LGBTQ Stories

Gay In Uganda - Best of LGBT Stories 2019

Today's episode is about a man named Ronnie Mugisha. He is an openly gay man. He shares his story about what it was like growing up gay in Uganda. This episode has always been one of the episodes that I (Kevin Gerdes - host) have raved about when telling people about LGBT Stories. Ronnie talks about fighting to stay alive daily, fears that he lost his mother as a result of his coming out, and can't find a way to sustain himself daily. This episode is tough to listen to, but its a very import...

The Trans Experience - Best of LGBT Stories 2019

Jen Winslow shares her coming out story about being a trans MTF women. This is LGBT Stories. You’ve tuned in during our hiatus month. What that means is we are resting and, prepping for the new year ahead. There won’t be any new episodes of LGBT Stories from December to January, but, that does leave room for us to share some of our best or, or favorite episodes of the show with you all. Thanks for tuning in and we hope that if you haven’t heard these episodes yet that you find them just as m...

Best of LGBT Stories - 2019 - The Trans Experience

Jen Winslow shares her coming out story about being a trans MTF women. This is LGBT Stories. You’ve tuned in during our hiatus month. What that means is we are resting and, prepping for the new year ahead. There won’t be any new episodes of LGBT Stories from December to January, but, that does leave room for us to share some of our best or, or favorite episodes of the show with you all. Thanks for tuning in and we hope that if you haven’t heard these episodes yet that you find them just as m...

It's My Birthday! Let's Celebrate!

Today LGBT Stories is officially 3 years old! It has been such a wonderful time getting to know all of you and being able to share real-life inspiring stories from members of the LGBTQ community! This podcast has been something that has truly changed how I show up in the world! I thought it would be a good idea to invite you all into my space and share with you my gratitude! Donate to LGBT Stories and shop our merch at http://www.ourlgbtstories.com

It's Coming! LGBT Stories 2019 Best of Series

Hi everyone! Just stopping by to keep you updated. This is a quick little episode.   Starting next Tuesday, December 2nd, 2019 we are going to be kicking off our Best of Series! As we are in this time of hiatus from releasing new episodes, it provides us a wonderful chance to reflect on some of the episodes that have helped us reach the place we are at today. I am excited for you those of you who haven't gotten the chance to hear some of our very first episodes to hear the inspiring stor...

Happy Thanksgiving From LGBT Stories

2019 has been a year filled with so much to be grateful for! This episode is dedicated to that!   Make Donations to LGBT Stories at www.ourlgbtstories.com  Join us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRu9No3E1BX1lDuoY9PkWQ?view_as=subscriber  

An Annual Hiatus - Last Episode Ft. Michael Osborne

Support LGBT Stories by donating or shopping at www.ourlgbtstories.com   Time For A Hiatus - Last Episode Ft. Michael Osborne   re·new·al: the replacing or repair of something that is worn out, run-down, or broken. Friends: Its time for a hiatus. This year, LGBT Stories has grown more than I possibly could have known would happen. We started out slow, not producing many episodes, and had a goal of reaching 100k downloads. I didn't really see how that would happen, so it became nice...

An Annual Hiatus | Michael Osborne

FKF - My First Kiss-ISH

Please donate to LGBT Stories now! Visit www.ourlgbtstories.com and click Donate at the top of the screen.   First Kiss Friday (FKF) episodes are produced by our intern, Kate Mays. If you'd like to tell the story of your first kiss, send us an email at [email protected]   Everyone is invited LGBTQ or not!

Me. #4 - Kevin's Story

Support LGBT Stories by donating here www.ourlgbtstories.com     Today we pick back up, on this journey of mine with me telling you a more about my first ever sorta real relationship with a man. Well, for me, at least it was real. The joy, excitement, fantasy, sadness, pain, and sorrow all were as real as they could get. I was a young, not even 20-year-old boy at the time, who thought he found the love of his life. Lord, was I wrong.   As I mentioned in last week's episode, Travis ...

FKF - An RA's First Kiss

Please donate to LGBT Stories now! Visit www.ourlgbtstories.com and click Donate at the top of the screen.   First Kiss Friday (FKF) episodes are produced by our intern, Kate Mays. If you'd like to tell the story of your first kiss, send us an email at [email protected]   Everyone is invited LGBTQ or not!

