The Grindr Survivr Podcast Andrew Londyn

Guy Anthony is an amazing rapper, poet and activist, who runs the charity Black, Gifted and Whole. When he's not demonstrating his lyrical genius, he's advocating for queer people of color and people living with HIV. His journey has been a difficult one, but he describes how he uses rap and poetry to channel his emotions when dealing with his bipolar disorder. He also says that being diagnosed with HIV was the wake up call he needed to turn his life around and achieve the success he has earned today.

In the last podcast, I was discussing my plans for a potential Grindr Survivr TV comedy.  But recently, I adapted the script into a short play, and I entered it in to The Upsetters open theater contest, and I am pleased to announce my play was selected!  Five plays were chosen out of 167 submissions.  
It's a huge honor, and it will be performed live on February 29th.  If you're based in London, come on down to the Bunker Theater for the Upsetters theatrical festival.  There's a 4pm showing and a 7:30pm showing. 
More info can be found here: 
https://www.bunkertheatre.com/whats-on/the-upsetters/book-now

In this podcast, I give a brief update as to why I haven't recorded any episodes recently.  Primarily, it's because I've been working on a scripted comedy that's inspired from my book Grindr Survivr How to Find Happiness in the Age of Hookup Apps. I've made some progress in getting some TV producers to look at it, but it's been keeping me away from recording podcasts. 
But I've also been confronting a level of cynicism as to whether my podcast is making a difference. However, out of my participation in a creativity course, I've renewed my commitment to keep recording conversations that make a difference in how members of the gay community think about their dating choices and treat each other as a group. 

In the latest episode of the Grindr Survivr podcast, I sat down with a PhD candidate/trainee-psychologist to discuss how you can boost your mental health and awareness while using dating apps such as Grindr and Tinder.
We discussed several elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, and we also delved into several chapters of my book, Grindr Survivr: How to Find Happiness the Age of Hookup Apps. In particular, we discussed and debated how apps can lead some people to spin out of control, the 10 Grindr Commandments and what you can do to get in touch with your commitments regarding love and relationships.
If you'd like to buy my book Grindr Survivr: How to Find Happiness in the Age of Hookup Apps, you can get it on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XVHQGDT

I recently caught up with Ballroom Icon Shannon Garçon, house mother and founder of the International House of Comme de Garçon.
He and I talked about how the ballroom community helped him overcome homelessness, the vogue icons he met in the 1980's, how he started his own house, and we even talked about Pose on FX and gay presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
It was a wide-ranging and inspiring conversation.

A few people have asked me to comment on the topic of fetishizing people of color on dating apps such as Grindr. So I decided to make this my next topic on the Grindr Survivr podcast.
I discuss my two (seemingly obvious) questions you can ask someone to determine whether someone online is interested in getting to know you as a person or whether they are fetishizing you as sex object.
Although it may seem obvious, in the context of chatting to someone you find attractive, some times these questions feel too intrusive or you may be fearful of looking "too sensitive" or "too PC." So I also discus some ways on how you can make it seem more organic and/or more polite.
But I promise you it's better to find these issues out sooner rather than later.