Skip to content
  • 952.405.9309
  • Agent Resources
  • Booked Guests
  • Vacations
  • Reservations
  • Booked Guests
  • Why Brand g?
  • About Us
  • FAQ’s
  • Blog
  • Podcast
Menu
  • Vacations
  • Reservations
  • Booked Guests
  • Why Brand g?
  • About Us
  • FAQ’s
  • Blog
  • Podcast
Search
Close
Uncategorized

Meet the Brand g Staff!

02/01/23

Enquire Now
Book now
Call now

Over the past 11 years, Brand g has grown from a two-man company offering one vacation a year to a five-person staff (soon to be seven, along with additional trip host staff members) debuting nearly 20 different trips around the world each year.

But we couldn’t have managed this growth without the hard work and talents of these fairly awesome individuals. They’re not in it for the money – well ok, maybe a little money, I mean, a girl’s gotta eat –  they’re in it because they love travel, they love people, and they love occasionally wearing drag in foreign countries.

Don’t ask.

Jeff Gundvaldson & Brian Van Wey

The former President (Jeff) and Director of Marketing (Brian) of RSVP Vacations, they’re the co-CEO’s of Brand g. But these aren’t guys who lie around on chaise lounges being fed grapes. (Not that they haven’t asked us to do that.) They design vacations, negotiate deals, and spend ungodly numbers of hours every week making sure that every guest is cared for and that Brand g is a well-oiled machine.

With more than 40 years of travel experience – and millions of air miles – between them, these two are the best in the business when it comes to creating memorable vacations. They’ve done it all, seen it all, and they’ve put that vast storehouse of knowledge into making Brand g a force to be reckoned with in the LGBT travel space. (Brand g is now the premier operator of 5-star all-LGBT+ vacations.)

Jeff is sporty – a total athlete – which annoys the rest of us to no end. No one should look this good and be able to catch a ball without screaming. He often bikes to work, and has ridden in many Red Ribbon Rides (Minneapolis’ version of the AIDS Ride), which also speaks to his amazing commitment to charitable causes. Hate him yet? You should. But you just can’t.

Brian is straight – he’s married, and has a gorgeous wife and a little girl you could eat with a spoon – but you’d never know it on a Brand g trip, because he makes every guest feel like they’re his best friend. Why, you may ask, would a straight guy start a gay travel company? Like so many of us, he fell into the gay thing. (Your joke goes here.) In his 20’s, he was offered a job at RSVP, and just loved the world of travel. He has ZERO bias, and could not be a cooler (or more adorable) ally.

On any given trip, you’ll often have either Jeff (and his equally handsome husband, Troy) or Brian onboard. They’re there to make sure our vendors go above and beyond, and to make sure you’re having a great time. I don’t personally know how they maintain such phenomenal calm and good humor (it’s almost freakish), but I suspect medication is involved. Truly, they’re two of the best human beings you’ll ever meet.

Johnathon Gallagher

Johnathon began his career in airport management. But since international travel was his passion, he joined British Airways as a flight attendant, where he entertained show business and corporate royalty in first class. He’s still entertaining royalty (well, lots of queens), but fortunately for us, he now does it for Brand g. We challenge you to find someone who has been on a Brand g trip who doesn’t RAVE about this man.

As Director of Operations, Johnathon heads up Brand g’s European office. (He resides in bonny Dumfries, Scotland.) Thanks to his wealth of management and customer service experience, he’s also instrumental in making sure Brand g runs like clockwork. But our guests mostly know him as the HILARIOUS face of Brand g, since he serves as Cruise Director on the majority of Brand g’s trips. When Johnathon is on your trip, you’ll laugh until you get a hiatal hernia. Buy travel insurance.

Maissie DuBois

This terrifying woman is Johnathon’s slightly drunker evil twin. Maissie makes her appearances as Cruise Directress whenever Johnathon is “napping” (typically with a crew member) in his cabin.

Born in the back streets of Glasgow as the daughter of a docker (shipbuilder) and Clippie (bus conductor), Maissie began as a pickpocket, then graduated to pimping, eventually blossoming into a Cruise Directress with hardly a criminal record or restraining order to be found (unless you Google her). Her innate gift for clawing her way to the top has led her from the gutter to the gangway of luxury ships.

“Give the people what they want,” Maissie will bellow in her lilting foghorn voice as she blows kisses from the top deck to passing sailors, who, oddly, don’t blow them back.