Me. #3 - Kevin's Story

Support LGBT Stories by donating here www.ourlgbtstories.com   Last week I shared with you all about what it was like for me to come out or be outed, I should say, at the church I had been attending. I shared with you the stares that I received from people who I called "Family" and how I attended "Self-confrontation" classes to "confront" my gayness. 
 I also began talking a bit about my move to Pennsylvania. We will get more into that today, for sure. 
 However, I'd like to briefly ...

Me. - Kevin's Story - #3

Support LGBT Stories by donating here www.ourlgbtstories.com   Last week I shared with you all about what it was like for me to come out or be outed, I should say, at the church I had been attending. I shared with you the stares that I received from people who I called "Family" and how I attended "Self-confrontation" classes to "confront" my gayness. 
 I also began talking a bit about my move to Pennsylvania. We will get more into that today, for sure. 
 However, I'd like to briefly ...

LGBT Stories Update Episode

www.ourlgbtstories.com   Hi everyone, today, in place of our regularly scheduled story episode, I would like to spend some time with a few updates about where LGBT Stories is at and where we are going! I thought it would be lovely to share some of the ratings and reviews LGBT Stories has gotten over the last few weeks on iTunes! Seeing these come through is hugely encouraging. I have to be honest, even though I see the numbers daily of how the podcast is doing, it's easy for me to go ...

FKF - Alaina's First Kiss

Please donate to LGBT Stories now! Visit www.ourlgbtstories.com and click Donate at the top of the screen.   First Kiss Friday (FKF) episodes are produced by our intern, Kate Mays. If you'd like to tell the story of your first kiss, send us an email at [email protected]   Everyone is invited LGBTQ or not!

Me. #2 - Kevin's Story

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT LGBT STORIES! Donate at www.ourlgbtstories.com   Kevin Gerdes shares his story in this new segment of LGBT Stories called, "Me." In the last episode of "Me." I left off talking a bit about LGBT Stories. Specifically, I was sharing the fears I experienced as I was gearing up to begin launching episodes. It was just new for me to start taking a public stance on my gayness. All my life, even well into my coming out years, being gay was always something I had been abl...

Me. - Kevin's Story - #2

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT LGBT STORIES! Donate at www.ourlgbtstories.com   Kevin Gerdes shares his story in this new segment of LGBT Stories called, "Me." In the last episode of "Me." I left off talking a bit about LGBT Stories. Specifically, I was sharing the fears I experienced as I was gearing up to begin launching episodes. It was just new for me to start taking a public stance on my gayness. All my life, even well into my coming out years, being gay was always something I had been abl...

That Moment Death Becomes Less Scary | Michael Vaccaro

Please donate to LGBT Stories now! Visit www.ourlgbtstories.com and click Donate at the top of the screen.   Michael Vaccaro Sometimes life can feel so lonely and as though no one "gets you." It's times like this when life feels like it's out to get you. Like it has this unbeatable doom for you to be alone FOREVER. I've experienced that feeling before. It's very uncomfortable to go through. Some people are able to hold a pocket of hope in their mind's eye. A small yet not insignifica...

That Moment Death Becomes Less Scary - Michael Vaccaro

Please donate to LGBT Stories now! Visit www.ourlgbtstories.com and click Donate at the top of the screen.   Michael Vaccaro Sometimes life can feel so lonely and as though no one "gets you." It's times like this when life feels like it's out to get you. Like it has this unbeatable doom for you to be alone FOREVER. I've experienced that feeling before. It's very uncomfortable to go through. Some people are able to hold a pocket of hope in their mind's eye. A small yet not insignifica...

FKF - A Heterosexual Kiss - Hannah Roberts

Please donate to LGBT Stories now! Visit www.ourlgbtstories.com and click Donate at the top of the screen.   HANNAH ROBERTS  Hannah is a heterosexual woman, and she is sharing her first kiss story on the show today! Some of you might ask why she is doing this. Or why we have a straight person on this show? Well, "LGBT Stories" is all about inclusion and sharing everyday experiences in hopes of unity two communities - the LGBTQ community and the heterosexual community.   We feel tha...

