The LGBT Sport Podcast

The last time that Ben Watkiss was on the podcast, he was working for League One’s Burton Albion as a strength and conditioning coach.

Now, he’s crossed the border to Scotland – where he’s working as the Lead Sport Scientist for Ayr United, who play in the Scottish Championship where they’re currently sitting in a mid-table position.

And the last time Ben was on, back in April of 2021, men’s football looked like a very different place – with no Jakub Jankto, no Jake Daniels, no Josh Cavallo, no Zander Murray, no James Adcock when it came to out, visible gay male role-models in the men’s game.

So, we thought it was high-time to get Ben back on the podcast to have a catch-up, both about his life and how the men’s game has changed over the past couple of years.

We talk adapting to life in Scotland, doing his job during the pandemic, being an out gay man in football, how Ayr United helped him share his story with the club and loads, loads more.

As always, Ben is a brilliant guest to have – open, honest, chatty, upbeat and really good value as a person to chat with – so we think you’re really going to like this conversation.

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It’s hard to imagine Devin Ibanez living a life without rugby.

He played for Major League Rugby’s New England Free Jacks in the USA in their inaugural season, took gold with Team USA at the World Maccabiah (Maccabee) Games in Israel in 2017 and represented Richmond in the Championship in the UK.

And if all of that wasn’t a tip-off that Devin loves the game, his social media handle – ‘that gay rugger’ – should really be the giveaway.

But coming to a point where Devin could speak about his two truths – his love of rugby, and his love of his boyfriend Fergus – in the same breath was a remarkable journey, in and of itself, and it’s one we’re so delighted to be talking about with Devin on the podcast today.

We talk about where his love of rugby came from, pursuing his dreams to play at the highest level, his decision to come out, the reaction that got and life for Devin now.

We think you’ll love this conversation – and we’re really glad Devin made the time to join us for it.

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It was in February of this year that Jakub Jankto looked down the lens of a camera and told the world that he was gay.

The 27-year old’s motivation was simple – he no longer wanted to live in fear or in hiding – and while his message was simple, the reaction was overwhelming.

Support came in from some of the biggest names in the beautiful game, as Jankto made history as the most high-profile active male footballer to open up about their sexuality – and for a little while, we’ve been chatting about having him join us here on the podcast.

We’re delighted that today is the day we make that happen as Jakub joins us for his first-ever podcast interview to talk about his love of football, some of his most memorable moments, his decision to come out, the reaction to it and so much more.

It’s an episode we’re so chuffed to bring you, and we hope you like it as much as we do!

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October 11th is National Coming Out Day.

It’s a worldwide anniversary that celebrates the bravery of those who have found the strength to live authentically and open up about their sexuality or gender identity, and to recognise the challenges and hurdles that still prevent people from doing just that.

And to mark the occasion, we’ve got a special bumper edition of the podcast celebrating some of the most powerful ‘coming out’ stories that we’ve been able to share on the show over the past five years.

It features Olympic legends and world champions; world record holders and wrestling superstars; top officials, British number 1s, MMA trailblazers and loads, loads more besides.

It’s a compendium of courageous coming out stories – and we really hope you enjoy it.

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You know that you’re going to like someone when they describe their identity as a non-binary bisexual as ‘joyful chaos’ – and that’s exactly how Charlotte Galloway talks about herself.

But it’s just one part of Charlotte’s personality, which is as much tied up in their love of football, which manifests itself in her role as both the chair of Cardiff Dragons and as the co-founder of the Women's Football Collective, which styles itself as a training centre for ‘Her Game Too’ campaign.

So, it’s clear that football is a huge passion in Charlotte’s life, so that’s where we start this conversation – but it rapidly becomes a chat about so much more than just the beautiful game.

From playing with the boys when she was starting out to the role of a chairperson; to realising her bisexuality was enough to starting the WFC, this is a fascinating conversation with one of Wales’ top football advocates, and we’re delighted to have her on the podcast.

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Maggie Alphonsi is one of the most decorated rugby players in English history.

