Life (UN)Closeted: LGBTQ+ Coming Out Stories & Advice for living out and proud!

There's nothing more important, as a human being, than having the rights to live life on your terms - provided it doesn't intentionally hurt someone else. From body autonomy, to loving who you love, and worshipping the way you choose to worship. Everyone deserves these rights. Yet, in the politically charged environment - not only in the U.S., but across the globe - the war against personal human rights is on. Helping me unwrap this fight in a big way, is my friend Alex Jamieson. Artist, activist, author, filmmaker, and overall beautiful human being. She's making her voice known through her Instagram videos, by calling out the hypocrisy that is the GOP hatred towards women, LGBTQ individuals, and anyone who doesn't fit into their box of how you should live your life based on their definition of living an"uncloseted" - so to speak, in their world. In this episode you'll... About Alex Alexandra Jamieson audaciously spends much of her waking life making art despite not having any art school debt. A third-generation self-taught artist from Portland, OR, she gets her studio dirty in Brooklyn, NYC. In her other work, she has published five books on food, communication, and personal growth, and was the co-creator and co-star of the Oscar nominated documentary Super Size Me. Her latest art includes the Abortion Trading Cards and the Fascism Tarot Deck, both fundraisers for abortion access groups and pro-democracy work. She creates commissions for private clients around the world and has been featured as a writer and coach in Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Good Morning America, CNN, USA Today, and more. Connect With Alex Abortion Trading Cards Website Facism Tarot Cards Website Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

Life is full of choices. Some easy, and some not so easy, right? Coming out, changing jobs, finding that just right soulmate. All of these decisions come with choices. Ironically, we put a lot of emphasis on making the right choice, and too often try to find the easy choice simultaneously. Yay, who doesn't want the easiest way when given the chance. But, what if the easiest choice isn't always the right choice. That's what we're uncovering today. In this episode you'll... About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

Uncertainty is a part of life, and definitely it is a part of coming out. The good news is, it doesn't have to be a part of your journey, nor a reason to keep yourself in the closet -in any aspect of life. But, how do you face these feelings of uncertainty, head on? That's the focus of today's podcast - navigating and embracing uncertainty. In this episode you'll... About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

For many LGBTQ+ individuals, our past is what kept us in the closet and is still what haunts to this day. Even though we are out of the closet, we suffer from the past dictating our present and future. Today we dismantle that invitation for our past to have a seat at our present and future table, so that we can live rich and happy LGBTQ+ lives In this episode you'll... About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

That piece of your that is hiding, you know the truth of who you are, is what the world really needs to see and get to know. In fact the world needs that - unless they are right wing crazies. But don't let them win. Realize that what the world needs now is YOU, sweet, confident, YOU. Here's how to have the confidence to release what is inside you to the world. In this episode you'll... About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

Whether you're coming out of the closet, going for a job change, or choosing to start a relationship, insecurities have a way of screwing with your confidence. Truth is you confidence is actually louder than your insecurities. In this episode you'll... About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

It's time. Time for you to truly live your life (un)closeted. Yet, too often we are afraid of living our life in a way that FREAKS OTHERS OUT! To bad! You have the right to live your life on your terms, and if it freaks others out, that is on them. In this episode you'll... About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

Our intuition is our friend. But not if you don't tap it. If you ignore it, it will ignore you. Today we explore how to let your f*cking intuition guide you in those big decisions of life - coming out, careers, relationships, health, friendships, finances, etc. In this episode you'll... About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

Rules, rules, rules. They are meant to be broken, and meant to be followed. But they are also meant to be rewritten. When you come out of the closet you lovingly rewrite the rules for you. In fact most the time when we shake up our lives we are rewriting the rules so that life can be better. Having the courage to unfollow a rule, break it and rewrite is what we are exploring today. In this episode you'll... About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

You've heard it before and you will hear it again - "If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” - RuPaul and Amen! But it's hard, hard, hard to love yourself unless you give yourself permission to love all your self - every little bit form your head to your toe. That takes courage. That's what we'r also exploring this week is the courage to love and befriend yourself. In this episode you'll About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

If you've ever caught yourself saying, " I can't conceive of that," then you've blown the possibility of what's possible. That mindset prevents us as LGBTQ+ individuals from becoming our own version of a Disney Imagineer for our lives. Break free of the BS of the inconceivable and get curious about what's truly possible. In this episode you'll About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

