Bammer and Me

Stu Fenton Part 2: Confessions of a Male Escort turned Addiction Counselor

What do you do after you’ve been a Colt porn model, male escort, and drug addict? After kicking his drug addiction, Stu Fenton spent ten years getting his degrees in psychotherapy and gestalt therapy, opened a private therapy practice, and now counsels LGBTQ chemsex addicts in a private clinic, R 12, in Thailand on how to overcome their addiction. Stu shares his story of how he turned his life around. (Part 2 of 2 podcasts).

Rob Smith: Creating Gender-free Fashion

Rob Smith, founder of The Phluid Project, talks about his journey from his life as a successful fashion executive to creating the world’s first gender-free clothing brand.

Cliff Morrison Part 1: The World’s First AIDS Ward

Cliff Morrison arrived in San Francisco as a nurse in the late 1970s, as AIDS was about to erupt. In 1983, while working at SF General Hospital, one of the epicenters for the new disease, he was tasked with forming the world’s first hospital ward dedicated to serving people with AIDS. In the first of two episodes, Cliff tells Mike Balaban about that time.

Stu Fenton Part 1: Confessions of a Male Escort turned Addiction Counselor

Stu Fenton has had quite the life! In his early twenties, Stu was a Colt model and a male escort. That high life led to drug addiction, multiple near-death overdoses, and eventually rehab. Currently, he manages a chemsex treatment center in Chiang Mai, Thailand, one of only five in the world focusing on LGBTQ patients.

Frank Carducci, NYC Avant-Garde Theatre and Stonewall

Mike talks with Frank Carucci, a life-long New Yorker, about working in the NYC avant-garde theatre scene, the Stonewall riots and life in NYC over the last 60 years.

Poet Edward Field Part 3: Gay Life in 1950s New York

Ninety-five-year-old renowned poet Edward Field shares stories about gay life in NYC amid the social change of the 1950s, and life with his partner of 58 years, Neil Derrick.

Poet Edward Field Part 2: Being Gay -After WWII

Renowned poet and author Edward Field discusses with Mike, his colorful and bohemian life after WWII, including his life in France and Greece developing his craft as a fledgling poet, and 1950s gay life in Manhattan and McCarthyism.

Poet Edward Field Part 1: Life as a Gay Soldier in WWll

Mike Balaban interviews renowned poet and author Edward Field. At 95 years old, Edward shares his experiences as a gay man in the military during World War ll, talking about his affair with his master sergeant in boot camp under the noses of his fellow recruits; his adventures as a navigator on bombing raids over Germany; and experiencing gay life in post-war Europe.

Coming Out

Mike talks with 25-year-old documentarian, Caleb Holland, and compares their experiences coming out. In 1975, Mike, in his mid-twenties, was attracted to other guys, but successfully hid it from all who knew him. Almost 40 years later, Caleb relates how he was constantly told he was gay by others, even though he had no awareness of it until he was 19 in 2012.

Author David Nimmons discusses gay community

In this episode, Mike interviews Dave Nimmons on gay male bonding and how gay men can find meaningful ways to connect and create community.
David Nimmons, a former president of NYC’s Lesbian and Gay Community Center, is the author of “The Soul Beneath The Skin: The Unseen Hearts and Habits of Gay Men” and has conducted workshops and guerrilla actions across the U.S. to help gay men tap into their better selves and facilitate the establishment of a real gay community.