MarkyG is a long time fixture in South Florida, and has been involved in so many elements and aspects of the diverse South Florida communities and cultures. He came to Florida way before (as he says) South Beach was "South Beach". As a Chicago native, he has never lost his love for the windy city, but the sunshine of South Florida is clearly his home.

He attended both Miami Dade and FIU, and started his first company at the young age of 19. After building that company to a million dollar business, he decided to move on to what he saw as the next big explosion, Licensed Products. With a background in Sales, Marketing, and Design, he brought licensed rock and roll product to Florida. Capitalizing on his success he ventured into the sports arena. Mark first pioneered licensed sports products for the NFL, NBA, NHL, and colleges throughout the Southeast. His flair for designing product brought him to the forefront of all the major leagues as he designed specific product for the Dolphins, Heat, Marlins, Panthers, all the State Universities, the Superbowl, and much much more.

After a divorce in 1992 (yes to a women, who blessed him with 2 daughters, which he calls the best things in his life, most of the time), and closing a very successful run of 15 years in the sporting goods world, Mark toyed with several new career choices. He finally settled on job placement and was offered a partnership in an ultra-high tech computer engineering placement firm.

At the same time, he was grappling with his sexuality, and how OUT he wanted to be. "I knew I was Gay from a very, very young age, but always fought it". He even had shock treatment to have the Gay shocked out of him. Of course all that failed. Not really OUT except to family, and those that knew him well; he made the decision to become more active in something Gay. He decided to join the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and fell in love with the organization, and the Gay films he saw. Before long, he was volunteering and working side by side with the then Executive Director of the Festival, helping wherever he could. Mark knew that the festival was in desperate need of major publicity and he wanted to help. After listening to this amazing new station in town, the New Party 93-1, he knew this was the station many Gays and Lesbians were listening too. He was confident that if he could convince this new station to embrace the Gay community, the community would endear the station forever into their hearts. He pitched his idea to the station and they took the idea and ran with it. For the first time in the history of FM radio, a major Gay event was embraced, and promoted loudly and proudly. The station joined on as a major sponsor of the film festival, and proudly included the festival in their mandatory station ID, at the top of every hour, 24 times a day, "WPYM, The New Party 93-1 South Florida's Pure Dance Channel, official radio station of the 2002 Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival"

Mark had no idea what lied ahead and how this sponsorship would change the rest of his life. It was closing night, and Mark asked WPYM Program Director Phil Michaels, a straight man, to attend the event as his guest. It was Phil's first ever gay event. It was there that he learned of the Dade Human Rights Ordinance, and from Mark, the past history of the South Florida Gay movement. Phil quickly realized that the Gay community had no voice, no way to dramatically reach out to each other. So, he went back and met with his colleagues and bosses, and said we need to do something for this community, we need to do a Gay community affairs show. So he called in the only Gay guy he knew and told him what he wanted to do. He asked Mark, "Who do you know that can do this"...Mark's paused, thought, and said hmmmm....2 weeks later, on June 2, 2002, with almost no broadcast experience, the first Issues Over The Rainbow aired, and MarkyG was born.

As MarkyG, he knew right from the start the amazing gift he was given. His best times are doing charitable events for the community, where he can introduce the Gay world to so many wonderful causes and involvements outside the bars. "I love the gift I have been given and hope that I can positively effect lives of those not as comfortable with who they are, and those that plainly do not understand us".

You can reach MarkyG at MarkyG@bellsouth.net