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Embrace Magazine, Luxembourg (2025)

08/10/2025

OBSESSION. Not just my favorite cologne, but also how I approach something I am passionate about. This is what 105 Florida Magazine Association awards look like. The first 15 (3rd photo) were acquired from 2007 to 2018 for my work in Ocala Magazine, Akers Media magazines, Lake & Sumter, and Lake Business Magazine, and my first startup magazine, Elevate. The only Charlies (1st place) won during that time was one for Lake & Sumter in 2016 and one for Elevar (the Spanish language version of Elevate) in 2018. I thought it would end there.
Then I started Embrace Magazine in 2019 and by 2021, the floodgates were opened. We got 21 awards plus Magazine of the Year in 2021, so 22 total that year. We got 13 awards in 2022. We got 23 awards in 2023 plus Magazine of the Year again, so 24 total that year, plus Charlies in all four Best Overalls, making history (again). In 2024, we got 24 awards with only 2 issues entered. In 2025, we got 8 awards with the final issue. In total, Embrace brought in 90 FMA awards. We are in the company of the "Big Leagues" like Florida Trend, Sarasota Magazine, Boca Magazine, and FORUM.
The firs two photos and last one are to show what 105 awards look like all in one shot. Photos 3 to 8 show where the awards are housed now, grouped by when won. One day, hopefully soon, I will house them all in one large well-lit, clear glass or black cabinet in the living room. It serves to show what can be done against all odds. So long as you believe in yourself, and apply yourself.

07/10/2025

My replacement set arrived today! On August 1, 2025, the Florida Magazine Association held its 2025 Charlie Awards. At the ceremony, Embrace Magazine was bestowed with 5 Charlies (1st place), one Silver (2nd place), and two Bronze (3rd place). The organization changed the award types to the traditional award for 1st place only, and plaques for 2nd and 3rd. I understand their reasons, and as Awards Chairman, I carried out the board's decision. I was against the change, but followed the majority vote. I decided I would order a new set so that my complete collection of 105 awards collected from 2007 to 2025 would match in design. The FMA board was OK with that. So long as I paid out of my pocket, I could present my awards any way I chose. I am grateful to B-J Trophies & Awards for the beautiful work! I am delighted. And I am grateful to the Florida Magazine Association and to the board for the wonderful memories and the experience of a lifetime. I am forever grateful.

09/08/2025

It has been a week since the Florida Magazine Association 2025 Charlie Awards and I am still riding that adrenaline rush. Recently, the FMA posted their photo gallery, so I selected a few I was in. In 1st photo, receiving one of our two Bronze (third place) awards. In second and third photos, receiving our Silver (second place) award. In 4th photo, with Sarasota Magazine Creative Director, and fellow FMA board member, Gigi Scott Ortwein. In 5th photo, Embrace Magazine's full collection of awards taken at my hotel room at Sunseeker Resorts Charlotte Harbor. 6th photo, me holding 3 of our 5 Charlie Awards (first place). Having cohosted and presented at the Charlie Awards banquet capped off my FMA Charlie Awards experience I enjoyed from 2007 - 2025. When I won my first two Silver and a Bronze in 2007 as a freelance writer, I was instantly enamored with the entire experience, but never dreamed I would get to do the things I have done, which includes winning 105 awards, of which 43 are Charlie (First Place) and a two-time Magazine of the Year winner (as the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of that magazine); being a board member for 3 years, including leadership roles as secretary then vice-president; and finally being a co-host/presenter who got to announce the 2025 Magazine of the Year. Again, thank you Florida Magazine Association, for everything!

04/08/2025

More photos from the Florida Magazine Association 2025 Charlie Awards. These are courtesy of Jessi Miller. Thanks Jessi! First photo: won a Charlie (first place) for Photo Illustration. Second photo: won a Bronze (third place) for Editorial Writing. Third photo: won another Bronze for Best Public Service Coverage Writing. Fourth and Fifth photos: I am on stage as Cohost/Presenter having just announced the winner of the FMA Magazine of the Year — Flamingo Magazine. Publisher Jamie Stephenson Rich in forefront embracing her staff.

03/08/2025

MY MAGAZINE SWAN SONG. Last night, on Friday, August 1, 2025, the Florida Magazine Association revealed the winners in the FMA 2025 Charlie Awards, held at Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte Harbor, of which Embrace Magazine has earned 8 total!
This is significant to me for the following 3 reasons:
1) Having published only 3 issues per year cycle, every issue I have ever created has been entered and won in the FMA Charlie Awards. Every issue!
2) In my career, I have amassed 105 FMA Charlie Awards (1st, 2nd, and 3rd places) as a writer, editor, and publisher.
3) In my career, I have amassed 302 awards in multiple organizations as a writer, editor, and publisher.
The 2025 FMA Charlie Awards end my competition years, which began in 2007. I won my first FMA Awards in 2007; my first Florida Press Club Awards in 2009, and my first Society of Professional Journalists Florida Chapter (SPJ Florida Pro) award in 2013. I end them in reverse order, with my final SPJ Florida awards in summer 2024; my final FPC awards on February 1, 2025; and my final FMA awards were on August 1, 2025, at the end of the Florida Media Conference. It has come full circle, ending where it began — with the FMA Charlie Awards.

