WILKINSON

Becoming Wilkinson

Society EN ↓ 194 episodes

When I started this podcast, I thought it would be the story of my journey from married man with three sons, involved in ministry in the NW, to my current life as a gay man in Palm Springs, CA. I'd weave in interesting interviews with amazing people whom I've met along the way. But as the podcast has evolved, I realized that interacting and hearing other people's stories has changed me. The Universe always sends me just the right person at just the right time to guide me along my own journey of "Becoming". Join me as I have conversations with these fascinating people and share this journey wit...

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WILKINSON

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Sean Hoey is a Democratic political operative who has worked for Democratic political candidates across the country, including Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. 15.03.2023 55:08

Send us Fan Mail Sean Hoey is a Democratic political operative who has worked for Democratic political candidates across the country, including Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Sean was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. He's the son of small business owners, lived his childhood in the closet, and witnessed the power of politics growing up in a capital city. His upbringing informs the va...

Daniel Patrick O'Reilly's family thought that he was announcing that his galpal sitting at the dinner table was his new girlfriend. Instead, he told them that he was gay. He's packed a lot of life into his years & he shares some thoughtful insights... 12.03.2023 55:51

Send us Fan Mail Daniel Patrick O'Reilly is a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. You can find him selling wine by day, slinging drinks by night, or on your television sets as a young dad in a First Five California commercial. If interested to know more about his life and adventures, you can reach out to him on his IG at http://www. Instagram.com/danpatrickoreilly Photo: Copyright W...

Michael Christl: His coming out process as gay, explaining everything to his then girlfriend, gay dating adventures and then finally selling everything in order to hit the road and find himself. 08.03.2023 44:19

Send us Fan Mail “…I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” Joseph Campbell Michael is a native Nevadan who spent his childhood between a high desert dirt pile surrounded by every animal his parents would let him have and a tire & auto repair store alongside his parents while on roller skates. He has lived in 3 of the 4 US...

Brent Heinze knows gay men: He's a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), an author, he runs a non-profit, he's been active in the gay leather community and he's a musician who's now working on a musical. Oh. My. 05.03.2023 41:32

Send us Fan Mail Brent Heinze has a master’s degree in clinical counseling and has been working in the mental health field for over 18 years. He is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in California specializing in working with gay men, sexuality, couples, and non-traditional relationships. He is a published author of two self-improvement books, “Redefining Normal 1 & 2: A Mode...

Rick R. Reed has written over 50 books on gay romance and horror! And don't necessarily confuse the two! 01.03.2023 30:27

Send us Fan Mail Rick R. Reed is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than fifty works of published fiction. He has won the LGBTQ literary prize, the Rainbow Award three times (for Raining Men in 2013 best gay contemporary fiction and in 2021, his psychological thriller revolving around Jeffrey Dahmer, The Man from Milwaukee won for best gay mystery and best gay novel overall; the book...

Matthew Mitchell is a creative force as a photographer with vast experience as a dancer and make-up artist. This enables him to capture more than simply the exterior of his models. 26.02.2023 49:31

Send us Fan Mail Matthew Mitchell is a Los Angeles based photographer/director. His work is stylish, yet effortless. Images of beauties such as Eva Longoria , Leighton Meister and Anna Lynne McCord have graced the covers and pages of magazines internationally. His background as a former dancer, and make-up artist, serve him well when capturing more than the exterior of his subjects. He remarks:...

Peter Leahy: Author of "Glowing Up Gay: A Curious Journey of Discovery" talks about his journey and what caused him to write the book. "What happens when you finally come out of the closet and stop living a lie? 24.02.2023 28:32

Send us Fan Mail In Peter Leahy 's own words: "What happens when you finally come out of the closet and stop living a lie? For many years, I saw myself as a coward – too scared to admit that I was gay and embrace who I was. Throughout my 20’s and 30’s, my active life was masked with what I believed was “normalcy,” but underneath I was tormented by sadness, emptiness and most importantly,...

Jason Stuart is a prolific actor and stand-up comedian who came out on Geraldo Rivera's show. And he has stories... 22.02.2023 34:48

Send us Fan Mail JASON STUART When you think one of the most prolific character actors, who’s also an outrageous openly gay stand-up comedian, one name comes to mind.... Jason Stuart . After years of steady work in film and televi- sion, and over 150 credits on his IMDB page, actor and comedian Jason Stuart has achieved a pinnacle of success many actors only dream of. "For the last few years,...

