David Borum chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about representing Oklahoma in the 2025 Mr. America Global competition. He is an actor, singer, dancer, and model.
Robert Louis Stevenson once said: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” This quote applies to multi-hyphenate artist David Borum.
Repping Oklahoma
On repping Oklahoma, he exclaimed, “It feels amazing! I’m so happy that I will be repping my own home state… that has made all the difference.”
Competing for Mr. America Global
On competing for Mr. America Global, he said, “I am really excited! I don’t know what to expect. I am excited to meet everybody and to get on stage. It’s a different kind of performance that I’ve never done before so I am looking forward to participating and seeing what it’s all about.”
Advocating for LGBTQ+ visibility
Borum revealed that he will be advocating for LGBTQ+ visibility. “I genuinely and firmly believe that visibility is key in everything, especially as a young adult in the south, growing up in the Midwest,” he said.
“I want to advocate for those kids that feel like they can’t be themselves, and they don’t have anyone to look up to or aspire to be,” he said.
“When I was younger, all I ever saw of being gay was adult film stars. I never saw anyone like me who was educated, physically fit, and an active participant in society,” he said. “That’s what I want to be for people… A visible anchor for them to see that they are not alone.”
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he said, “Just say ‘yes’.”
“I’ve lived in fear for so long and the number of times in the past six months I’ve said ‘yes’ have lead to a lot of things changing for me in a positive way,” he noted.
“So, that’s it… Just say ‘yes’ and step of your comfort zone and do the things that you wouldn’t normally do,” he added.
Superpower of choice
His superpower of choice would be “Reading people’s minds” because he is a “massive empath.” “I always want to help people with what they are going through,” he noted.
Success
On his definition of the word success, he said, “Success, for me, are the places where I feel most at peace and most myself. I look to be people and spaces that make me feel that way. For me, that is a success… To still be peaceful but still be able to pursue your goals and dreams.”
Message for fans and supporters
For his fans and supporters, he expressed, “If you have a dream, then you just have to go for it! Especially with theater, I came from a family that wasn’t very affluent growing up, and theater was always an afterthought… I was supposed to go to college for baseball and become a lawyer.”
“I had a dream of live performance and I pursed it with every aspect of my ability to do, and here we are, 15 years later in the business, trying to figure it out,” he concluded.
To learn more about David Borum, follow him on Instagram.