Finding My Inner Self | James Lucas

Support LGBT Stories by donating or shopping at www.ourlgbtstories.com   Finding My Inner Self - James Lucas   Today's guest is someone I've known for I'd say somewhere around 3 years now. His name is James Lucas, and he and I are actually roommates. When I first met James, he had been sharing with me and a few mutual friends different stories of his life and some of the struggles that he had been experiencing. I couldn't help but more personally introduce myself to him, as we seem...

Finding My Inner Self

Support LGBT Stories by donating or shopping at www.ourlgbtstories.com   Finding My Inner Self - James Lucas   Today's guest is someone I've known for I'd say somewhere around 3 years now. His name is James Lucas, and he and I are actually roommates. When I first met James, he had been sharing with me and a few mutual friends different stories of his life and some of the struggles that he had been experiencing. I couldn't help but more personally introduce myself to him, as we seem...

FKF - Joe's Passionate First Kiss

Please donate to LGBT Stories now! Visit www.ourlgbtstories.com and click Donate at the top of the screen.   JOE FILIPPONE  Today Joe is sharing his FKF story with us, and whoa did this one get me going! Joe is a storyteller for sure! I'm going to note now that this episode is a bit racy. If you're not 18+, this is going to be an episode that I ask that you please skip over this episode. However, if you're not under 18, then strap on your seatbelt or hold onto something tight and bol...

Me. #1 - Kevin's Story

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT LGBT STORIES! Donate at www.ourlgbtstories.com   Kevin Gerdes shares his story in this new segment of LGBT Stories called, "Me." This isn't easy. I'm about to go on a journey opening myself up to the world. Y'all know parts of me, but not everything. I've tried to sneak in parts of me when narrating episodes of other's stories but not too much. It hasn't been about me. Honestly, I'm not sure where to even begin. But here goes nothing. This is "Me." My name i...

Me. - Kevin's Story - #1

PLEASE HELP SUPPORT LGBT STORIES! Donate at www.ourlgbtstories.com   Kevin Gerdes shares his story in this new segment of LGBT Stories called, "Me." This isn't easy. I'm about to go on a journey opening myself up to the world. Y'all know parts of me, but not everything. I've tried to sneak in parts of me when narrating episodes of other's stories but not too much. It hasn't been about me. Honestly, I'm not sure where to even begin. But here goes nothing. This is "Me." My name i...

For The Parents - Rick's Story

Shop and Donate to LGBT Stories www.ourlgbtstories.com Coming out to your friends and family is never really that amazing of a thing. It's exhausting and oftentimes terrifying. If you're lucky, you were raised in a family that expressed emotions and create space for you to be just as you are, which made it easy for you to "come out."  If that was you, damn, I am happy for you! However, for many others, that was not their experience. For some who haven't come out yet, they continue to ope...

Happy National Coming Out Day! - Whitney Easton Is Silent No More

www.ourlgbtstories.com   Happy National Coming Out Day (NCOD)! To everyone who took the leap of faith and came out, congratulations to you! Today you did something courageous and exciting. Proclaiming who you love may it be someone specific that you're revealing or gender in general, I am proud of you! For those of you who are not coming out today, I am also proud of you. Making a decision for yourself to stay closeted is also a huge decision to make. We might not know your reasons fo...

Introducing, "Me."

Support LGBT Stories by donating or shopping on our website at www.ourlgbtstories.com www.kevingerdes.com   Welcome to "Me." LGBT Stories is made of up many stories from around the world. In the center of it, at its core, is my authenticity. "Me." is a segment of LGBT Stories where I share who I am, why I am, and how I think with the audience. Those that know me personally know that I am a deep thinker and that I have a lot to share with the world. And now, that's what I'm beginning to...

Gay Skater Boy, Bobby Dunn

IF YOU'RE IN DANGER, CALL EMERGENCY SERVICES 9-1-1 (IN THE UNITED STATES)   www.ourlgbtstories.com If you live in almost any major US city I am almost certain that you've seen many people zipping around the streets on electric scooters. Even electric bikes and skateboards are becoming more of a "thing". If you saw my Instagram post a few weeks ago you may have seen the post of myself and Karamo Brown from Queer Eye. And then if you read the caption, you'd see that I don't have a car (w...

First Kiss Friday - Emmanuel Choi Shares His First Kiss

www.ourlgbtstories.com Donate To LGBT Stories Here http://bit.ly/donatelgbtstories      First Kiss Friday episodes are produced by our intern, Kate Mays. If you'd like to tell the story of your first kiss, send us an email at [email protected]   Everyone is invited LGBTQ or not!

