Going Deep: A Gay Guide to Reality

Hello GerleMen listeners! I want to thank you for listening to the premiere season of the GerleMen Podcast as we wrap up Season 1. On the show, we explored everything from “feelings” to “sex” to “spirituality” to “queer Hollywood” all sprinkled with the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and a resurgence of social justice with Black Lives Matter protests. A special highlight for me personally was th...

I need to get honest with you about sex. Because I love it, and believe that celebrating mindful, “conscious sex” is essential for gay men’s dignity.  My last " Being A Man ," or BAM , episode was about moving from oppression to celebration; and I barely mentioned sex at all. After a long discussion with my boyfriend regarding my struggle writing that episode, I realized that I had let m...

Today’s conversation with Joel our first deep dive into the connection sex and spirituality. Joel helps us try on the ancient Tantra concept that everything about our experience on earth is spiritual -- including our sexual energy. Prior to the pandemic, I visited Joel’s gorgeous studio in Seattle where I learned to celebrate, cultivate, and conserve my own lower chakra energy. The experience was...

Rev. Jesse Brune-Horan has been a celebrity chef and a personal trainer, appearing on both Bravo and Oprah. But his true calling is his spiritual work and mission. On this episode, he shows us how celebrating his authenticity as a gay man is key to his spiritual growth.  Rev. Jesse has a deep sense of personal dignity, a no-nonsense realness toward embracing spirituality, and an ability to give wh...

Today I talk with Brian D. Mahan. He is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner.  I wanted to talk to Brian because he is a treasure trove of information on healing trauma. Trauma is something all humans experience, but gay people and people labeled as “the other” tend to experience more than our fair share of it. Brian is a self-described “wounded healer” who describes how we can use our bodies as a...

Today’s guest is Chris Kuwahara-Smith.  I wanted to interview Chris because he creates heart-centered community through his organization, California Gay Adventures (CGA).  During CGA-hosted camping trip in Zion National Park, it became clear to me that Chris is doing something important - something that is both classic and radically different.  California Gay Adventures delivers iconic American ou...

Today's is a very special Father's Day episode of “Hey Gerle!” with Mike's father, Bill! The “Hey Gerle!” episodes are designed to be an “ask anything” Q&A between me and you, the listener. I will normally be doing these with the help of my GerleMen Podcast family, Garrett & Lesley. On this special Father’s Day edition of “Hey Gerle,” my dad and I will both be asking each ot...

Today I talk with Aaron Ferante-Alan. Aaron is a very close friend of mine who I deeply respect for his intellect and his bravery, but most importantly, his vulnerable honestly. He’s a man I consider family and I’m thrilled to have him on the podcast speaking about his professional specialty, sex/relationships, and how all that relates to our mental health. We talked about: Sexual Addiction vs. Co...

I was excited to talk to Jai Rodriguez because I’d seen him on Queer Eye, then I realized I’d seen him perform in one of my favorite musicals ever, “Zanna, Don’t!” So I was a bit star struck. I don’t like admitting that, but I was. Then the real magic happened when we spoke, one gay man to another. Jai is approachable and tells us how it really is for queer people in Hollywood, how COVID-19 is aff...

This is my response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.  I’m 55 years old. I was born in 1965.  Before I was 5 years old, Martin Luther King would be murdered, Drag Queens and trans women would fight off the police in front of Stonewall, and the United States would launch a rocket that would land men safely on the moon. In 1992 I listened to the same cacophony of helico...

Today’s episode is the 2nd installment of my “Being a Man” series. This is an intimate 1on1 between me and you, the listener.  I will present ideas on “living” on “being” (as in Being A Man) that I find useful in my own life. Being A Man episodes are: part older brother insight, part theoretical sandbox, and part Gay Elder pontificating. These are ideas I’ve cobbled together from just paying atten...

Today’s guest is Dr. Don Kilhefner. I wanted to interview Dr. Don Kilhefner because his name and accomplishments show up nearly every time I do work on elevating Gay Male Existence. He’s a living icon of gay activism. In his 80’s, he is still a dynamic force in the gay community. As you will hear in this episode, it’s a community he considers family. Dr. Kilhefner has a remarkable amount of energy...

Today I talk with Yuval David. Yuval is an accomplished actor, filmmaker, content creator, and activist. But the biggest reason I wanted to have a conversation with him is because of his attitude. His motivation for doing all of these things comes from a place of love. If you have already listened to the first Being a Man, or BAM episode, you’ll remember that I’m big on understanding our core moti...

This is the first in a series of Q&A episodes. Feel free to submit your questions via Facebook , Twitter or using the voice memo feature on your smartphone and emailing it to Mike@gerlemen.com . Enjoy the show! We talked about: Why did you start this podcast? [06:59] Is there anything that’s off the table in these Q&A? [10:45] What’s the impact of physical distancing due to COVID-19 on the...

Today I talk with Dr. Frankie Bashan, renowned relationship coach and dating expert. Dr. Frankie Bashan (or, just Dr. Frankie) is the founder of Little Gay Book, the most successful exclusively lesbian (and bisexual women) matchmaking agency in the United States. I wanted to interview Dr. Frankie Bashan because of her authenticity, her dignity, and her courage to serve her community. She leads by...

Today, I’m speaking to JD Wolfe. I wanted to interview JD because I saw his gifts in action in brotherhood at the ManKind Project (MKP). It’s a pleasure to have JD Wolfe joining us on today’s podcast to discuss (among other things) re-framing our gay personal history as a hero's journey, healthy emotional advice for this quarantine season, and navigating healthy, sustaining relationships. He...

Welcome to the "Being A Man" series! These are not “BE a man” directives. Instead, I present ideas on “ living ” and “ being ” I find useful in my own life. I’m not telling you what to do to prove you’re a man. I’m sharing insight on “being,” the inward reflections of a conscious man who knows what he wants and how to get it. Your authenticity is the tool and a heart-centered connection...

Today we talk with the Mayor of West Hollywood, John D’Amico . He’s a civic leader who recently contracted COVID-19 and is here to tell us his story. I first met Mayor D’Amico when I was working in the City Manager’s Office at West Hollywood City Hall. Later, John believed in my vision of creating “ TRIBE - Gay Men’s Discussion Group” that was made possible by the City Council and I facilitated fo...

Blessings from Sister Unity.  Sister Unity and I met more than 25 years ago at a photo shoot where the boys were naked and the sisters were in full, clownlike “face”: bright-colored heretical nun gear. We were shooting for a “cooking calendar” fundraiser. I stood on set naked while Sister Unity drew the Ohm symbol on my right butt cheek in cake frosting. It was a wonderful beginning. Later I notic...

As a culture, we are facing a sexual moratorium that, for gay men, is simultaneously familiar and completely new. I discuss the impact on gay men’s connecting culture, hooking up, missing the gym, AIDS vs. Coronavirus, and the opportunities this social isolation presents. The GerleMen team was planning to launch this podcast in June of 2020 on Father’s Day, but right now, it’s impossible to have a...

I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s as a kid in the state of Nebraska, Wyoming and Idaho with a last name pronounced girly. Yeah, you heard that right, girly. That name was challenging. It was a daily experience and being seen for who I was a gay boy. And then lying to everyone, telling them that the girly nature inside of me was just a joke. Fostering heart-centered connections between gay me...