I'm Coming Out

Lev is an American writer who already has a number of novels & YA fiction books under his belt. His work has been translated into many different languages and are regularly featured on 'best of' lists. His latest is ‘Camp’ which I recently read & I loved it. The story explores the different gender presentations through the different queer characters and I think it will resonate deeply with a lot of our community.

The interview was of course recorded remotely, Lev was in New York, I was in my makeshift studio at home in Ireland. This was my first transatlantic interview, so the line wasn’t always great, the sound is muffled slightly in parts when our voices mix together but it the audio is still decent (I think!!!)

We chatted about;

and lots of other things.

You can get in touch with me by emailing me at [email protected] and tweet me at @imcomingoutpod. Hope you like this episode. Let me know what you think :)

Alex is an Australian writer & campaigner and it was one of his tweets earlier this year on growing up gay which initially piqued my interest in him (it’s featured on the podcast). A whole lot of people clearly connected with said tweet as it went viral, garnering over 200,000 likes & 50,000 retweets.

Alex is a prominent queer activist in London and works for an LGBTQ+ charity. He’s also a really talented writer & has written for the Guardian and the BBC. I think his writing is incredible so if you have time, do check it out.

The interview was recorded during lockdown so it was recorded remotely of course. Alex was in London and I was in my makeshift studio at home outside Dublin. There is a bit of delay on the recording but it should still be pretty decent audio.

We chatted about;

and lots of other things.

You can get in touch with me by emailing me at [email protected] and tweet me at @imcomingoutpod. I would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating, review and subscribe as it really helps me and other people to discover the podcast.

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @imcomingoutpod.

Hope you enjoy this episode :)

Series 3 is here!!!!! New music, updated artwork & most importantly eight new coming out stories. And my first guest of the series is the author Lewis Laney.

Lewis had his first short story published in Gay Times, when he was just eighteen. He’s also written for various publications including the iconic magazine ‘The Face’. Lewis has just released his first book ‘The Little Book of Pride' which is a digestible, pocket-sized look at the history of Pride. I think this book is going to be a really welcome addition to lots of people's libraries and will help the message of Pride reach an even wider audience.

Lewis also has another book set for release next year. It’s entitled ‘Queer Cocktails’ and it includes such recipes as a Bloody Mariah, a La Isla Bonita Iced Tea & a Cider Minelli amongst many others!!! It almost feels as if the book was especially written for me & I will definitely be getting a copy upon it's release.

The podcast was recorded remotely of course with me in Ireland and Lewis in London.

We chatted about

and his incredible bravery for coming out aged just 14, whilst still at school and in the mid-nineties.

You can get in touch with me by emailing me at [email protected] and tweet me at @imcomingoutpod. I would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a rating, review and subscribe as it really helps me and other people to discover the podcast. 

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @imcomingoutpod. 

Hope you enjoy this episode :)

Conner Habib is a really interesting character and has had a wildly diverse career. He hosts a successful podcast called Against Everyone with Conner Habib and is a prolific writer having written for Vice, Slate the Irish Times. He’s a university lecturer and is currently studying for his PHD here in Ireland. And you may also be familiar with his name from adult performing.

I met up with Conner a few weeks back and we chatted about,

and lots of other things.

https://www.patreon.com/ConnerHabib

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram  @imcomingoutpod

Brian is one of Ireland’s best loved singers with a career spanning over 30 years. He grew up in Northern Ireland in the 60’s and 70’s at the very height of the troubles. He moved to London when he was 18 & quickly got work as a backing vocalist for his fellow country-man Van Morrison. He was also signed to a major recording contract with RCA and was managed by the mighty Simon Fuller, the Spice Girls and American Idol svengali. He has performed the world over with music superstars such as Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan among many others.  He has performed on Broadway with Riverdance, represented Ireland in the Eurovision, was a judge for two seasons on the Irish Voice and has written two novels.

When I met up with Brian we chatted about; growing up amidst the horrors of the troubles in Northern Ireland, the homophobic abuse he suffered from his own family, what it was like living in London during the aids crisis, why he stayed celibate for a large part of the eighties, why he feels really uncomfortable with the use of the words ‘daddy’ and ‘son’ in gay culture, the homophobia he experienced within the music industry and lots of other things.

Follow me on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram @imcomingoutpod

www.briankennedy.co.uk

Rory Cowan is of course one of the stars of the hit BBC sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys. He was born in Dublin and started out working for EMI Ireland, where he eventually became their marketing manager. He subsequently went on to be a publicist for the then little-known comedian Brendan O’ Carroll. Years later, when an actor stepped down at the eleventh hour in one of Brendan’s stage shows, Rory reluctantly took on the role and the rest is history.

