The LGBT Sport Podcast

A lot of words were bandied around when England netball star Stacey Francis-Bayman announced her retirement this summer – and one you heard a lot was ‘legend’.

After all, the Team Bath star was part of the club’s first-ever Superleague squad, and was part of all five of their Superleague-winning campaigns.

She played for England at three Commonwealth Games – including taking bronze in Delhi in 2010 – and has two World Cup bronze medals to her name as well.

She was also an ambassador for Pride House in Birmingham at her home Commonwealth Games, which was when we spoke to her last – but we really wanted to dedicate a whole episode to Stacey in her own right.

And really, this is an extraordinary conversation – about life in retirement; about your values as a person and an athlete; about her development as a person and moving into a space where she’s more comfortable as an advocate; and so, so much more besides.

It’s emotional at points, and never anything less than honest – and it’s one you really need to hear.

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Gymnastics has been in the blood for Heath Thorpe for - well, seemingly forever!

The Australian has accumulated multiple titles and international medals, and made his first World Championship earlier this year in Liverpool.

Now he’s using his platform to try and make sport a place where everyone belongs – and to do that, he’s bringing his own experiences of discrimination in sport and in life to the table as an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.

As one of the few out gay gymnasts competing at the international level, we’ve been keen to have him on the podcast for a long time – and this episode is everything you’d hope it would be and more.

We talk about Heath’s childhood, representing Australia for the first time, coming to terms with his sexuality, using his experiences to help others, life during COVID – and lots, lots more.

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When Liam Braisdell was young, he had a bedroom decorated top-to-bottom in Arsenal colours, so it’s no surprise that he found a way into football.

Only in his mid-20s, he’s currently the manager of St Martin’s FC – so when he dropped us a message, saying he wanted to share his story as a gay man in football, we were only too happy to have him on.

And honestly, this episode is an absolute joy – the sort of surprise you get when someone you don’t know gets in touch, offers to share their experiences, and is completely brilliant from the moment they come on.

We talk to Liam about battling against adversity as a manager; how Football Manager got him into coaching in the first place; being inspired by Jake Daniels and others; life as a Wrexham fan; and so much more besides.

Liam isn’t the biggest name we’ve had on the podcast by a long stretch – but honestly, we loved this one as much as any we've ever done.

And if you want absolute honesty, some hilarious coming out stories, and a celebration of grassroots football in the UK, you're going to love it as well.

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There’s no other way to say it.

Nicholas Daines is a very cool guy – and if you don’t believe me, take a listen to this resume.

As a gymnast, he represented Britain on the international stage – and he’s also a medallist as a diver on the masters level as a diver.

Alongside that, Nicholas is a world-renowned, award-winning stuntman and stunt co-ordinator who has worked on some of the biggest movies in the world – from Mission Impossible to Batman to the latest Harry Styles film, and a whole bucketload of brilliant productions alongside that.

In fact, you’re bound to have seen his work, even if you didn’t know it at the time.

So, when Nicholas dropped us a message saying that he’d love to come onto the podcast, we were always going to have him – and this episode is a cracker.

We talk about the pivotal role that Nicholas’ sister played in getting him into gymnastics; how it felt to pull on that British tracksuit at a world championships; how diving came into his life; his work in stunts, and as a gay man in that industry; why he’s passionate about biodiversity and the world around us… honestly, the list goes on and on.

It’s a brilliant conversation with an awesome guest – and we think you’re going to love Nicholas and his story as much as we did.

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Born into a sporty family, Brandon Gregory was always into football – in fact, it was the ‘Invincibles’ of Arsenal that got him into it.

But when he decided to share the fact he’s gay with his local team as a teenager, it felt like the beautiful game no longer had a place for him.

Despite that, he found a way back thanks to the Cardiff Dragons - where he now plays, manages and helps others to get into the game as well.

So when he dropped us a message saying that he’d love to come onto the podcast to share his story, we were always going to have him on for what’s a cracking conversation.

It’s powerful, it’s personal, and it really gets across why making football a place where everyone belongs is such an important thing.

For Brandon, it’s literally been life-changing – and when you hear that conversation, you’ll understand why!

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It’s been more than a decade since Swedish footballer Anton Hysén came out.

At the time, he was one of the only men in the world of football to be open about his sexuality – and while he was always pretty chilled about the whole thing, he admits that the attention got close to overwhelming at times.

More than ten years on from sharing his story, Anton is still an inspiration to so many gay and bisexual men in the beautiful game, so it was high time that we got him onto the show to talk about his journey.

It’s all here – from growing up as the son of former Swedish international Glenn Hysén, playing the beautiful game in the USA and Sweden, deciding to share his story… oh, and how it felt to triumph on the Swedish version of Strictly Come Dancing.

Honestly, Anton might be one of the most chilled, relaxed that we’ve ever had on the podcast – and this was an absolute treat.

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Aubrey Edwards is one of the most recognisable figures in All Elite Wrestling.

From grudge matches to world title contests, the referee has taken charge of some of the biggest bouts in the promotion’s three-year history.

And as if that wasn’t enough, she also co-host’s the company’s podcast and has played a key in developing AEW’s soon-to-be-released video game.

So, busy is one way to describe Aubrey’s schedule – but that hasn’t stopped her from taking time out of her day to join us for a cracking episode of the podcast that wrestling fans are going to love!

From how she got interested in wrestling to being in the ring with some of the biggest names in the business, it’s a corker of a conversation that touches on everything from bisexuality to helping to build a brand!

We loved doing this one, and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed chatting with Aubrey.

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It’s fair to say that Cristian Colás knows a lot about what it takes to make a football team tick.

He’s coached in Helsinki, as well as in his home country of Spain – and is currently in his second spell in charge of Biggleswade United.

Cristian also happens to be gay – and while his sexuality is far from a secret, this is the first time he’s ever sat down with a podcast like ours to talk about what it’s like to be an out manager working in the men’s game.

As always, there’s loads to talk about with a guest like Cristian, from his journey in football to his experiences away from the pitch – plus his thoughts on the Qatar World Cup and lots, lots more.

We’re really grateful to Cristian for taking the time to join us on the podcast, and we hope you enjoy giving this one a listen.

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The last time that Robyn Love and Laurie Williams were on the podcast together, it was literally days after they got engaged.

And now, the British wheelchair basketball stars are back on the show again to talk about the exciting news that the pair of them are expecting their first child in April!

When they dropped us a message to say they’d love to come on and say more, we were delighted to say ‘yes’ – and this is just a really lovely conversation with two terrific people, about to embark on the next stage of their journey together.

We talk about their decision to start a family, the journey they’ve been on, the less-than-glamorous place they found out that Laurie was pregnant, inspiring others – honestly, this is just a cracking chat with two brilliant people who are clearly just chuffed to bits about being mums-to-be.

We loved doing it, and we know you’ll love it as well.

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He’s the player-manager of Thetford Town Football Club – and in many ways, Matt Morton’s influence in football extends beyond what he's managed to achieve on the pitch to the role-model he's become off it.

Because when Jake Daniels was considering coming out publicly, it was Matt that the Blackpool player turned to – and Jake wasn’t alone in that.

It’s because Matt was, for a number of years, one of the only out gay men in football who was willing to share his story – and it’s a pleasure to finally get Matt onto the show to talk about his journey and so much more besides.

We discuss his journey in football, his time as a player and as a manager, his personal journey away from the pitch, being visible and lots, lots more.

We think you’ll love this chat with Matt, and we’re really grateful to him for making the time to come on.

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