Arts & Entertainment
A snitch in time …
‘Harry Potter’-inspired game enthralls gay athlete
Kedzie Teller (far right) playing quidditch with the Austin Outlaws during the 2016 Major League Quidditch tournament. (Photo by Tayyeb Mubarik)
Often life-changing moments come out of the blue.
In spring, 2009, Kedzie Teller stumbled upon a quidditch match between Boston University and Emerson College. His first thought was, “This can’t be real.”
What he didn’t know at that moment was that quidditch, a game inspired by one played in the “Harry Potter” books (albeit sans magical elements), would define the next eight years of his life.
Quidditch is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country with about 200 college and community teams registered with US Quidditch. In 2015, the sport went pro with 16 teams making up four divisions. Locally, Major League Quidditch has representation by the Washington Admirals.
The rest of the world is also catching onto the sport which has been described as a mix of rugby, handball and dodgeball. The International Quidditch Association World Cup is held every two years and in 2016 it drew teams from 21 countries.
Teller grew up in a soccer family all over New England with three sisters who also played the sport. Teller played on travel teams and captained his high school soccer team where he was all-state. He was also a sprinter on the track team and when it came time to pick a college, he had to make a choice.
“I had soccer offers from Division II colleges, but I am very competitive and I wanted to be an athlete at a Division I college,” Teller says. “I ended up accepting a track offer from Boston University in part because they had a communications program for journalism.”
When Teller first noticed the quidditch team on campus, it was the end of his freshman year and he was leaving the track team due to personal differences with the coaching. Hungry for a competitive outlet, he went to a quidditch practice at the beginning of his sophomore year and was immediately hooked.
“It is very competitive and super fun. I fell in love at the first practice,” Teller says. “The team was a mix of athletes and people who love Harry Potter and I met a lot of people who I wouldn’t have met otherwise. We also won a lot and I like to win.”
Teller played for Boston University Quidditch as a chaser for three years and captained in his senior year. When he graduated in 2012, he thought his career was over. Instead, he was selected to the United States National Quidditch Team and played in the inaugural World Cup in London winning a gold medal.
Reinvigorated, he returned to Boston and formed his own team, Q.C. Boston. By that time, US Quidditch had begun allowing community teams to compete against college teams. He was selected again to the national team in 2014 and won another gold medal at the World Cup in Vancouver.
“It has been so special being a part of this sport early on and to watch it develop,” Teller says. “The rules have evolved and the sport is incredibly better now.”
So much better in fact, that there are rumblings of the possibility that quidditch will be an Olympic sport someday. The International Olympic Committee has a list of guidelines when considering a new sport that includes outreach to youth. Yes, kidditch is alive and well.
Teller moved to Texas in 2015 to work as a brand strategist and began playing US Quidditch with the Lone Star Quidditch Club. He was sidelined by a torn ACL but his competitive spirit was still burning bright.
“People said I was done, but I got into the best shape of my life and came back better than ever,” he says. “The experience taught me how much I loved quidditch and how much I wanted to stay in sports.”
Teller was selected as an alternate to the United States National Quidditch Team in 2016 and turned pro when he qualified for the Austin Outlaw’s Major League Quidditch team.
He was selected again in 2017 for the Outlaws team only to have his season cut short when he moved to Philadelphia to further his professional career with the Social Channel. The Outlaws recently won the Major League Quidditch Championships and had a surprise for Teller.
“Little did I know that my GM/Coaching staff had kept me on the roster and collected a medal that they saved for me,” Teller says. “The gesture left me more grateful than they can understand and it was a beautiful way for things to end.”
He is now settling into life in Philadelphia, still involved in sports and playing tennis several times a week. His work as the director of content development for the Social Channel includes producing video content for the Women’s Tennis Association. In 2016, he became a sports ambassador for Athlete Ally whose mission is to end homophobia and transphobia in sports.
Teller came out in his freshman year of college and out to his family at age 20. All along he has always found acceptance from his quidditch family. The governing bodies of quidditch have established gender identity guidelines that put them on the forefront of forward thinking.