That stage show was of course Mrs Brown’s Boys which later became the hugely successful sitcom. The TV series started in 2012 and instantly became a ratings winner. The show has won a raft of awards including a National Television Award and a BAFTA and has also become a big hit internationally. Rory even made it onto the big screen with the spin-off movie, which topped the box office in both Britain and Ireland.

Rory left the show a few years back and has since become a narrator for Irish Googlebox and is currently starring in the soap opera Fair City.

When I met up with Rory to do the interview we chatted about;

and lots of other things also.

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @imcomingoutpod

Follow Rory on Twitter @1rorycowan

www.rorycowanblog.com

Matt is the founder of the Naz and Matt foundation, a charity he set up to honour the memory of his late fiance Dr Nazim Mahmood, who died from suicide just days after coming out to his deeply religious family & telling them of his long-term relationship with Matt. He jumped to his death from the balcony of his apartment in 2014, aged just 34.

The Naz & Matt foundation campaigns against homophobia in schools and universities & provides help to LGBTQ+ members, who have been rejected by their religious families and communities. The charity’s mission is to never let any religion or culture come between the unconditional love of a parent and child.

During the interview Matt told me about how he and Naz met, his own coming out story, the elaborate lengths he & Naz went to to keep their relationship private, discovering old Compton St for the first time, the events which led up to Naz’s death, Matt’s advice for parents whose religious and cultural values conflict with their children’s homosexuality and lots of other things.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @imcomingoutpod

www.nazandmattfoundation.org

Rory is someone who needs no introduction. He has worked as a drag queen for over 30 years now and has toured the world many times over with his stage shows. He is also a publican, activist, writer (and shoemaker, as we hear during the interview)! He subsequently became synonomous with the equal marriage campaign in Ireland, with the country becoming the first in the world to pass it by popular vote in 2015.

He is held in such high esteem in his homeland that he earnt himself the title “the Queen of Ireland” and he is an international LGBTQ+ icon.

We met up in Dublin a few weeks back and we chatted about; growing up in Ireland in the 70s when gay people were invisible in society, how he discovered his sexuality, what it is like having a gay older brother, what he really thinks has been his life’s work, why he would consider himself an aetheist, how he really feels about drag hitting the mainstream, our shared dislike of football and lots of other things.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @imcomingoutpod

Series 2 is here!!! Thanks to everyone for all your support and lovely messages for the first series. I have lots of new episodes coming in the next few weeks with guests such as Panti Bliss and Rory Cowan. But what better way to kick off the new run than with everyone's favourite no-nonsense, tough-talking TV judge Robert Rinder.

Robert achieved a First Class Honours Degree in Politics and Modern History from the University of Manchester and was called to the bar at the tender age of 21.

His TV career which followed has been a happy accident. Robert was writing crime drama scripts as a side hustle, when a fortuitous meeting with an ITV executive, led to him being cast as the judge on the UK version of the hit American series Judge Judy.

Judge Rinder has of course gone on to become a huge hit and often averages 1 million viewers per episode, which for a daytime show is pretty brilliant.

Robert has since appeared on Strictly, Who Do You Think You Are and had his own Friday night chat show on Channel 4.

I met up with Robert a while back and we chatted about; his teenage crushes (all Scandinavian by the way!!!), what it’s like to be gay and Jewish, dealing with homophobia within the legal profession, why he has changed his mind about same-sex dancing partners on Strictly, his advice for those who are currently in the midst of the coming out process and lots of other things also!!!

Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @imcomingoutpod

People resign from their jobs all the time. But when Andy West left his job as a BBC journalist in 2015 it made headline news. Because his was no ordinary resignation; it was in response to Tyson Fury’s nomination for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards (Tyson is widely known to be homophobic and misogynistic).

Andy subsequently became a contestant on Big Brother the following year and finished fourth overall. He now pops up regularly on our TV screens on show such as This Morning, Jeremy Vine’s show on Channel 5 and of course locking horns with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain. 

He is also a highly acclaimed journalist and has written for the Independent, the Gay Times, Grazia and is currently working on his debut novel. 

When I met up with Andy in London we were faced with a number of challenges (his lengthy washing machine delivery and my technical issues to be precise) but eventually we got down to doing the interview and we chatted about;

Links

Twitter @andywesttv

Instagram @realandywest