Be Fabulously You: Stripchat at Grabbys Europe 2026
Torremolinos had gay bars before most of Spain had democracy.
In 1962, a place called Tony's opened in the Pasaje Begoña arcade, right on the Costa del Sol. Franco was still running the country. Homosexuality was a crime. But Torremolinos had tourists, and tourists had money, and money made the local authorities look the other way.
So a scene formed. By the late sixties, the Pasaje was a destination. In 1971, the police raided it and shut down twenty-three businesses, arresting up to three hundred people. Torremolinos rebuilt anyway. Sixty years on, it's still one of the most established LGBTQ+ destinations in Europe.
So when the Grabbys Europe picked this town for their awards, the choice made sense. This year, for the first time, Stripchat put its name on an LGBTQ+ awards show as a sponsor and brought a full crew of models along.
What the Grabbys Actually Are
The short version: Europe's biggest gay adult entertainment awards. Eight hundred people from twenty-eight countries, four days at Hotel Ritual, two ceremonies. CreatorVision on April 23 for the filmmakers. The main Grabbys on April 25 for performers, creators, platforms.
Between those, the program ran through pool parties, red carpet walks, beach days at Eden Beach Club, fashion shows, rooftop events that turned into circuit nights. Seminars were on the schedule too, though daytime often turned into working hours, with creators filming collaborations in the hotel rooms. The evenings were where the fun happened.
“It was incredible. People hugged hello like old friends, even when they'd clearly just met.”
— Stripchat team member
The Crew
Stripchat sent five models to Torremolinos: aryafrei, Luna_Kitanna, Mikev, SasukeUhchiaa, and Romanheart. They came from different countries and mostly didn't share a first language. They got along immediately.
Sasuke was positive from morning to last call, the person everyone gravitated toward. Luna and Arya held the group together without trying. Mikev, already known for multi-streaming setups and gaming content, spent breaks teaching the others platform tricks while running his own collaborations on the side.
Roman was the one who surprised everyone.
During these days, the Stripchat team recorded an interview with him about coming out. Without a prewritten script, just a conversation that kept going. The footage was raw enough that the team is planning a full filmed version at the next Berlin event. No content calendar produces that.
Two of the five are trans creators. The Grabbys organizers had been trying to grow trans representation at the event for years, and having a platform actively include trans talent in its delegation helped move that forward.
Dolphins, a €600 Console, and One Lucky Weather Call
One afternoon, the team took all five models out on a catamaran. They sailed along the Costa del Sol, and somewhere past the harbor, a pod of dolphins surfaced alongside the boat. For a while nobody said much. They just watched. That was probably the best hour of the whole trip.
The Grabbys organizers sat the entire Stripchat group together at the welcome dinner. At the silent auction, a branded Stripchat video game console pulled in roughly €600. The team secured a VIP area that made the models feel like the headliners they are.
The weather wasn't great the whole time, but it kind of worked in our favor. One of the big rooftop parties moved inside because of rain, and our logo screen just died. So we talked the club into looping our model videos on every other screen instead. Free of charge, all night. Honestly, it looked better than any logo would have.
— Stripchat team member
By midweek, the Stripchat crew blended in. You'd think they'd been coming to this thing for years.
Why Stripchat Was There
None of the other major cam platforms came to the Grabbys this year. Stripchat did. A large chunk of its creators and users are LGBTQ+, and the platform has been a dedicated part of that community for years.
Therefore, if you ask what Stripchat stands for, freedom comes up early. Same word that built Torremolinos into what it is.
On a cam platform, it translates to something specific: creators control their own work and go their own way, no permission required. That week, it wasn't theory.
Roman told his coming-out story on camera because he wanted to and the space was there for it. The trans models were part of the delegation because they're already earning and creating on their own terms. Mikev spent his downtime teaching other creators how to grow their channels because he felt like it. Nothing about it felt approved or staged.
I recall that the event DJ talked to our crew for a while and signed up for Stripchat just before the week was out. He just liked what he saw.
— Stripchat team member
Next Year
Stripchat has been at the Grabbys several times, but this was the biggest delegation yet. "Next year" came up in conversation before the event was even over. More creators, a bigger presence, maybe a sponsored party of their own.
The five models who came to Torremolinos went home full of impressions, with collaborations filmed and each other's numbers saved. For Stripchat, the week made the case without a slide deck. That's worth coming back for.