“Major League Quidditch was very receptive to getting on board with Athlete Ally,” Teller says. “The sport of quidditch has always felt so inclusive. I was safe and super protected.”
Kedzie Teller sits on the field after a quidditch match. (Photo courtesy Kedzie Teller)
The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade held its 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday, May 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer spoke along with State Sen. Russ Huxtable, CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey, Blade Editor Kevin Naff, and Clear Space Theatre Managing Director Joe Gfaller. The event raises funds for the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which was awarded to AU student Abigail Hatting.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
In some fowl fiction foreshadowing, a gay-owned chicken joint has come home to roost on U Street, taking a page from the chicken window subplot on the HBO show “Looking.”
Last Friday, Lucky Pollo – much more than just a takeout window – stretched its wings atop the busy nightlife corner of 14th and U Streets NW.
Behind the poultry production place is Zach Renovátes, a D.C.-based nightlife operator and managing partner of LGBTQ venues Bunker and District Eagle, as well as the LGBTQ event production company KINETIC Presents.
Renovátes opened Bunker in February 2023 and District Eagle in January of this year. Lucky Pollo is the third in his growing gay empire, though this time there are noshes.
“Lucky Pollo was meant to be fun and a little provocative,” Renovátes said.
Based around its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, Lucky Pollo is a quick-service restaurant boasting a small menu of poultry and sides. Renovátes says that the dishes are deeply rooted in Peruvian culinary tradition, “a playful experience alongside seriously good food.”
Lucky Pollo’s signature chicken is steeped in a dozen-plus-spice marinade for 24 hours. The meat is then slow-roasted, rotisserie-style, over oak-wood charcoal. Chicken options include quarter, half, and whole.
Helming the kitchen at Lucky Pollo is Chef Luis Herrera, who brings Peruvian recipes passed down through three generations, including his grandmother Laura’s original creations.
Beyond the full bird, the menu features Peruvian-inspired sides like yuca fries (“I personally love these,” says Renovátes) and fried plantains, as well as comfort classics such as mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and bowls, wraps, and salads. Herrera oversees development of the multiple sauces (including staff favorite, the “secret green sauce”), crafted in-house using traditional Peruvian ingredients.
Lucky Pollo, in its streetside perch, is an independent concept from District Eagle, open to the public and staying open late (3 a.m. on weekends) to serve both nightlife guests and the wider U Street crowd hungry for late-night bites. However, just beyond the kitchen, tucked in the back lies a vintage 1950s candy machine—labeled “Out of Order,” which serves as the door leading to subterranean District Eagle.
Renovátes notes that when District Eagle is open, security staff will maintain a strict two-line policy, ensuring that those seeking meat to eat will not get entwined with those looking to gain access to District Eagle.
Lucky Pollo unites the need for sustenance with the idea of a bit of fortune, given its motto, “Get Lucky” and the whimsical brand mascot: a leather-booted chicken perched on a horseshoe. Renovátes and his District Eagle business partner had always been interested in opening a restaurant, and the Lucky Pollo space was indeed lucky: It already came with a functional kitchen. Plus, he says, the nearby fast-casual places around 14th and U streets “don’t offer a lot of quality options,” so opening the chicken spot “was a no-brainer.”
The space, designed by NYC creative Jasin Cadic, blends theatrical street-art-style vibes with Keith Haring-inspired wall prints, neon signs, and ceiling-hung chicken figurines —”some edgy, some sweet,” says Renovátes —creating an immersive, playful atmosphere. Lucky Pollo and District Eagle maintain separate amenities for their respective customers.
Lucky Pollo opened last week with a competition to devour a whole rotisserie chicken in the fastest time, with the winner earning $1,000 and a framed spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The opening also featured other games and prizes, and a full crowd spilling out the door.
“We want it to be a great place to eat, but also serve as a playful front for something completely unexpected.” Renovátes says.
On weekends especially, he jokes, the motto will be, ‘Come for the chicken, stay for the cock.’”
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