The Authentic Gay Man Podcast

Hello Fans, Followers, and Supporters.  I Have News About the 2023 Season of The Authentic Gay Man Podcast. First, I wish to thank you for your continued support of The Authentic Gay Man Podcast.  This podcast is only possible because of your support.  No amount of guests or episodes are worth anything, if there aren’t people like you, listening and sharing. Second , I want to share that I have de...

My guest, Alex Amorosi, shares his experience of multiple relationships in row that all ended very much the same.  In each relationship, he gave so much of himself away that there was nothing left for him.  Then, he reached the point when his inner voice spoke so loud and clear that he couldn't deny it any longer.  He realized that the voice had always been there, but he had chosen not to lis...

Dan Babineau had a wife, a daughter, and a life that was completely centered around evangelical religion.  When he came out at age 48, his family, his friends, and his church turned their back on him, leaving him isolated and alone.  In the darkest time of his life, he had to figure out a way to start over, from completely nothing.  While Dan speaks of how hard this was, he says, "if I can do...

My guest, Rick Clemons, talks about the wild ride of coming out late in life after many years with a wife and two daughters.  During his first two years of being out, he refers to himself as being an asshole and how his ego was so engaged that he had to take a pause and do some self-awareness and forgiveness work to get his head on straight.  If you've ever felt out of control and going in ma...

Robert Lowther shares a story about a topic rarely mentioned.  While I hear many stories about men who suffer from some form of addiction and 12 step programs are common, there is very little conversation about those individuals that are in relationship with an addict or alcoholic.  Robert shares two lengthy relationships with men that he "enabled", thinking he was doing everything he co...

My guests, Brian Janes and Brian George recount their lives as closeted gay men.  They both knew they were gay at an early age, but completely repressed that knowledge for several decades, both coming out in their early 50s.  Ironically, each of them were married with two children.  Their stories are somewhat similar in some ways and then very different in other ways.  This definitely allows you,...

My guest, Jim Soha, talks about the various aspects of his life that carried him on his journey from "head to heart".  There was his duel education in seminary and med school; his marriage to his wife and sharing 2 children with her; his divorce and coming out; his marriage to his soulmate, who died suddenly after 10 years together.  I found myself really relating to Jim's "hea...

My guest, Andrew O'Malley, shares how free he was to completely express himself as a child.  His parents never expected his to conform in any way.  But then, as he got older and went to school, the pressure to conform became so strong, that he succumbed, living life as other's expected for over a decade.  His journey back to his authentic self was filled with challenges that has brought...

Grey Jacks shares his evangelical upbringing and how internalized homophobia had plagued him for over 10 years after he realized he was gay.  It made it nearly impossible for him to come out.  Fortunately, he had the opportunity to observe an older gay man that exemplified the man that he knew he wanted to be.  Once he finally came out in his mid twenties, all the internalized homophobia dissipate...

My guest, Tony Scott, came out to loving and accepting parents at age 16.  But, his challenge was the church he had spent his whole life in, telling him he was an abomination.  He finally came out and was really active in the LGBTQ community and all was well. Then, a once in a life time job opportunity to work on the staff of an internationally recognized evangelical mega church took him back in t...

My guest, Julio Alvarez grew up with a father that continually criticized him for most everything he was and everything he did.  This set him up for an intense and ongoing need for external validation.  Once he got away from his father, he realized that he took the critical voice with him... in the form of his inner critic.  He went through a period of time where he did everything he could to numb...

My guest, Nick Gray, is an LGBTQ community ally, an author, and a cocktail party host, extraordinaire.  He shares his story of moving to NYC in his mid twenties, not knowing a single soul and what he did to create an epic social network, centered around meaningful connections and community.  He was so wildly successful, he decided to write a book. The book is so easy to follow that anyone can buil...

My guest, Bill Brochinsky, shares inside stories of the health care system and AIDS that I have never been exposed to before.  He speaks of taking a stand with the hospital where he worked, making efforts to implement more compassionate care of patients with AIDS.  With every patient he cared for, he could see himself reflected back to him.  He made a deal with the Universe and the Universe grante...