To begin to unpack our direction and our desires, we have to realize that our beliefs and values will guide us or fight us. Of course, we'd prefer they guide us. In order to make those beliefs serve us and serve us well, whether we're coming out of the closet, choosing a new career, or letting go of toxic people in our lives, we have to get ready to re-evaluate our beliefs in order for them to serve us and our long term goals of being ourselves in the world. In this episode you'll About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

Here' the naked truth about being in a state of confusion. You can't get out of confusion until you get naked with your truth! Whether you are coming out of the closet, walking away from a bad relationship, going for a promotion, or letting go of people in your life that no longer serve you, you have to get fully naked with the truth behind that decision or situation to leave the confusion behind. In this episode you'll About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

Before you can step out of the confusion of your life's closets, you have to do this one thing! Admit your closet is a mess. It's in the messiness of our life's closets hat we find the path forward. We reveal the hidden secrets so that they are out in the open, and we free ourselves to be ourselves. In this episode you'll About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

We're kicking off a new series entitled "Living your life (UN)Closeted. Designed to make you think and to guid you out of the closets of your life, host Rick Clemons guides you by the hand to the freedom of living your life (un)closeted. We kick of the series exploring desire and freedom. In this episode you'll About Rick Rick is a life and business coach, speaker, author, and podcaster. With his husband by his side and two grown children, life looks dramatically different than it did more than 20 years ago. “I started living by my expectations rather than others, and gained the confidence to love me. “Instead of seeking out hidden sexual experiences and lying about who I was, I found love with a man who embraced me and my kids. “Of course, none of this was easy. I wouldn’t bullshit you. That’s not my style.” In addition to speaking from stages around the country, today Rick helps men who are struggling with their sexuality to learn to be themselves, to stop making excuses, face their fears, and commit to living an unapologetic life. “The truth of who you are is far more powerful than the false truth you are pretending to be, so let’s work together to show the world WHO YOU ARE!” Ready to explore coaching? My goal is to support you in kicking ass and moving from, "Crap I'm stuck in this rut of life," to "Damn, I'm a badass gay/bi guy living a life the turns me on!" I'm a straight-forward, no BS kind of coach that challenges you to stop jerking yourself off, cut the lip service, and get in action - no excuses, no fears, no apologies. If you're ready to explore, invest a bit of time and a little bit of money in yourself and scheduled a "Your Next Move" coaching session today. Click here to schedule.

For too long the voices of Christians have tried to silent the LGBTQ+ community. But what happens to their voices when Christian music artists sing the Lords praise, and those performers happen to be members of the LGBTQ+ community? Do they abandon them? Call them fake Christians? Film producer Ry Levey brings his newest documentary to life - Song Silenced - where he explores the intersectionality of Christian Musician and the LGBTQ+ performer. In this episode you'll About Ry Levey Ry knows that music is a vital expression for many people, and a powerful part of the faith community—it's a form of celebration of that belief. But what happens when your voice is silenced, for living your truth? In his new documentary, SONG SILENCED: COMING OUT IN CHRISTIAN MUSIC, Ry features beloved classic and current music artists and personalities like Marsha Stevens, Ray Boltz, Flamy Grant, Semler, Billy Newton-Davis, Jess Grace Garcia, Azariah Southworth, Rev. Diedre Gray, Jason & deMarco, Ricky Braddy, Trey Pearson, Derek Webb, Deacon Ross Murray and Ronté Pierce. The documentary tells the stories of faith-based music professionals, who took a great risk in coming out of the closet and faced silencing, and "Out" artists in the space, who share their message of love, faith, and inclusion far and wide, on a mission of equality and for the right to be who you are without sacrifice or silence. Ry is an Award-winning director of OUT IN THE RING. Support the film if you feel compelled Song Silenced Website

As we wind up Pride Season, why not think about your next beach read. Even more provocative, why not think about the importance of having LGBTQ+ representation in our fiction life. After all, art imitates life...right? Proving that point, author Christopher Rice, writing under the pen name of C. Travis Rice shares a sizzling romance between two gay men in a luxurious coastal beach setting that not only enables you to be taken away in your fantasies, and also reminds us that we are queer, we're here, and we are not going away. In this episode you'll About C. Travis Rice CHRISTOPHER RICE is A New York Times bestselling author who writes under the pen name C. Travis Rice and delivers the fourth book in his Sapphire Cove series titled: SAPPHIRE DAWN. He is the recipient of the Lambda Literary Award. He is the Amazon Charts and New York Times bestselling author of: A Density of Souls; Bone Music, Blood Echo, and Blood Victory in the Burning Girl series; and Bram Stoker Award finalists The Heavens Rise and The Vines. An executive producer for television, he also penned 2 novels with his mother, Anne Rice: Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra and Ramses The Damned: The Reign of Osiris. Together with his best friend and producing partner, New York Times bestselling novelist Eric Shaw Quinn, Christopher runs the production company Dinner Partners. Among other projects, they produce the podcast and video network TDPS, which can be found at www.TheDinnerPartyShow.com. He lives in West Hollywood, California, and writes tales of romance between men under the pseudonym C. Travis Rice. Connect With C. Travis Rice Website Instagram X-Twitter