DARYA TEESEWELL: The wild adventures of a MTF (male to female) trans woman in Southern California 19.02.2023 28:53

Send us Fan Mail Darya Teesewell (she/her) is a writer, storyteller and member of the Hollywood filmmaking diaspora. Darya is a woman of trans/queer history born in mid-century in Los Angeles at Cedars of Lebanon in Hollywood. She now lives in Cathedral City, California where being mid-century is the apex of fashion. Darya worked a below-the-line job in the film industry for forty years under anot...

Shawn Smith gives a historical perspective on the formation of the gay bear community and he also shares some insights about bears. 15.02.2023 38:04

Send us Fan Mail Shawn Smith gives a historical perspective on the formation of the gay bear community and he also shares some insights about bears. It's almost like sitting in a college class as he gives us some insider information and insights regarding the bear community. In addition to his knowledge and engagement in the bear community, his involvement in an emerging Gay college campus o...

Steven Henke "Brings good people and great ideas together." And he shares how to find one's self by giving to the community. 12.02.2023 33:57

Send us Fan Mail Steven Henke joined DAP Health in 2017 and was promoted to Director of Brand Marketing in 2019, He currently leads all strategic branding, marketing, and communications for the organization and Revivals Stores . "I bring good people and great ideas together." Henke spent his first five years in the Coachella Valley as Client Strategies Manager for Gannett owned Desert Su...

Mel England discusses performing in a two man play (where he's naked onstage in "ELECTRICITY"), acting in NYC and LA, finding his husband Tony (the love of his life) and other parts of his crazy life's adventure. Part Two. 08.02.2023 38:44

Send us Fan Mail Mel discusses his journey on the professional side in this second episode. MEL ENGLAND has starred on Screen and Stage, Off-Broadway, internationally and across the USA, since his debut at age 10 in CYRANO DE BERGERAC, directed by British Actor/Director Anton Rogers at the Dallas Theatre Center. He's played Brad in the play ELECTRICITY for audiences around the country, from N...

Mel England discusses his life, acting, producing & directing & coming out as an HIV+ performer on stage in NYC. Part One. 05.02.2023 31:11

Send us Fan Mail Mel discusses in background and early life in this first episode. MEL ENGLAND has starred on Screen and Stage, Off-Broadway, internationally and across the USA, since his debut at age 10 in CYRANO DE BERGERAC, directed by British Actor/Director Anton Rogers at the Dallas Theatre Center. He's played Brad in the play ELECTRICITY for audiences around the country, from New York,...

Austin Urban shares his story in this "Anatomy of an Abusive Gay Relationship" and he also shares some insights into other men's personalities, wants and needs in his experience as a gay male escort. 01.02.2023 31:20

Send us Fan Mail AUSTIN URBAN Austin Urban shares his story in this "Anatomy of an Abusive Gay Relationship" and he also shares some insights into other men's personalities, wants and needs in his experience as a gay male escort. It's easy to look at someone else's failing relationship and to then make a judgment about it. "Why is he putting up with that behavior fro...

Meet Terry Ray... actor, writer, playwright, producer-director & managing director of Palm Springs' new gay theatre- "The Bent Theatre"! Be sure to see his two plays returning in February: "The LINCOLN DEBATE" (was Abe gay?) and "Electricity". 29.01.2023 27:00

Send us Fan Mail In the words of Terry Ray : "I can't remember not wanting to be an actor. To be fair, I can barely remember having hair, but still. It's a passion I've fought hard to nurture and a dream I've never given up on, even when it defied all odds and all logic... and believe me, it usually did... Then one day I decided to quit waiting for the phone to ring for...

Rob Rosen knows a lot about gay love and sex and he's written prolifically about the topic! He's written a ton of gay novels and stories and he's edited many gay erotic anthologies. You might say he's popping out gay all over! 25.01.2023 23:35

Send us Fan Mail Rob Rosen is a multi-award-winning and best-selling author/editor/anthologist. He's the author of: Sparkle: The Queerest Book You'll Ever Love Divas Las Vegas Hot Lava Southern Fried Queerwolf Vamp Queens of the Apocalypse Creature Comfort Fate Midlife Crisis Fierce And God Belched Mary, Queen of Scotch Ted of the d'Urbervilles Sort of Dead Genie in a Vodka Bottle...

