Joey: 0:21

we're here. We made it. There's been so much talks about creating this podcast for me and I really struggle in execution. I love to dream, don't we all? So I'm here, you're here and I'm so excited to share the podcast, the dream and what we're going to create here this safe space about education and a lot of humor. So I'm really looking forward to sharing the space, answering any questions someone might have and also getting to learn more about myself, as we have other guests on and talk to them about their experiences and how I myself and listeners can can relate to being gay in the world we live in today.

Joey: 1:15

I'm really excited to be able to share people's experiences, um, and know that you're not alone in you know, maybe struggling to come out, or maybe you have questions about like being gay, and hopefully we can answer that in a very lighthearted, comedic way. I hope that you can find some education from the podcast and that we can create a safe space for our listeners and answer any questions that you might have, because I know I've got a lot of questions too, and I think people are afraid to talk about it, whether you're gay or not. So I'm really looking forward to just like getting into the nitty gritty, so I really wanted to talk about the purpose of the podcast here real quickly. So obviously the purpose of the podcast is to create a safe space. I want people to feel celebrated, I want you to feel educated and I also want you to feel inspired, you know, so you feel like you're taking little pieces of what we're talking about and you know putting them into everyday life and like using these. You know scenarios and our experiences and coming out and things like that and like being able to like support people in your network, or maybe yourself, if it's solve love you need, honey. Take a seat me too. Put on your headphones, dial out the world for 20 minutes, listen to what we have to say. Um, you're not going gonna regret it. I feel like there's, you know it's value in the education and also take a load off. You deserve, you know, 20 minutes alone time with your headphones on and just listen to somebody else ramble about everyday shit.

Joey: 2:58

Anyways, back to the podcast name. I'm not gay, you are. It was definitely designed as like a defensive system, so people would point the finger at me like you're gay. You're gay and you know, as a kid you're like. I'm not gay, you are, you know. So that really is, uh, the name of the podcast and the why of the podcast. It's like, definitely like internalized homophobia.

Joey: 3:22

For myself, I I remember very clearly kids with feminine attributes, high-pitched voices, just like me, hanging out with girls, da-da-da, but I would never associate with them and I'm so sorry, looking back now if you're listening to this, I am sorry that I was scared to hang around with you because I was scared that would attract too much attention and that certain classmates or people in our school would associate us as dating or experimenting, and I was so scared at the thought of that that I was gonna be like gay and I was like, oh, like you know, looking back now I feel so stupid, saying that out loud, because I love surrounding myself with queer people and like-minded people, people that have gone through the same experiences as me and that are now like learning about themselves and like this is okay to talk about and like I feel like I've healed, definitely from all this. I definitely feel like it's okay to talk about. But there are some parts of this story that I've definitely pushed down and I've not really spoke about them to anyone, and that's okay, um, but I think, looking back at these, what I put myself through um, yeah, I felt for me. I was definitely in school. I definitely felt like harassed to be, come to come out or to be this person that everyone said I was going to be. It's just not fair. I'm gonna be honest, it's absolutely not fair and it shouldn't be. It shouldn't be that way. It should just be like every person is individual and that their own person. Let me be the one that empowers you.

Joey: 5:08

I hope that you find value in what we're talking about and I hope that you see potential in the podcast. I'm really just here to be your cheerleader. This is like, obviously more personal and intimate episode. This is just getting to know the brand and like me as a person. But I really hope that as we start producing more content, it becomes really light-hearted and like a safe space where everyone feels welcome and that's gay straight by. Like, literally whoever you are in the queer community, you're all welcome and also you don't have to be queer to listen to this podcast either. Right, like there's value. Maybe your friends struggling to come out, or maybe we talk about pronouns because you're really unsure how to address someone like. There is a huge educational piece here, because people tiptoe around us in life. Sometimes. There's a lot of questions in this world and I feel like I might not be able to answer them all, but I feel like I can definitely support and bring guests in that could support you in making better choices. I'm really excited, I'm really stoked to be here and I'm really looking forward to having this space. Um, it's been a huge support online and I know a lot of people listening, like friends and family and stuff. This is going to be a shock for you. Like, truly like.

Joey: 6:31

I don't think I've ever spoke about my like coming out journey or like who I am and like being, you know, coming from high school and like a little childhood trauma. You know, mom and dad, I love you. It's not about you. Like you know, I this isn't me shading you at all like, like, just remember that it's. This is about the upbringing and like the time of. You know I was being brought up. Like you know, like I said, I'm 30 years old. I was born in 1994. Like, you need to know that like, times have shifted in a in a positive way, for sure, um, but not everyone still sees. Has that um accessibility or has the same upbringing as you and I. So I'm hoping that this creates a space where everyone can feel comfortable.

Joey: 7:20

So my story starts when I was young. I honestly had always, I guess, looked at the same sex men. I hate myself. I think I'd like really internalized homophobia for myself. Sorry, I'm saying this wrong. I'm really butchering grammar right now. Butchering grammar right now.

