#24 Brock Yurich on dancing at Pulse nightclub & why it's so important gay roles are played by gay actors

#26 Gabi & Shanna from 27 Travels on why gay representation is so important & experiencing homophobia in NYC

Gabi and Shanna are two travel bloggers from New York City. I’ve been following them for some time now on Instagram and living vicariously through them as they traverse the globe on their far-flung travels. I interviewed them remotely of course a few weeks back and we chatted about;

• Shana’s Catholic upbringing,
• experiencing homophobia at home in New York City,
• their plans to open a cafe and to have a beach-house in the Caribbean one day,
• our shared admiration of Hilary Duff

and lots of other things.

This is the first podcast I recorded over Zoom and I wish I had done more trial runs on the app first. I would’ve preferred if the audio was better. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty decent.

You can contact me by emailing me at [email protected] and follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @imcomingoutpod

If you enjoyed this episode (which I really hope you did) please leave a rating, review and subscribe as it really helps me and other people to discover the podcast. Thanks :)

#25 Dan on being gay & a fundamentalist Christian & Nick on being outed to his parents by his boyfriend

Dan & Nick from the 802 podcast met a few years back at a house party and instantly became firm friends. Dan is from Norfolk but now lives in London & Nick grew up in the warmer climes of Trinidad but now lives in Manchester. Their 802 podcast was born out of their friendship and the fun they have together but now has grown to include guests. It’s so important that there is much more representation for people of colour in the gay media so I’m especially happy to have them both on my podcast.

The interview was recorded remotely of course, I’m still working from my very small makeshift studio in my wardrobe at home. I chatted with Dan about;

• why race was more of an issue for him than his sexuality growing up in Norfolk,
• why homophobic abuse went over his head,
• how he became a fundamentalist Christian in his early teens (yep that is what I just said),
• why his church’s lack of acceptance ultimately forced him to leave and lots of other things.

And I chatted with Nick about;

• what it was like growing up in Trinidad where homosexuality was illegal until recently,
• going to secret underground gay parties there when he was a teenager,
• what happened when his Dad discovered he had rented a gay movie from Blockbuster,
• the traumatic experience of his first boyfriend outing him to his parents as a teenager,
• his crush on Dua Lipa’s Dad and lots of other things.

You can contact me by emailing me at [email protected] and follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @imcomingoutpod. If you enjoyed this episode (which I really hope you did) please leave a rating and review as it really helps me. Thanks :)

Twitter @the802podcast

#24 Brock Yurich on dancing at Pulse nightclub & why it's so important gay roles are played by gay actors

Brock Yurich is an American actor who has starred in Succession, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt & Tyler Perry’s the Have and the Have Nots. He was born and raised in Ohio and completed a degree in musical theatre in Orlando Florida before making his way to the bright lights of the Big Apple to become a professional actor. 

He is currently in the midst of pre-production for his first feature film TEST which he has written the screenplay for. He is also producing the movie and will take the lead role in it.

We did the podcast remotely of course and we chatted about; why his parents thought he might be gay from a young age, hanging out & working at Pulse nightclub whilst he was at college in Florida, what it’s like to be an openly gay actor in New York and lots of other things. And I do a whole lot of gay ‘gasping’ as per usual throughout!!!! 😂

If you have any feedback for me email me at [email protected]. Also if you enjoyed this episode (which I really hope you did) please leave a rating, review and subscribe cause it’s a big help - thanks!

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @imcomingoutpod

Instagram & Twitter @brockyurich

#23 Robin Windsor on why he didn't come out to his mum until he was 35

Robin was a dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, one of the biggest shows in the UK for the best part of a decade. Dancing since the age of three he became England’s number one ballroom dancer as a teenager. He then spent ten years touring the globe as part of ‘Burn the Floor’, one of the leading touring dance shows ever.

This interview was recorded remotely of course (last September, I’m only getting around to editing them now- sorry!!!) and we chatted about;

• why he felt like ‘the real-life Billy Elliot’ growing up,
• how all his school-friends were really supportive of his dancing,
• having Keanu Reeves posters on his wall as a teenager,
• the moment he came out to his friends on a dance trip abroad,
• why he didn’t come out to his mother until he was 35 

and lots of other things.

If you have any feedback for email me at [email protected]. Also if you enjoyed this episode (which I really hope you did) please leave a rating, review and subscribe cause it’s a big help - thanks! (There was some crackling on Robin's mic-apologies)

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @imcomingoutpod

officialrobinwindsor.com

Instagram & Twitter @robinwindsor

#22 Mohsin Zaidi on growing up gay & Muslim in East London

It’s series 4 time!!!!! And I’m thrilled that my first guest is top criminal barrister and author Mohsin Zaidi. He released his memoirs ‘A Dutiful Boy’ last October and it was one of my favourite books of 2020 - I absolutely loved it!!!!

Mohsin was born the eldest son of devout Shia Muslim parents in a deprived area of East London. Growing up in a religiously conservative household, Mohsin harboured a secret for much of his development years; he was gay. In a community where homosexuality was almost unimaginable, Mohsin  strugged with his sexuality alone for years.

Despite all these challenges, Mohsin flourished academically and later professionally. He became the first person from his comprehensive school to attend Oxford University and is today one of Britain’s top criminal barristers.

His memoirs A Dutiful Boy, was released at the end of last year and has been met with unanimous praise in the media. It was named by GQ, the Guardian and the New Statesman as one of the best books of 2020.

This interview was recorded back in October, over Zoom of course and I chatted with Mohsin about…….

• why his entire year were stopped and searched on their last day of school
• how his home was petrol bombed in a racist attack after 9/11.
• the spiritual pilgrimages he took abroad in the hope of changing his sexuality
• why his father at first reacted by bringing a witch doctor to the family home to ‘change’ his son’s sexuality
• and Mohsin’s family’s journey to acceptance of his sexuality and how they are now even helping him plan his wedding to his fiancee.

If you have any feedback for me I would love to hear from you at [email protected]. I loved chatting to Mohsin and I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did enjoyed it, please free to leave a review. :)

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I’m Coming Out Podcast @imcomingoutpod

Mohsin Zaidi @mohsinzaidi_ldn