A World Cup winner who played for the Red Roses in three finals, she helped England claim seven consecutive Six Nations title in a career that saw her win 74 caps for her country.

For achievements on the pitch, she’s been recognised with an MBE and named as the International Rugby Board’s Women’s Player of the Year – and since retiring, she’s broken boundaries as broadcaster with Sky and ITV.

She’s also had a Number 1 single, is a wife and a mother to two beautiful children – and as if all of that didn’t sound like enough, she’s just written her autobiography looking at her extraordinary journey, on and off the pitch.

So it is a massive thrill to have Maggie with us on the podcast today to talk all about it in an episode that I genuinely think is ‘can’t-miss’ – much like the book, which I got through in a day.

We talk about the writing process, about getting into rugby as a youngster, about her England career, about coming out – honestly, it’s a superb chat with a genuine legend, and we think you’ll love it.

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On the face of it, Ryan O’Callaghan was living the dream.

The offensive tackle was a stand-out collegiate football player who was drafted to play alongside Tom Brady at the New England Patriots.

He should have had it all – fame, fortune, all the trappings that came with it – but for Ryan, football was never a game he loved, but a way to hide the fact he was gay.

It was something he did throughout his career – and it was only in 2017 that he decided to open up publicly about his sexuality for the first time, as one of the very few NFL players to have ever spoken up about the fact they were gay.

Ryan now uses his platform to help and support others – and we’re delighted to have him on the podcast today.

This isn’t always an easy listen – we talk about Ryan’s mental health and why, at points, he felt like taking his own life – and in the description box of this episode, we’ve put a link to the BBC Action Line and other places you can find support if you or someone you know have been affected by his story.

But I’d urge you to listen to this whole episode, as it really is an extraordinary conversation with a brilliant guest that we think will stick with you for a long time.

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A big event deserves a big guest, and we’ve got two of them to join us on the podcast as we look ahead to the first-ever Rainbow Games in New Zealand next year.

Tom Leonard is the event director – and Honey Hireme-Smiler is someone who can only described as a New Zealand sporting legend, as a league, union and sevens international who has played at more World Cups than you can shake a stick at in a sporting career that spans nearly two decades.

We talk about all sorts of different things on this episode – how the Rainbow Games came about, why it matters, the importance of sport to both Tom and Honey, why visibility matters and so, so much more.

It’s a great conversation about a brilliant new event, and we really think you’re going to like it.

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If you’re listening to this episode, you probably love Formula 1 – but not as much as Christian Hewgill does.

Because, if we’re honest, few people in the world do.

He’s the host of ‘The Fast and The Curious’ podcast with Betty Glover and Greg James, the ‘F1 Explains’ podcast – and a regular contributor to BBC Radio 5Live’s F1 coverage.

For years, he was one of the voices of sport on BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat programme – and it’s not just Formula 1 either, with Leicester City another one of Christian’s passions.

So, with all of that in mind, it’s amazing it’s taken us so long to get Christian onto the podcast – but boy, was the wait worth it, because this is an amazing chat with a fantastic guest.

We talk about Christian’s love of F1 and where that’s taken him; some of the most memorable events that he’s been able to cover; his work with Foxes Pride and Racing Pride; the importance of visibility in sport and so, so much more.

It’s a cracking conversation with Christian – and we think you’re going to love it.

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Tia Fernandez loves being out and about in the great outdoors.

She’s a member of Queer Surf Club – who we’ve featured on this show before – but in the not-too-distant future, she’s hoping to go from the beach to the far ends of the Earth in a bid to make history as the first queer person of colour to reach the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility.

And when we heard that Tia was attempting to do something like that, then we knew we had no choice but to get her on for a chat.

And what a conversation this is – and while we appreciate many of you won’t have heard of Tia before, we urge you to stay listening because this is an amazing episode.

We talk about her love of being active and finding her place in surfing and scuba diving; the expedition she’s planning to be a part of; the importance of representation; Tia’s own experiences of racism; and of being a queer person of colour in field where folks like her simply haven’t been before.

It’s an amazing conversation – and one we think you’re going to love.

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