Dual Current

While the two have done
pieces (called "pods" in the network lingo) on a
variety of subjects, from the secret 20-something party scene
in Muslim countries to the booming counterfeit ID business
spurred by illegal immigration, the flamingly heterosexual
Silva and Lugavere have nearly always had a big gay following
thanks to their detailed pods on issues affecting LGBT people.
Their good looks and friendly banter haven't hurt their
standing with gay viewers either.

"Our first fan
mail ever was from a guy named Vern," Lugavere explains.

"He wanted to know
if I was gay," Silva adds seamlessly, displaying a trait
the two share, making the interview more like a conversation
with one very attractive entity rather than a three-way
discussion. "We get e-mails all the time asking if
we're lovers. Max and Jason, we're the gayest straight
guys ever."

Although they bristle
at its overuse, the
b

word --
bromance

--

has been utilized more than once to describe their
relationship. "That phrase is going to be cool for 10 more
minutes," Lugavere says, but he jokingly admits he and
Silva are "the Matt and Ben of Current TV."

"He has a
super-good energy," Silva says of his friend, while
Lugavere adds, "I'm type B to his type A."

The pair, who met as
students at the University of Miami (which Silva calls
"the hedonistic sandbox of South Beach") and quickly
became best friends, have plenty of personal gay street cred.
Lugavere grew up in New York City and went to high school in
the heart of Chelsea, where he interned at the Boston-New York
AIDS Ride as a teenager. Silva, a Venezuelan, was raised by an
English-teacher mother he describes as "ultra-gay
affirming" in a country "that is not the
gayest-friendly place in the world."