– Who are you? – I am a caring, passionate, loving, light-hearted, Leatherman, activist, cat-obsessed cat dad and boyfriend. I am a creator of safe and educational spaces. I am a gay trans man who is out and proud and always here to share my life’s experiences and knowledge in order to spread love, awareness, and acceptance. I am a domestic violence survivor. I am California sober. I am a lover of drag, and I performed for over a decade as a drag king and a bearded drag queen. I am authentically myself, and I encourage you to be yourself too.
– What do you do? – I am and will forever be an activist for the LGBTQIA+ community. I create safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ people to learn more about themselves and the communities they belong to. I create educational opportunities for allies and the queer community, focusing on mental and physical health and inclusivity. I also create social and nightlife experiences. From all the drag shows, queer dance parties, and Leather Contests I’ve brought to life, for me, it’s all about community. Which is why I also volunteer my time to Lansing Pride as a board advisor, am one of the stage managers for the Lansing Pride festival, and am also the producer/founder of Lansing Pride Leather. Bringing members of our community closer is always the goal. Spreading love and acceptance is always something I will do. I will always educate anyone who is open-minded and willing to listen. I will always support members of my community and provide resources when needed. I support my friends and family because it takes a village. The hard work that goes into making an event successful, fun, educational, empowering, and safe for all is totally worth seeing the smiles and hearing the laughs during each event. I will also continue to educate myself. We should always be learning and growing as individuals. There is always more to learn and more knowledge to share.
– What have you done to make a safe space in the greater community for drag and trans folks? – During my time living in the metro Detroit area, I wanted to make spaces safer and really utilize the safe spaces we already had. I worked at a queer bar in Ferndale MI, where I was able to create nightlife experiences for the LGBTQIA+ community. I was creating spaces where people felt safe to be themselves and express themselves. They felt safe to love who they wanted to love. I wanted to produce drag shows to create a safe space for the queer community to showcase their art and express themselves in a positive way. I want people to feel safe to chase their dreams.
I have also brought some Leather Contests to life. Consent and safety are two very important aspects of the Leather/kink community. The contests I have produced have been gender inclusive. Anyone of any gender is always welcome to compete. I want people to know that they are safe and accepted here just as they are. Paying respect to our history and culture in leather and supporting the future while spreading knowledge is power. By welcoming all folx, all folx are safe with us and in our spaces. Creating safe spaces to me is the ultimate goal. We cannot truly thrive and be ourselves if we don’t feel safe. I want everyone to feel safe enough to be authentically themselves.
I created a series of workshops for trans and nonbinary people to learn and have conversations with LGBTQIA+ health care providers. During these free workshops, people were able to ask questions to providers about their mental and physical health. I know the struggles of being trans and navigating health care. During these sessions, people were able to find safe health care and find safe accredited referrals.
During my time volunteering for a transmasc support group, I created a safe and warm space where people knew they were welcome and could be honest and get the support they needed. I always made sure people could get access to the resources they needed. I also brought health care workers to our monthly group to provide insight and give medical advice on things that are specific to Trans masc individuals.
– What does “With Us” mean to you? (What is your message?) – “With Us” to me means to stand with us, stand up for us, and protect us. Be the light at the end of our seemingly dark tunnel. The world is a horrible unsafe place for so many in the LGBTQIA+ community. Our government is actively against us, and so are the administration’s followers. At this point in history to be frank, if you are not with us, you are against us. That message is read loud and clear. Being with us means educating yourself, learning about who we are and how we are struggling. So that when it is your chance, you can educate someone on how they can also be “With Us” instead of against us. Be on the right side of history. There are a lot of minorities under attack right now and we all need help. Be with us, help us, and educate to erase hate. Be the change you want to see.