When I was younger, being gay was all about discovering the world by yourself, learning to question the society’s truths, and creating my own point of view from life since a young age. I mean, when you grow up hearing that it’s not ok to be what you are, you just can’t stay indifferent.

(With regards to challenges) Being in love! It was always a challenge. Also, making friends, when younger. Nowadays I believe most of the challenges we face are a creation of fear. If we’re not scared, most of these disappear. I truly believe that if you respect yourself and respect others, then people will respect you back. Of course, nothing is that simple, but in cities like Rio and NY, that’s kinda how it goes. I don’t remember having any challenges because of my sexuality in big cities likes these.

(The gay community is Rio De Janeiro is) Hot! Hahaha I mean, “cariocas” (people from rio) really have this “body” culture, so gyms are always crowded, and the beaches too. But beside that, I believe it’s just like any other community. We have all kinds of gay men, Rio just doesn’t have the amount of places to aggregate those men as it should. Most of our bars and nightclubs have the same public, that’s really annoying. There are no cool gay bars to just hang out with friends. The city’s gay life is all about the beach, clubs and parties. At least that’s how I see it.

My (coming out) story happened in three different steps. First I came out to my best friend and a very few great friends. I was 15, and puberty was suffocative. I felt like I would die if I didn’t share my feelings with someone else. They were amazing and we supported each other for a few years.

The second moment was when I got to college. I was 18 and had decided to myself that I would not hide anymore from new people. From the moment I kissed this guy at a college party, a few other friends came out too, and it was an awesome time of my life.

The last step was family, of course. I was 20 and was dating this guy, with whom I ended up spending six years. At the time I had decided not to hide anything from my family. I would stop making up stories about “friends”, and just let things go and see what would happen. After a month with this guy, my mom finally asked me what was happening. I told her we were getting to know each other for a month already. I guess it was not very easy for her at the moment. She was very supportive, but what really got her was that societal prejudice. One of the first things she said was that she was worried that I’d be involved with drugs and being promiscuous. I guess I was already ready for such comments, then I just calmed her down and explained that I was the same person she raised, that being gay would not change who I was. My father was even easier, mom had already told him, he invited me to talk and just said that his love for me would be the same and that he just wanted to see me happy. I can’t complain, my family is really amazing and I love them so much.