Steven & Lorevic's Journey Through Adoption

Support LGBT Stories Donate or Shop Here www.ourlgbtstories.com In today's episode, our guests Steven & Lorevic share their journey going through the adoption process. They discuss what it was like when they first met and how at times the talk of children created some discomfort in their relationship. However, in the end, I think you'll see that it all worked out beautifully.   CONNECT WITH LGBT STORIES ONLINE! If you haven’t joined our facebook group yet just go to facebook.com/gr...

Tuesday October 1st, 2019 Update

www.ourlgbtstories.com   This month's donation... lets vote! For those of you that don't know. On the first of every month, we vote for an LGBTQ org to send 5% of all profits made from our online merch to. From AmBi.org's website: www.ambi.org "We believe that social progress begins with community. Only by building and maintaining a vibrant and visible bisexual community can we make real progress on social issues that matter to bi people. In that spirit, amBi is a network of commun...

First Kiss Friday - Stephen Schiatta First Kiss

www.ourlgbtstories.com Donate To LGBT Stories Here http://bit.ly/donatelgbtstories    Stephen Schiatta Stephen grew up in New Jersey and moved out to California to pursue a career in Film and Television.  Big horror film and comic book nerd.  At the moment works as a casting assistant in the world of television.     First Kiss Friday episodes are produced by our intern, Kate Mays. If you'd like to tell the story of your first kiss, send us an email at [email protected]...

Sarah Klegman's Story of Bisexuality

Support LGBT Stories Donate or Shop Here www.ourlgbtstories.com   Yesterday was Bisexual Visibility Day. It's a day for those in the bisexual community to stand up, declare their bisexuality, and proclaim their seat! This last weekend has been nothing short of transformational for me. I went to the 2nd annual bisexual pride parade in West Hollywood, CA. The event started off with a festival where I was able to meet new friends and eat good food, then a parade walking around the str...

First Kiss Friday - Lauren Peterson's First Kiss

www.ourlgbtstories.com Donate To LGBT Stories Here http://bit.ly/donatelgbtstories    LAUREN PETERSON The longer I am traveling this earth, the more I think this life is a journey of discovery. The first time I really lived in a foreign country, I realized all the ideals and beliefs I grew up with, were unique to my little universe. This gave me my first stab at exploring, "Who am I?"  I have worked as a professional dancer, actor and yoga instructor. To me, these professions a...

Our Chosen Families - Sean Segerstrom

This episode is rated explicit. If you are under the age of 18, DO NOT LISTEN to this episode. There is mention of sexual assault as well as descriptions of sexual activities. This episode is only for adults over the age of 18. www.ourlgbtstories.shop If you would like to support our mission to spread the stories of the LGBTQ+ community around the world, please do us a favor and donate as little as $5 to us. It helps keep the lights on around here. No really, all donations go back into p...

First Kiss Friday - David Thompson's First Kiss

www.ourlgbtstories.com Donate To LGBT Stories Here http://bit.ly/donatelgbtstories   DAVID THOMPSON David Thompson is one of the seasoned gay elders who remembers quite vividly the pre-Stonewall days.  A veteran of many political actions ranging from mass protests FOR civil rights through voter registration drives in the deep South through LGBT equality, he has, as he says, " several purple hearts for activism.". A widower of 10 years, he honors his late husband, Steve, by maintainin...

Laganja Estranja Shares Her Story

Support LGBT Stories By Purchasing A T-Shirt! www.ourlgbtstories.shop 5% of all profiles are donated to an LGBTQ non-profit! Use promo code: grandhotel for 25% off   Laganja Estranja, you probably know her from Season 6 of Rue Paul's Drag Race. Well, behind every fierce queen's face, is an even a badass boy! For those of you who may not know, Laganja Estranga or Jay Evan Jackson is an American choreographer and drag queen based in Los Angeles, California. I personally never watc...

100,000 Downloads! Thank You, All of You!

This morning I woke up to something pretty amazing. LGBT Stories has officially passed 100,000 downloads across iTunes, Spotify, and the other podcast platforms out there. December will be 2 years that I’ve been producing this show, there have been ups and downs, I’ve questioned a lot, and tried to “do the most viable thing” for the show at times. However, there is one thing that this journey has taught me, always go back home. Any time I’ve wondered what direction I should go in regards...