I also completed my three-year term as an FMA board member on Thursday, July 31st. Throughout that run, I served as Secretary, then Vice-President, a role I kept until the end of my term. I also chaired various committees, including: membership & marketing; contest; and board nominations. I have made solid connections within the industry and friends.

It also ends my career in media and journalism. I am working in the hotel industry to sustain myself, while I also plan to write books as my passion projects. I will begin with my memoir. Details to come when available.

And now, the winners for Embrace Magazine are:
WRITING
1) CHARLIE / FIRST Place: BEST FEATURE: “Follow Me” by Nile Fortner
2) SILVER / SECOND Place: FEATURE HEADLINES: “Platformers”; “Follow Me;” “Stroll Down Memory Lane” by John Sotomayor
3) BRONZE / THIRD Place: EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY/OPINION: “Publisher’s Letters: An Honor to be Nominated” by John Sotomayor
4) BRONZE / THIRD Place: BEST PUBLIC SERVICE COVERAGE: Entertainment Issue — LGBTQ+ coverage in film, social media, documentaries, and conventions by John Sotomayor and staff
DESIGN
5) CHARLIE / FIRST Place: BEST PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: “Gays in Hollywood” by Em Agency
GENERAL
6) CHARLIE / FIRST Place: AD CREATED FOR A CLIENT: The Pride Chamber by Em Agency
7) CHARLIE / FIRST Place: BEST THEME OR SHOW ISSUE: Embrace Magazine, Entertainment Issue by John Sotomayor and staff
BEST OVERALL
8.) CHARLIE / FIRST Place: BEST OVERALL DIGITAL INNOVATOR: Embrace Media: Embrace Magazine, Embrace On-Air, Embrace TV “digital edition, podcast, video” by John Sotomayor and Alexander Sotomayor

Congratulations to all Embrace Magazine winners! As the publisher, I am extremely proud of our talented team.
Congratulations to all our colleagues who are also winners, too many to list here.
To read our award-winning work in our Entertainment issue, published April 2024, visit our website here:
https://www.embracemedia.us/

01/08/2025

I'm driving down to Sunseeker Resorts in Charlotte Harbor right now to attend the Florida Magazine Association 2025 Charlie Awards tonight. My magazine, Embrace Magazine, is up for 8 awards! Even better, as my final role as an FMA board member, I get to cohost the awards, announcing the winners with my cohost, Jamie Stephenson Rich of Flamingo Magazine! More photos of the awards to follow when available. NOTE: Image of me holding a Charlie Award in this post is from a previous year.

31/07/2025

CURTAIN CALL. I have just had my final board meeting as a board member of the Florida Magazine Association (FMA). First photo: These people are my heart. They all agreed to take a group photo at the end of our board meeting so I could commemorate the moment. They are THE BEST! I will miss working with them. Second photo: Our leadership page as it appeared on our FMA website when I was the Secretary of the board, 2023 - 2024. Third photo: Our leadership page as it appeared on our FMA website when I was the Vice-President of the board, 2024 - 2025. That role as Vice-President, and my 3-year term as board member ended today. I completed a full 3-year term. Being a member of the FMA from 2007 to 2025 was the best and most meaningful experience of my media career. I will cherish that time, and my memories of it, forever. See you all at the FMA Charlie Awards tomorrow night! The 2025 FMA Charlie Awards banquet, as well as the 2025 Florida Media Conference are held at Sunseeker Resorts in Charlotte Harbor, Fla. My final duty as an FMA board member? I will serve as co-host of the Awards Ceremony, announcing the winners! It will truly be a memorable night! Thank you for everything, Florida Magazine Association! I am eternally grateful! ~ John Sotomayor, Founder, Publisher, Editor-in-Chief of Embrace Magazine

