaked out. Why was this person writing these things about me?" It upset Reichen most when he learned that the blog in question was actually a popularly circulated gay blog, written and produced by the community he was dedicated to represent.

It wasn't long after that his name become synonymous with that of former teen heartthrob Lance Bass - who had, as an adult, come out and was romantically linked to Lehmkuhl. The two dated for a brief period of time and Reichen remained on the gay radar enough as a household name to land one of the coveted positions on Logo's reality series "A-List: New York".

"People hated us"

Even before the series launched it appeared that everyone was preparing to burn the cast in effigy, and at the top of that list was... well, you guessed it. In the first season it appeared that Reichen couldn't get a break. From treading insecurely into a lead role in the Off-Broadway hit "My Big Gay Italian Wedding", to stepping into the throes of a new relationship with his darkly handsome cast mate Rodiney Santiago and then coming face-to-face with the tempestuous antics of Austin Armacost - Season One of the "A-List" was just a weekly blood bath.

"People hated us," Reichen recalls. "But there are a lot of people who love us - yet most people focus on the negative, and I'm a really sensitive person." For Reichen there was no dodging the crosshairs of the public's attacks. But he's learned his lessons. "I know better than to respond to negativity," he says. "Sometimes a negative comment does get through and I see it... and within an hour I'm fine."

And if audiences learned anything from Lehmkuhl in that first season it's that he doesn't sit comfortably in a box. He likes to take risks, whether it's in his underwear on stage in a play, parading down 5th Avenue during Gay Pride dodging admirers, or cutting a song and performing it live. Lehmkuhl is not above stepping out of his comfort zone. Music producer Randy Bettis (who co-produced the track) knows that Reichen's intention wasn't to prove he was a great singer. "He did it because he had a message," Bettis told me, "and you have to support that."

"I like to test my limits," he tells me, "and I do it often." Living his entire life on camera for a series of months is proof of that, but it also puts a strain on his relationships. "I don't know if it's tougher for me, or tougher for the people I date." At the end of Season One of the "A-List: New York" his relationship with Santiago was on the rocks, and the two have barely been seen together over the summer.

Privacy issues

Dating can be a challenge. "People are generally good, and I can usually tell when somebody likes me," he shares, but - yes, he has come across individuals who enter into a liaison with him with an agenda.

"It becomes a matter of an invasion of privacy," he says explaining that often times his personal affairs end up on the walls of every social networking site across the country.

He does admit he's getting better at bringing down the walls. "I do get tired of meeting guys that tell me that I'm not letting them in - it's a shame, and I'm sorry. I know that they can lose patience with me." He has genuine regrets about the difficulties he's experienced with intimacy.

"I do tend to worry about the other person's feelings." He understands that life under the lens flare of the "A-List" can be too much for some people to deal with.

But Reichen Lehmkuhl is building a brand. He has a lot going on and even more in the works. I joked with him that he may well be the Kim Kardashian of the gay world.

"It doesn't suck to be me right now," he laughs and immediately blushed. "I do have a lot going on - but it can get pretty lonely." The distraction of keeping himself engaged in his charitable work, his jewelry line, an upcoming line of men's fragrances and skin care line he is working to develop, and the commitment to the upcoming new season of "A-List: New York" don't keep from reminding him of the isolation that comes with being in the public eye.

Instead he directs his energies on other projects. Reichen is working on a new book. "Nothing is more isolating than writing a book," he says, and he continues to be a proponent of the changing diorama of gay civil rights in our country. "I'll never understand why anyone would oppose or prevent someone from having the same legal rights that are guaranteed to us as American citizens." And as he prepares for another year of catfights and quips from the "housewives with balls" he can't help but be nostalgic for the West Coast.

"I love New York," he tells me, "but the people I trust the most are in LA and I miss them. Those friends are my rock. It wouldn't make for all that great television to see me interacting with that circle of friends. They don't bring the drama." A sizable set-up perhaps to what's in-store for the next season of the "A-List: New York." With a wink and a smile you can bet we'll all tune-in to catch a ride on Reichen's friendly skies.

"The A-List: New York" returns to Logo on Monday, July 25, 2011 at 10pm. Check local listings to see if it is available on a cable service in your area.

To learn more about "The A-List: New York," .

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Watch this interview with Reichen Lehmkuhl at a Trevor Project event in LA last year: