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Since graduating from Boston University five years ago with an acting degree, the Brooklyn native has slowly but surely insinuated himself into the very heart of Gotham’s gay scene. But though he has proven to be a successful nightlife impresario of late, McGovern, who as a kid lived in Thailand and Egypt for 10 years, is first and foremost a performer. Starting with the open mike nights of the Lower East Side’s improvisational “art-star” circuit (then centered on the recently shuttered Surf Reality performance space), through club gigs at HomoCorps, Luxx and elsewhere, to stints at established indie theater P.S. 122 and high-profile comedy joint Caroline’s, McGovern has represented contemporary urban queer life as he uniquely sees it, in fresh, brash and dirty ways.

Of course, his most popular, not to mention inventive, creation is the Gay Pimp, the star of the new Zipper Theater show and the “Soccer Practice” video. An imposing figure (McGovern himself stands 6'4") of cartoon-like proportions, the Gay Pimp is basically a queer superhero for the 21st century, one who both rescues young fags from their tormentors’ clutches and turns cute straight guys gay - all the while singing and dancing like Justin Timberlake. Originally a one-time response to Eminem’s insistently anti-homosexual raps, the character has come into his own in this post-boy band era of American Idol and Fame mania. Both shows, like much of mainstream entertainment as McGovern likes to point out, radiate gayness while at the same time carefully circumscribing it.

Even when queerness is acknowledged, McGovern finds it lacking. “Pop culture’s missing something that’s gay but not gay in an old- school way, that’s not about Liza impersonations or things like that,” he says. “Even with Will & Grace, there’s either Jack or Will: There’s either super- faggoty or there’s Ken doll, where you don’t have a wiener. What I’m trying to do in all my projects is to put something out there that’s really, really faggoty and gay, but at the same time tough and cool - tough enough to be like, ‘Yeah, straight people, I’m a faggot, and I’m going to fuck you in the ass if you’re not careful.’ I think there’s a big audience out there that’s really dying for that kind of material.”

Judging from the insane success of the video to McGovern’s Gay Pimp song “Soccer Practice,” that’s true. A behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on in high school and college locker rooms, the video - starring McGovern and the sexy (but, sadly, straight) Abercrombie & Fitch model Rick Schubert in a series of sweaty, revealing scenes - became a major hit last fall. It debuted at no. 5 on the national video club play chart, a higher position than that of videos by Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez that were also playing that week - pretty good for someone who doesn’t even have a record label. It’s also been a big hit in Asia, where in addition to playing on MTV, it garnered McGovern and crew an invitation to perform at the upcoming Tokyo International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

Closer to home, McGovern and company witnessed a veritable fan frenzy when they performed in a little gay club in the sticks of upstate New York. There, before the performance began, he was startled to find no less than 10 boys right in front of the stage perfectly mimicking the “Soccer Practice” choreography, kicks and all. “We threw towels into the audience, and they were fighting over them,” he recalls. “I was signing autographs - and people’s titties and asses - for an hour.” No doubt the response will be even crazier when the next Gay Pimp video, “Lookin’ Cute/Feelin’ Cute,” based in part on the cult ’80s break dancer flick Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, is released this fall. Indeed, the new show, Gay Pimp & The Dirty Gay Teen Pop Superstars, is staged as if the Gay Pimp already has a massive following. The show’s conceit is that the Gay Pimp is performing a concert at Madison Square Garden, one of many stops on his worldwide arena tour, complete with 15 dancers and several snazzy costume changes. The 12- song set list includes many old favorites as well as some new tracks, such as the Williamsburg spoof “Plug It In, a.k.a. Electro Boy” and a special rap by DJ Nita. It’s perhaps the apotheosis of the act, taking advantage of the Zipper Theater’s capabilities.

“It’s all the cheesiest fun of all the videos and all the movies that you’ve ever seen,” McGovern says, citing such disparate influences as J.Lo (of course), Janet Jackson, West Side Story and The Great Muppet Caper. “We reference all that stuff and put it into one big huge chunk of gay Velveeta.” For the Gay Pimp - and McGovern - as well as many fans both here and abroad, nothing could be tastier.