My guest, Fernando Velez, shares how painful being in the closet and unable to be himself was for him.  He describes how hard he tried to get the love and validation, that he needed, from others... friends and partners.  It never worked out that way.  He experienced constant rejection until he realized that he couldn't expect acceptance or love from others, unless he was willing to give it to...

Paul J Williams tells a story about how he tried alcohol, pot, cocaine, and ecstasy.  Each was not his thing and he walked away.  But, a perfect storm presented itself the first time he used crystal meth, while engaging is sex.  In that moment it calmed his shame of being gay, gay sex, being sexually abused, and his fear of being inadequate.  This went on for years until the final play of the perf...

Alex Benedict's most challenging event in life was his family falling apart as a result of his mother's suicide.  He had a brother and sister that he was estranged from for over 20 years.  His sister's tragic death to lung cancer brought he and his brother back together, with a very unexpected outcome.  If pride is hijacking your happiness by preventing you from forgiving, this epis...

David Beers returns for his second guest appearance.  This time, with an epilogue story of a major life transformation that he experienced, since we recorded the first episode.  After a lifetime of struggling to be his most authentic self, David, spontaneously, stepped into his power and spoke his truth on the stage at a United Methodist Conference.  He speaks of how this experience has already ma...

My guest, Taylor Brorby, got outed to his parents, in his mid 20s, by an aunt.  It came very unexpected and caught Taylor completely off guard.  His parents were not amused. Taylor went through about 3 years of torment until he finally severed contact with his parents, admitting that they had become abusive.  His journey is that of triumph in the wake of a very painful experience.  Taylor's s...

My guest, Jon Carl Lewis, was raised in an evangelical religion and received early messages that being gay was definitely not OK.  For 10 years, starting at puberty, Jon Carl did everything he could do to "pray the gay away".  When that failed, in his early 20's, he entered into conversation therapy.  His personal recounting of this experience blew my mind.  At age 56, his journey w...

Kyle Elliott had a variety of social masks that he wore in his professional life.  He had his career and his coaching side hustle and he had been under the impression that his personal life was not relevant to his professional life.  But, when he stepped through his fears, doubts, and anxieties and began to remove the social masks and allow his followers and clients to see him for who he really is...

Please note that this conversation includes explicit talk about various aspects of sexual behavior.   I experienced this conversation about SEX as extraordinary!  My guests, Mike Iamele, Jon Carl Lewis, and Tony Scott each shared such wonderful and diverse perspectives.  This was truly a collaborative exploration. If you are weary of "locker room talk", but find genuine and open conversa...

Don McCarthy remembers a time when he struggled with his own authenticity.  He put everyone before himself and couldn't feel or express his own feelings.  After working for many years to put self-care in place, he thought that issue was behind him.  Then, his elderly mother had a fall and caregiving provided him with an even deeper and more challenging opportunity to grasp and learn self-care...

My guest, Berend McKenzie, grew up in a home with adoptive parents that taught him to lie at an early age, in order to make the family look good.  When his lies didn't measure up, he was physically abused.  Berend experienced his life as so painful that he made his first unsuccessful suicide attempt, while in the third grade.  He set the house on fire with the intention of jumping into the fi...

Jeremy Long's story starts with a family that didn't know how to validate or love him.  He intentionally mimicked one of the characters in "Queer As Folk", when he was only 16.  An addiction to drugs and all the chaos that went along with it, landed Jeremy in rehab, not once, but twice before he had his transformational moment.  Jeremy finally told himself the truth. When we re...

My Guest, Anthony Meek, shares his story of how his inability to connect and honor his most authentic self, paved the way for an energy of desperation.  That desperation attracted a lengthy string of one-right-after-the-other crisis, to include a partner in poor health that had a severe addiction.  After 14 years of caregiving and ongoing crisis, Anthony had his "AHA" moment when he knew...