Eric Poole

As Director of Marketing, I (the author of this and pretty much all blog posts) came to Brand g in an unusual way: I won Brand g’s annual free cruise giveaway in 2016. I loved the experience so much, I made them hire me. (Literally. At gunpoint.) As a former Fox Television marketing executive – for the broadcast network, not Fox News, I have a soul – I handle the advertising, social media, newsletters, blog posts, the podcast, our in-person parties, etc.

I’m also an author. My first memoir, Where’s My Wand? One Boy’s Magical Triumph Over Alienation and Shag Carpeting was published by Penguin and developed as a sitcom for ABC by Adam Sandler and Sony Pictures Television. My second, Excuse Me While I Slip Into Someone More Comfortable, from Simon & Schuster, is also out and will hopefully have a similar but maybe more successful TV fate.

When I’m not doing marketing stuff, I spend my time trying to get Maissie DuBois to make out with me. This is less difficult than one might imagine.

James Mayo

Yes, that smile is indicative of the big bundle of love known as James.  Born and raised in Utah, he has lived all over the west, which has helped he and his adorable husband Jeremy develop a mysterious (well, to me) affinity for camping. So why on earth is he with a luxury travel brand?

Much like my journey to Brand g, James’ happened by coincidence. He has spent his career (up to this point) in the healthcare insurance industry…but his love and side hustle was always theatre. (He’s an extraordinarily talented sound guy and has designed the sound for almost every professional theatre company in Utah.) So, a few years ago, when he was a guest on a Brand g Europe cruise, he approached Jeff during a show and volunteered to improve the sound for one of our performers; and voila, his path to a new career with Brand g began. Over time, James began handling the sound for most of our entertainers, and slowly became a vital – and beloved – member of the family. The fact that he’s a brilliant data guy and a charming voice on the phone only adds to his allure.

He is now our Reservations Manager and has begun hosting trips, so most of you will have occasion to talk to him either via phone, email or in person…or all three. And you. Will. Love. Him.

Want to be a part of the magic? Brand g is expanding! If you’re interested in joining the team, email us at info@brandgvacations.com.

Blog Categories
  • Booked Guests (5)
  • Brand g Signature Entertainment (7)
  • Brand g Vacations (44)
  • Cruise (33)
  • Gay Travel (83)
  • Lesbian Travel (1)
  • Lesbian Travel (6)
  • LGBT (43)
  • Myanmar (2)
  • Philanthropy (12)
  • Travel (75)
  • Uncategorized (51)

Awards & Partners

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Testimonials
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Testimonials
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Testimonials
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Testimonials
  • Privacy Policy
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • Phone 952.405.9309
  • International +1.952.405.9309

© 2023 Brand g Vacations. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPT REJECT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesThis cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_SW78PTWPE32 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_UA-186920831-11 minuteA variation of the _gat cookie set by Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager to allow website owners to track visitor behaviour and measure site performance. The pattern element in the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to.
_gcl_au3 monthsProvided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
calltrk_landing1 yearThis is a functionality cookie set by the CallRail. This cookie is used to store the landing page URL. It helps to accurately attribute the visitor source when displaying a tracking phone number.
calltrk_nearest_tld9 years 10 months 8 daysNo description
calltrk_referrer1 yearThis is a functionality cookie set by the CallRail. This cookie is used to store the referring URL. It helps to accurately attribute the visitor source when displaying a tracking phone number.
DEVICE_INFO5 months 27 daysNo description
gaclientid1 monthNo description
handl_ip1 monthNo description available.
handl_landing_page1 monthNo description available.
handl_original_ref1 monthNo description available.
handl_ref1 monthNo description available.
handl_ref_domain1 monthNo description
handl_url1 monthNo description available.
handl_url_base1 monthNo description
handlID1 monthNo description
HandLtestDomainNamesessionNo description
HandLtestDomainNameServer1 dayNo description
organic_source1 monthNo description
organic_source_str1 monthNo description
traffic_source1 monthNo description available.
user_agent1 monthNo description available.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
  • Testimonials
  • Travel Insurance
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • Book With Confidence
  • Brand g VIP Club
  • Testimonials
  • Travel Insurance
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • Book With Confidence
  • Brand g VIP Club
  • Travel Insurance
  • Agent Resources
  • Booked Guests
  • Contact Us
    • Join Our Mailing List
  • 952.405.9309
  • Brand g VIP Club
  • Travel Insurance
  • Agent Resources
  • Booked Guests
  • Contact Us
    • Join Our Mailing List
  • 952.405.9309
  • Brand g VIP Club
facebook_w
twitter_w
instagram_w
youtube_w

Stay in Touch

Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed of deals and promotions