Come Out Podcast Stefan Ritson

Show notes coming soon.

Episode Description, coming soon.

In this episode of the Coming Out Podcast, Stefan chats with his friend JP as they discuss his coming out journey. Growing up in a small village in Plymouth, UK,  JP and Stefan met in 2012 in Birmingham. JP shares his experiences growing up in a small village, where being gay wasn’t really a big deal. He shares some funny stories and some more challenging time along the way.

JP works as a Barista in Birmingham and also performs as Cosmic Crum, an artsy drag act.

Listen in to hear the story of his journey to becoming a proud out man.

Episode Highlights:

· [0:40] Intro

· [1:11] More about JP and what he does and where he is from.

· [1:38] JP and Stefan talk about growing up in a small village.

· [2:14] JP talks about his job as a coffee barista.

· [2:49] JP talks about memories from being a child, realizing he was different. Is kisschase a game that would be acceptable today?

· [4:30] JP shares a story about his sister dressing him in ‘mom drag’ when he was younger.

· [5:40] Stefan talks about his drag experiences and how being a tall drag queen wouldn’t suit him.

· [6:02] JP recalls growing us as a camp child and how he has a barbie as a child.

· [6:55] Was being a camp child difficult growing up at school or as home? JP talks about coming out very young at age 14.

· [8:02] JP talks about growing up with a crush on a straight Friend Lloyd.

· [8:36] He talks about how it came about at the age of 14 and talks about telling his friend Laura.

· [9:51] JP talks about his friend Richard being the catalyst to him coming out gay.

· [11:15] JP talks about the moment he told his mother, her response was an anti climax and how he ran away from home.

· [13:36] JP’s mom told his dad and the rest of their family.

· [14:00] JP talks about coming out as a continual process.

· [14:57] He talks about the family response. A very British response that took a long time to change.

· [15:45] Stefan shares he had a similar experience to coming out to his parents.

· [16:23] JP shares his reactions since he came out as gay. Being a drag queen was a harder coming out experience for him.

· [17:28] JP talks about his Drag persona Cosmic Crumb.

· [17:55] JP shares his favourite joke.

· [17:59] What advice would he give to anyone not out yet?

· [18:50] Thanks you and wrap up.

· [18:54] Check out Instagram for annotated images.

Have a question? Send them to comeoutpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on social media. Just search ‘Come Out Podcast’.

In this episode of the Coming Out Podcast, Stefan chats with his friend Dave as they discuss his coming out journey. Growing up in Southern BC, Canada, Dave and Stefan met in 2016 through Dave’s Boyfriend Colin (Episode 3) in Vancouver. Dave shares his experiences growing up in rural BC, where being gay ‘wasn’t really a thing’. He shares some funny stories and some more challenging time along the way.

Dave works in Retail Marketing in Vancouver and enjoys an active lifestyle being outdoors.

Listen in to hear the story of his journey to becoming a proud out man.

Episode Highlights:

· [0:36] Intro

· [1:17] More about Dave and what he does and where he is from.

· [1:31] Dave and Stefan talk about their obsession with Strava.

· [2:50] Dave talks about what life was life growing up in a small town.

· [3:22] Dave talks about memories from being a child, realizing he was different.

· [3:58] Dave talks about things he did as a child, recalling memories of wearing outfits as a child and combing his hair aggressively.

· [6:00] Dave mentions Colin.

· [6:09] Dave recalls watching Batman & Robin, and loving the Spice Girls Movie.

· [7:20] They talk about connecting the term gay with being different.

· [8:17] What made Dave consider coming out? He talks about having a boyfriend.

· [8:55] He talks about how it wasn’t easy to grow up playing hockey and being gay.

· [9:51] Dave talks about going to university and starting to tell people he was gay.

· [11:07] Dave talks about the first person he told and how it became a really awkward situation when it didn’t go to plan.

· [12:13] Dave talks about how if felt once he finally told his friends.

· [12:43] Dave talks about the time difference between telling his friends and family.

· [12:52] He talks about telling his family. All together, in a dramatic way.

· [14:33] Dave’s boyfriend came over soon after coming out and he talks about how his brother felt about him coming out.

· [15:35] Would Dave do anything differently?

· [16:06] Dave talks about the feeling after he was out to everyone. He talks about the pressures of being a masculine man.

· [16:31] They talk about what life was like after everyone found out.

· [17:07] He shares his experiences afterwards, losing touch with people and realizing who his real friends are.

· [17:54] What advice would he give to anyone not out yet?

· [18:28] Thanks you and wrap up.

· [18:54] Shout out.

Have a question? Send them to comeoutpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on social media. Just search ‘Come Out Podcast’.

