Paducah Life Lands the Exclusive Words of William

Millions watch his videos, read about him everywhere online and in print, have seen him on Geraldo and heard him mentioned on The View.

So how is it that when the young man with the great hair rings up our GAP purchases at the Kentucky Oaks Mall, not everyone knows that he rules the Internet?

Maybe it’s because cute, cute, cute William Sledd has always given a big, “Girl, uh-uh, no” to granting interviews to any local media. He just wasn’t comfortable sharing his story here locally.

That all changed this past May when he got a call from Darlene Mazzone of Paducah Life magazine. When Mazzone heard about the 23-year-old YouTube superstar sensation, she knew she’d found someone larger than life, right in our own backyard.

William Sledd is the fabulous fashionista behind the very funny and sweetly honest Ask a Gay Man fashion dos and don’ts videos, many of which he shoots in Paducah. (So watch what you wear to the mall!) He adds his super-cute commentary from his bedroom “studio” and then edits the footage into catchy little pieces that he then posts to YouTube.

He and gal-pal Stephanie’s Ask a Gay Man Denim Editionhas been viewed more than 3 million times, and counting. It was nominated for Best Series in YouTube’s first-ever awards last year, coming in second to Ask a Ninja. And, frankly, Sledd’s take on the Ninja series is way funnier than the Ninja series, itself.  

Mazzone says she heard about Sledd from friend Tom Prigge. “Tom emailed me the Los Angeles Times story on William,” she recalls. “As soon as I saw it, I picked up the phone, called the GAP and William answered. He said he wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with the local media. But he called back 30 minutes later to say he’d be thrilled to be featured.”

So Mazzone and her staff got the fashion ball rolling over lunch with Sledd at B. Russell’s in May. They kept in touch right up until the magazine went to press. Mazzone wanted her story to be as up-to-date as possible since Sledd travels and fields various entertainment-deal offers so frequently. The new magazine, with Sledd on the cover, is on newsstands and in mailboxes this week!

How did Paducah Life land this exclusive interview with the internationally public but, until now, locally private Sledd? We emailed Sledd that very question.

“I have never wanted to do local press,” Sledd says. “Paducah is my ‘rock.’ When I am in New  York or Los Angeles, things are totally different, but Paducah has always been the same to me. I've tried to keep it that way for as long as possible.

“Living in such a small town, people tend to get ‘overexcited’ about things, (and) I never wanted to be one of those things,” Sledd adds. “The time finally came where I was running out of excuses, and Darlene called me and asked if I would do a story. With a little hesitation I said yes! I knew that Darlene…could do my story in such a fun and exciting way, I couldn't resist. I haven't seen the full issue yet, a couple pages here and there, and the cover, let’s just say it’s HAWT.”

“Hawt,” of course, is a favorite Sledd-ism for “hot.” And while the entertainment world continues to flirt with the very hawt Sledd, he continues to spread the fashion love part-time at the GAP. There’s a possible television show on the Bravo! channel in the works. Yet Sledd, who is already featured on Bravo’s outzonetv.com Web site, is staying mum on the subject.

“Everyone wants to know if I'm going to have my own TV show,” he says. “While there are possibilities, and things are in the works, television is so fickle, so I don’t say much. When it’s on TV, then we’ll talk!”

In the meantime, Sledd continues to make his videos. “I have no idea where the future is going to take me,” he says. “Right now, I just hit 'record' and have fun! No matter what happens, I'm living once-in-a-lifetime experiences everyday.”

And he always looks good doing it. Congratulations to William Sledd and to Paducah Life for getting the inside scoop!