Imagine being a young, closeted TV newscaster trying to make your way during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Then because of one innocent move out in public, your whole world shatters. Joining us today on the podcast is three-time Emmy® award-winning anchorman and best-selling author turned actor, Mark Pettit, to share his journey of coming into being himself in a world hellbent on telling him he would never work again because of his sexuality. In this episode you'll About Mark Mark is a three-time Emmy® award-winning TV news anchorman and best-selling author turned actor. In his new, heart-wrenching memoir, ANKRBOY (a #1 bestseller on Amazon), Pettit reveals what it was like growing up as a young, closeted TV newscaster trying to make his way during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. His first book, A Need to Kill, also went to #1 in three categories on Amazon. Pettit has worked in journalism for more than 30 years on both the national and local level. A former anchorman at CNN, Pettit also worked as an anchor and investigative reporter at WXIA-TV (NBC), KMTV-3 (CBS) in Omaha, and at CBS46 News (WGCL-TV) in Atlanta (Now "Atlanta News First"). As an actor, Mark has appeared in a number of hit TV series including "True Detective," "Mindhunter," "Mr. Mercedes," "Sweet Magnolias" and "The Game." Pettit is also Executive Producer and appears in the horror film "The Curse of La Patasola" which is airing now exclusively on STARZ and will soon be available worldwide. In this episode you'll... Hear Mark's incredible + inspiring comeback story Why it's important to ignore naysayers and live your most authentic life Learn the importance of remembering history to continue our LGBTQ+ progress Connect With Mark Website Instagram LinkedIn YouTube

The journey of an LGBTQ+ persons life, more often than not, requires the GOD TALK. And even more often that not, that conversation kills their desire to talk about GOD. Today we have a candid discussion, just in time for Pride month, about the relationship you can have with GOD and all the lies you've been told. Author Dr. Jamie Marich shares her forthcoming book - You Lied to Me About God: A Memoir - is a captivating journey to coming to terms with being a Christian and a bisexual - OH MY! It's also available for pre-order now, wherever books are sold. In this episode you'll About Jamie Dr. Jamie Marich (she/they) inspires people and systems to heal the wounds that keep them stuck, allowing for authentic transformation free of shame and stigma. A TEDx speaker, clinical trauma specialist, expressive artist, lay spiritual director, short filmmaker, Reiki master, yoga teacher, and recovery advocate, she unites all of these elements in her mission to redefine therapy. She is a woman in long-term recovery from an addictive disorder and lives with dissociative identities. As a queer woman who survived multiple spiritually abusive experiences in childhood and adulthood, Jamie is passionate about helping people to recognize where religion and spirituality may be causing harm in their lives so that they can chart a course for personalized healing. Jamie travels internationally teaching on topics related to trauma, EMDR therapy, expressive arts, and spiritual abuse while maintaining a private practice and online education operations in her home base of Akron, Ohio. Marich is the founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness and the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness approach to expressive arts therapy. Her new book - You Lied to Me About God: A Memoir - captures her story about the tumultuous she has had to be with God and the candid ways she has chosen to be Christian and a bisexual. Available for pre-order now. Connect With Jamie Website Instagram Facebook LinkedIn YouTube

Living your truth, and being who you are, is every human beings right - provided it doesn't hurt someone. Which is always the tricky thing to discern. Yet, how is someone being gender fluid hurting anyone? In reality it is just another aspect of whom a person is. So live and let live, and just go be your own version of an unapologetic rebel. Speaker and coach Don Mamone joins us for the pride celebration podcast about living their truth on their terms - as we all should. Take a listen and learn the how to me more aligned with yourself, and how not to succumb to the guilt and shame of living by others expectations. About Don Don Mamone is a speaker, identity coach & consultant teaching audiences and clients how to reach their maximum potential & impact by discovering & embracing their true identity and supporting companies dedicated to safe spaces that support unapologetic authenticity. Connect With Don Website Instagram Facebook LinkedIn