Matchmaking with Pride (Pink Magazine) |
| 2008-06-29 |
When he first moved to Los Angeles after college Perrine flipped houses to make money. In California’s then white-hot housing market it was an easy source of cash. He also jumped from locale to locale as he landed one job after another. “I moved around a lot. I didn’t commit to cities but to men,” said Perrine. His juggling addresses continued as he spent the last four years building up his matchmaking service. In 2004 when he first set out on his quixotic journey to team up men ready to find their life partner, he began in San Jose.
Within a year he had moved to San Diego to work with southern California’s gay men longing for love. It was a compromise, as his partner refused to live in Los Angeles. Then, in 2007, the couple moved back north and settled in San Francisco as Perrine was ready to take his matchmaking services nationwide with the launch of the Web site MyPartner.com.
“Up until this past June it was a private matchmaking company for gay men. I focused on executives and had a database of potential matches, ”said Perrine. “It grew so rapidly I started to uncover the need for a comprehensive Web site that is relationship focused for gay men. ”Perrine knew from personal experience that not all gay men online solely sought sexual hookups. He and J.D., a 38-year-old tech industry worker, first met via the Internet.
“He came into my life early on when the company was just beginning. He was one of my early tests,” joked Perrine, who would not disclose J.D.’s last name. “I am a true believer that you can meet people online and through dating services online.”
MyPartner.com is the gay equivalent of eHarmony.com, the straight matchmaking site that refuses to work with gay and lesbian lonely hearts. Like its heterosexual counterpart, MyPartner uses a customized and comprehensive Partner Perfect Compatibility Search Engine. As Perrine boasts on the site, “We do the work for you—recommending potential matches without you having to do any of the work!” Perrine utilized his educational training to create his matchmaking system.
A graduate in psychology from St. John’s University in Minnesota, he continued his education and earned a master’s in human sexuality at San Francisco State University, where he studied under the tutelage of Dr. Gil Herdt, a gay man and nationally-recognized expert on human sexuality.
The second of two boys, Perrine grew up in Hutchinson, Minnesota. His mother is a Methodist minister and his father is a hospital administrator. At age five Perrine first realized he enjoyed kissing boys more than girls. Growing up he never doubted he would find the man of his dreams. “I have always envisioned meeting my prince charming at the altar and having the commitment ceremony, the whole nine yards. It comes from the Midwestern values I grew up with. You are going to find your true love and spend the rest of your life with him,” he said.
Perrine hopes his Web site will make finding that person a little bit easier. The hard part comes when those two lovebirds log off. “I believe a relationship takes work,” said Perrine. “Communication is key.”
Matthew S. Bajko is an assistant editor
at the Bay Area Reporter in San Francisco
Summer 2008, PINK |
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