Alex Price will be in two different stage productions in Feb-Mar, 2023. In "The Lincoln Debate", he plays Joshua Speed-Lincoln's lover ( Oops) I mean "Very Close Friend". Abe wasn't gay", you might be thinking. You might want to consider the facts! 22.01.2023 37:08

Send us Fan Mail Alex Price is new to Palm Springs after moving here from the East coast in 2021. His life has taken him from the sticks of Tennessee, to Washington DC, a brief detour in Wuhan, China (ever heard of it?), and finally to the West coast and the Coachella Valley. A government bureaucrat during the day, Alex has rekindled his love of acting and can be found performing in two differen...

Jason Reale's latest stage role has him playing Abraham Lincoln in "The Lincoln Debate". Jason is gay. Is it possible that Lincoln was, too? 18.01.2023 30:58

Send us Fan Mail Jason Reale is a recent transplant from NYC where he was a director of design for a global branding agency. At the age of thirty he decided to change up his life, quit his job and rediscover his passion for acting by studying the Hagen technique at HB Studio. It was there where he was able to start to unravel the facade he had built up over the years and reawaken his creative spar...

"Anything is possible in Palm Springs"! Claudia Ried and Alan Kraemer have proven this to be true by becoming producers and entertainers in this next chapter of their lives! 15.01.2023 34:11

Send us Fan Mail Alan Kraemer and Claudia Ried After careers in the tech industry and the fashion industry respectively, Alan Kraemer and Claudia Ried have reinvented themselves in the desert as producers and entertainers. On this show they tell us about their various ventures and adventures. Links: YouTube: https://youtube.com/@PalmSpringsPointofView Facebook: https://www. Facebook.com/PSPOV Inst...

Is it possible that finding out you're HIV positive could change one's life for the BETTER? Sometimes it takes a major event to cause a man to get it all together.... The journey of Kevin. Part 2. 13.01.2023 26:14

Send us Fan Mail Kevin has travelled extensively throughout the USA. After getting kicked out of his home as a teen, he had many harrowing adventures that seemed to bring him to various forks in the road. But somehow, he beat the odds and was able to choose the path away from certain destruction. But it wasn't until he tested positive for HIV that it all came together and he was able to se...

The remarkable journey of Kevin (Part 1). Kicked out as a teen. On his own in the desert without food or money. And yet he was guided internally and somehow made the right choices at many forks in the road... 11.01.2023 34:06

Send us Fan Mail Kevin has travelled extensively throughout the USA. After getting kicked out of his home as a teen, he had many harrowing adventures that seemed to bring him to various forks in the road. But somehow, he beat the odds and was able to choose the path away from certain destruction. In other words, he takes many round about ways to get places but eventually always makes it! He cur...

Adam Ross was in the process of coming out as gay to his mother. She accepted him and told him that she loved him. Then she said, "Adam, since we're being honest, I have a secret, too..." 08.01.2023 38:28

Send us Fan Mail Adam Ross is a writer, a three-time Moth StorySLAM winner, and a three-time Moth GrandSLAM performer. His stories have been featured on The Moth Podcast and the Bawdy Storytelling Podcast. He has performed at curated storytelling shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Chicago and New York City, including Strong Words, GatherNYC, OUTspoken, This Much is True, Talk Thera...

Shawn Smith's involvement in an emerging gay college campus organization began a path of LGBT activism, advocacy, and community-building as the Gay Rights Movement began to coalesce in the mid-70's across America. 04.01.2023 40:27

Send us Fan Mail Shawn Smith shares his stories of coming out in the rural midwest. His involvement in an emerging Gay college campus organization began a path of LGBT activism, advocacy, and community-building as the Gay Rights Movement began to coalesce in the mid-70's across America. Lured by the freedom and anonymity of big city life, Shawn shares his adventures along the road to freedom...

Aaron Jay Young is an amazing Portrait Photographer who shares his journey in authentically capturing his subject's pain, joy and vulnerability in his work. 01.01.2023 42:57

Send us Fan Mail Aaron Jay Young grew up in a very conservative, religious home in Pennsylvania. He escaped at age 19 and he's spent his adult life on a journey of growth and self-discovery. Today he's an amazing portrait photographer based in LA and Palm Springs. I'm proud to have had the chance to get to know and interview this beautiful soul. In Aaron's own words: "My...

Matthew Hardy is a New York City based actor and musical theater writer. His musicals can be seen Off-Broadway, at theaters across the United States and as far away as Poland. 28.12.2022 49:29

Send us Fan Mail Matthew Hardy is a New York City based actor and musical theater writer. His musicals can be seen Off-Broadway, at theaters across the United States and as far away as Poland. As an actor he has performed in theater, film and television but has recently made the leap to the tiny screen where you can find him on tiktok singing impromptu songs in his underwear. www.matthewhardy.org...