Joey: 7:51

I think I'd really become internalized homophobic because there was such a negative connotation in my upbringing and that's not necessarily my home, but like, just like school, and you got to know when I was a kid there was a very common phrase that was um, that's gay, or uh, gay, uh, like, gay, you know, like, and I'm like, oh God. So I feel like I heard that term so freaking often that I associated with the word gay as like negative and like a no and like you don't want to be that Right. So being able to flip the narrative upside down and be like I'm fucking gay, like let's go, like you know what I mean, like I just I've really learned to just accept it, and like I'm totally okay with it, like I guess just one day, like you know, after talking to my friends and family about it and being able to like really understand who I am and like that's what I want for myself. Like it doesn't really matter, kind of like what's going around you and what other people think or how they use the word, the context, like sure, it's really fucking shit sometimes that listen to people talk. You know about the word gay as a negative connotation, but like you choose to use the word and empower the word how you want to Period, like hello, like if you talk to me in person or if you know me at all, I'm like I'm gay, like you know, let's fucking go. Like gay is okay, baby, right. Like oh, like I just I can't even like come, like I can't, even I don't know the word, but like I can't combat. Like how difficult that word was for me growing up and then being the age 30 and like now, in present day, I'm like I use that word every day, every day, honestly, like I'm like the word is so powerful to me and I really appreciate everyone in this in my life today, and even the people that was a part of my upbringing, that weren't necessarily as accepting or that used the word as a negative connotation, because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be who I was today. Period again, like surprise, like you know, I just, I really, yeah, I really feel empowered by that word. Now I'm not trying to take away from your situation right now, but I want to just let you know how I am in this current day and I feel that it really resembles me and the podcast. Well, so I'm not gay, you are. She's here to stay and she's here to slay. Okay, so let's go.

Joey: 10:32

I served at a very casual restaurant, um, and at this restaurant I was talking about my podcast that I wanted to launch, you know, and one of the guests at the bar that we were just talking to like one of my friends. He was like hey, I want to like talk to you about, you know, your podcast. What you're doing is amazing, like bringing awareness and like just educating and like just honestly giving a space and a topic to being able to talk about. This is like not really what people do anymore. So, like I feel like, or ever have done, so I feel like having this opportunity to be able to talk about this today in this present space, using this platform, like podcasting, that's awesome. Like hello, you don't got to read a book anymore, like just listen.

Joey: 11:19

But he said you know, homophobic people are people that are people, are people that are uneducated and I kind of fuck with that. Like that's kind of like, yes, hello. Like that was me as a kid, I guess. Like I didn't internalize this homophobia because I was, and not towards other people. I wasn't like, ah, you're gay, like leave me alone, faggot. Like that wasn't me, like at all. Like I was very much like supportive of the community but I didn't want to associate myself with it. So I really removed myself and I didn't watch Drag Race, I didn't, I refused to. Like I probably wouldn't even listen to this podcast.

Joey: 12:00

I'm going to be honest, like I wouldn't indulge in any queer activities or communities because I was scared that I'd be associated with that community, having these feminine attributes, like I'd been bullied for, like my high-pitched voice, or that I hung around with girls and I had no male friends.

Joey: 12:19

So I think that these outlets and like understanding that, like where I'm at today, like I'm totally, like accepting of who I am and and and what I want in life, like I want a man, like I have a man okay, like I love him, like and I feel like that's okay, like you know what I mean. So it it was a really like tough like process for me to like combat and overcome my internalized homophobia, because I was so scared to accept who I wanted to be, because I was bullied that I had to be this person, um, and that people were like, oh, you've got to be gay, you know, you know. So, yeah, anyways, I feel like that's kind of like my story. Um, I'll now go into like more details. Definitely, like my coming out journey and stuff like that wasn't easy, um, um, but there's value there and I want to share and I want to be really open and honest and let be an open book, but just like a first episode intro to what the podcast is coming, what's coming up and what the podcast is going to be. I really want, um, people to like listen and see value, um, through this network, um, and also like let's just have a good time. Like you know, this isn't. This should be really light-hearted and I really want it to be approachable. Yeah, so that's me in a nutshell. Honestly, I'm gonna be here to support and I would love to get to a place where we can take questions for people listening and like really address people's actual concerns.

Joey: 14:00

Alrighty, we're going to keep those episodes short and sweet. So you're looking at like maybe 20 to 30 minute episodes. It should be something you put on in the car you want to listen to. I'm not going to drone out my voice for the next like hour and a half Sorry, I'm not into that. And hopefully, like one day, we'll have like a video so we can like do like a video podcast too. But right now we're just going to really focus on the educational piece and bringing some people in and talking about their experiences and if you have questions, you can always send us a dm at. I'm not gay, you are the podcast, um, so we can chat more and like really like talk about what you want to learn and like what you want to hear and what you want more of.

Joey: 14:45

But for right now, um, our next couple episodes are all planned and we're all ready to go, so looking forward to releasing and, uh, getting to know everyone and sharing some content that I really truly see value in and the educational piece. So every Wednesday we'll be releasing an episode. This is just something that I really want to hold myself accountable for. I don't want to force anything, I don't want to just throw out content that I'm not proud of and that it isn't cohesive with the brand. So, stay tuned. There's going to be a lot of educational pieces, I hope, and a lot of like experiences that I'm going to talk about with guests and myself that I really want to bring to light and shed some like light on, obviously as well. Stay tuned for more coming soon. I'm really looking forward to this space and what we can create and, uh, this is going to be awesome.