At the end of last year, we announced the Same Same 25, our annual celebration of the 25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians.

The list created a lot of media attention all around the country.

But at the end of last year, we asked you to vote for who you thought was the most influential gay and lesbian for 2008. The year before, Justice Michael Kirby was voted by Same Same members as the most influential.

This year the baton is handed to a younger member of the Same Same 25. The youngest member, in fact. The People’s Choice Award for the most influential gay and lesbian Australian for 2008, as voted by you, is Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham.

There are few who would doubt Mitcham’s influence last year. He dived into the hearts of people all around the world at the Beijing Olympics and his influence will be felt for years to come.

As a special treat to celebrate the Same Same 25, one of the members of the inaugural list, photographer William Yang, was on hand to capture all of the action at the event in December. Check out William Yang’s special Same Same 25 gallery.