29/07/2025

Feeling a bit nostalgic. Today marks the 96 hour countdown (4 days) until the official end of my media career. After working nine years in NYC as a litigation paralegal for top tier law firms following an incomplete JD degree in law school due to distraction when unscrupulous people attempted to extort money from me threatening to out me in 1992, I sought to be a writer. I started as a freelancer working the entertainment beat for an online entertainment platform known then as ETV. I moved to Ocala, Fla. shortly after still pursuing the dream of being a writer. That led me to work with local newspapers and magazines. Before I knew it, I advanced to staff writer, then editor, and ultimately publisher of two magazines I created, Elevate and Embrace.
During the next 18 years, from 2006 to 2024, I joined multiple media groups including the Florida Magazine Association (joined 2007), Florida Press Club (joined 2009) and Society of Professional Journalists Florida Chapter (SPJ Florida, joined 2013). During that time, I earned 105 awards in the FMA and 302 awards overall from those organizations and others, including Magazine of the Year — twice, and finalist as Editor of the Year and Journalist of the Year by SPJ Florida in 2024. Embrace and I were profiled by multiple media and organizations, including the prestigious Poynter Institute of Media Studies, and I was named 20 over 50 by Editors and Publisher Magazine (E&P Magazine). I served on the Florida Magazine Association board for three years (a full term) and on the NLGJA - The Association of LGBTQ Journalists national board for two years, also a full term. I have covered numerous important stories and made countless media peers and friends. It's been a good run. I have my last FMA board meeting this Thursday, July 31, 2025 from 9 to 11 AM (I will attend via zoom) and my final FMA Charlie Awards banquet on Friday, August 1, 2025 at the Sunseeker Resort in Charlotte Harbor. I will continue my new career path, and also, my next writing projects, which will be book writing. I will begin with my memoir, then see where it goes from there.

04/07/2025

Happy 4th of July!

01/07/2025

Today marks the 6th anniversary of Embrace Magazine. On the 5th anniversary, I launched a one-year campaign to find a buyer or partner, offering each of the 12 published issues once per month in order of publication. I did not find a buyer or partner. That is OK. I am proud of what we accomplished with Embrace, a start-up magazine I created from nothing, and produced an award-winning publication that set records in its five years of existence.

Because of Embrace Magazine, we have achieved the following:
JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR Finalist — 2024 by Society of Professional Journalists Florida (SPJ Florida Pro)
EDITOR OF THE YEAR Finalist — 2024 by SPJ Florida Pro
MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR — 2023 by Florida Magazine Association (FMA) for Embrace (MOTY)
NEW BUSINESS OF THE YEAR — 2022 by Pride Chamber for Embrace (Orlando)
MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR — 2021 by FMA for Embrace (won as a startup, made history)

We are a history-maker:
• 2021 & 2023. In Jan 2021, became the 1st LGBTQ+ mag member of FMA, est. 1953. In July 2021, FMA awarded Embrace with Charlie (1st pl) Best New Magazine, Best Overall Mag, & MOTY. 1st & only startup to achieve that. Won a total of 22 awards. In July 2023, became the 2nd magazine to win twice. Total 24 awards with 15 of them Charlie
•Nov 2020, 1st LGBTQ+ member of Associated Church Press (ACP), est. 1916
•1st person to be a finalist for both EDITOR OF THE YEAR & JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR by the SPJ
•Tied record for most 1st place awards by a writer in a year, Florida Press Club, est. 1950 — 6

We received NATIONAL awards:
•2024 GLAAD Media Award Nominated Journalist — Outstanding Print Article
•NLGJA: Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists 2022 Excellence in Journalism — Excellence in Photojournalism

Because of Embrace, I have 105 Florida Magazine Association awards and 302 awards overall. Those are staggering numbers, completed over an 18 year run.

I also had the opportunity to serve as an FMA board member, secretary, and vice-president over the past 3 years, which comes to an end on July 31, 2025. The next night, I attend my final Charlie Awards banquet to receive the final eight awards of my media career.

Embrace Magazine has fulfilled a sense of purpose for me, that still continues. I will find a way to transfer that drive toward a different medium. Ultimately, Embrace Magazine will endure in my memory, and hopefully our collective history, as a tremendous accomplishment for the LGBTQ+ community, and for a simple man with lots of heart.

Thank you, all!

To view the magazine, visit: https://www.embracemedia.us/

01/06/2025

Here it is — the final one of the series — reshared on the first day of Pride Month...

Embrace Magazine is my legacy in the LGBTQ+ community.

In celebration of Embrace Magazine's 5th anniversary, which occurred on June 29, 2024, I decided to reshare each issue once a month in order of publication.
Here is the April 2024 Entertainment Issue (12th one published of 12):
https://issuu.com/sotomayormedia/docs/2404_entertainment
THE MAGAZINE BRAND IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.
All 12 published issues reshared once per month hopefully indicated what the publication's power could be if published monthly.
Some content is timely to the period it was published while others are timeless.
Each issue was reshared on the 1st of the month (or as close to the 1st as possible).
If you are interested in purchasing, or you have a lead to one, please message me in Direct Message.
To see all issues, visit the website here:
https://www.embracemedia.us/
Thank you, please enjoy, and share feedback in public comments if you desire!

01/06/2025

"I'M B-A-A-A-A-A-C-K! (🎵) Did you miss me?" ~ Gayest S**t Ever (It's time for it's return, which has become the sorta, kinda official, unofficial kick-off meme of Pride Month on my page(s) over the recent years) 😁

Embrace Magazine

08/10/2025

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