Amir Yassai *Human Unicorn*

Click the following here for all the links and more show notes discussed in this episode. http://bit.ly/Amirshareshisstory  For daily episodes listen to our show, The Microcast, on Patreon. Find it here http://www.patreon.com/lgbtstories  

LGBT Stories Merch Store!

Hi everyone! Thanks for tuning in again! I thought I would post a quick blurb to tell yall about something I am very excited about! I’ve been working on this for a few months now with the team here at LGBT Stories and we can now finally share it with you! If you follow us on social media you’ve probably already noticed, but… LGBT Stories officially has an online merch store! When deciding what we would offer in the store I wasn’t 100% sure what direction I wanted to go. Do we sell merch ...

Elton's Struggle With His Immigrant Parents

www.harrys.com/lgbt  I did not grow up with immigrant parents, well, technically they did immigrate here from Haiti but they were so young when they came here that they are extremely assimilated. I can’t really claim that I know what it’s like to have parents whose ideologies and morals are so grounded in the ways of their home country. That's why while I can, of course, relate to what its like to be gay and grow up in America, I have not the slightest clue as to the added difficulties t...

Elton's Struggle With His Immigrant Parents

www.harrys.com/lgbt  I did not grow up with immigrant parents, well, technically they did immigrate here from Haiti but they were so young when they came here that they are extremely assimilated. I can’t really claim that I know what it’s like to have parents whose ideologies and morals are so grounded in the ways of their home country. That's why while I can, of course, relate to what its like to be gay and grow up in America, I have not the slightest clue as to the added difficulties t...

Call To Action: The LGBT Stories Facebook Group!

Making a small call to action here for you to come and join us in the uber-cool, totally awesome, very private, facebook group for LGBT Stories! The stories that we share on the show are all real and all serious and I know that there are millions, if not billions more of them out there in this great big world! That's why I am working to create more places for people within the LGBTQ community (and those who are our allies) to go to find community. It’s always important for me to have a...

The Shirtless Violinist

Whats better than a classical violinist or a beautiful shirtless man? Well, I’ll tell ya… how about a beautiful shirtless man who plays the classical violin? Yeah, the imagery, right? Today you’re in luck! Let me introduce you to Matthew. Matthew grew up from a very young age playing the violin and it’s followed him throughout his life, all the way into his 30’s. His violin has been the catalyst to performing in local malls and also to the heartwarming story of how he met his now boyfriend...

The Other Side of Saved

Nathan Postlethwait is an extraordinary man, and today you’re going to learn why. Nathan reached out to me a few weeks ago in hopes that he would be able to tell his story on the show. He recently released a blog called The Other Side of Saved that is unexpectedly touching so many people. Nathan is finding that as he opens his life up to the world that he is meeting more and more men that lived through similar things as he did for so many years. In today’s story, you’ll Nathan will tell yo...

PSA - Are You Suffering?

PSA - Are You Suffering?   It’s important that LGBT Stories is an outlet for LGBTQ people of all ages to have a place to reach out for support. While we are not professionals that are qualified to offer advice or direction in your life, we do want to be a resource to help get you safe, supportive, and confidential help. We receive emails and messages on our social media from people all over the world. We invite those of you who are feeling lost, misunderstood, and those of you who migh...

Creating A Movement

Help Support LGBT Stories! Visit us on Patreon and show your TODAY!    Justin Lee, the original founder of The Gay Christian Network, GCN, shares his story of coming to terms with who he is as a gay Christian. Justin is a speaker and author of "Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate". Check out his website www.geekyjustin.com for more! Follow Justin On: facebook Twitter Tumblr YouTube Snapchat Instagram     Our shows logo was designed and ...

Breaking The Ruhls

EPISODE 17 - BREAKING THE RUHLS ***REVIEW US ON ITUNES TODAY*** In todays episode author Larry Ruhl shares an emotional roller coaster of the story with us. In his story he shares the back-and-forth relationship between his mother and father, the sexual abuse he sadly injured by his father, and horrible verbal abuse from his mother.  However, in the end, Larry comes out triumphant! He understands that telling our stories is the one thing that can bring hope an understanding to all.  ...

Dudes With Dogs