In this episode of the Coming Out Podcast, Stefan chats with his good friend Abby as they discuss her coming out journey. Growing up in Carlisle, UK, Abby and Stefan met in 2016 when Abby visited Stefan’s roommates at the time in Vancouver. Abby shares her experiences growing up as a tomboy, playing football and even rocking a short ‘curtains’ haircut in the 90s. She shares some funny stories and some more challenging times along the way.

Abby works as a bartender and is planning to relocate to Vancouver later this year once travel restrictions are lifted.

Listen in to hear the story of her journey to becoming a proud out woman.

Episode Highlights:

· [0:40] Intro

· [1:07] How is she coping with Covid-19

· [1:23] More about Abby and where she is from.

· [2:13] What Abby’s first memory of being gay? She talks about growing up as a tomboy and hating wearing dresses as a child.

· [3:30] Abby talks about wanting to cut her hair short when she was young.

· [4:15] Abby talks about her confusion about her gender and going by the name Jamie.

· [4:30] Abby talks about her first crush growing up.

· [5:13] They talk about connecting the dots between being different and being gay

· [5:31] Stefan and Abby talk about gay representation in the media, and how gay women are sexualized by straight men.

· [6:25] Abby talks about the experimental times in school.

· [6:50] Abby talks about when she started to open up more about her confusion with her friends.

· [7:36] She talks about talking to her friend Michelle on a weekend away.

· [8:33] Abby throws shade about being from Birmingham.

· [8:50] Abby talks about moving on to Sixth Form and the opportunities that brought.

· [10:11] Abby recalls the exact date that she came out, when she was 17.

· [10:57] Abby shares the moment she told her friends.

· [11:24] They talk about the reactions of some friends that were not positive straight away.

· [11:46] Abby shares the reaction of one of her close girlfriends.

· [12:27] Stefan asks about any negative reactions. Dealing with insults at sixth form.

· [13:17] Why was it the right time for Abby.

· [13:30] Abby talks about telling her family and the unusual way her family found out the news. A varied reaction from her parents and sister.

· [15:33] Abby talks about her dad’s reaction.

· [16:31] They talk about what life was like after everyone found out.

· [16:56] Would she do anything differently?

· [17:15] Abby shares some advice for people who have not come out yet. And

· [17:50] Thanks you and wrap up.

· [18:02] Shout outs and comments.

Have a question? Send them to comeoutpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on social media. Just search Come Out Podcast.

In this episode of the Coming Out Podcast, Stefan chats with his good friend Colin as they discuss his coming out story. Growing up in Victoria BC, Colin and Stefan met in 2016 when they both moved to Vancouver. Colin shares his experiences growing up as a feminine man, sharing some humorous stories along the way about growing up gay in a glass closet.

Colin works in retail cosmetics and praises it as a queer friendly environment.

Listen in to hear the story of his journey to becoming a proud queer man today.

Episode Highlights:

· [0:40] Intro

· [1:03] More about Colin and where he is from.

· [1:47] What Colin’s first memory of being different? He talks about growing up in a glass closet.

· [2:17] Colin talks about having the straight narrative pushed upon him as a child.

· [3:01] Colin talks about an early memory with his grandma and how she responded to him being a feminine child

· [3:58] Stefan shares the story of his first words

· [4:15] Colin talks about being in the closet to himself and masking his sexuality as emo.

· [4:55] They joke about Colin having a great beard when they first met.

· [5:26] Colin talks about not feeling the need to come out and how his Christianity surroundings effected his ability to say it out loud.

· [6:10] They talk about being in school and how Colin avoided coming out by dropping out of school.

· [6:53] Colin reminisces about how he eventually told people about his sexuality with an act rather than words.

· [7:33] Colin talks about the person he first told, who also turned out to be queer. And they talk about having their first queer friend.

· [8:37] Was anyone surprised? Colin shares his struggle with being a feminine gay.

· [9:30] Colin talks about how his family responded to him being gay. And talks about his Aunt who was a gay woman who was friends with his dad.

· [10:25] Colin talks about how he was named after his dad’s friend who died during the AIDS crisis.

· [11:00] How important is queer history? Stonewall, the aids crisis.

· [11:39] Did you act differently when you came out? Colin talks about secluding himself from people after coming out.

· [12:14] Would he do anything differently?

· [12:54] They talk about having negative reactions and how it was avoided in Colin’s case.

· [13:49] Colin’s advice for people coming out. He talks about how allies helped him find his place in the world.

· [15:18] Colin has a message for the Allies and the queer people listening.

· [15:51] Thanks you and wrap up.

Have a question? Send them to comeoutpodcast@gmail.com and follow us on social media. Just search Come Out Podcast.