So, I will readily admit that I was a bit naive when it came to the world of leather pageantry.

Obviously I knew that these leather competitions existed, and that they were loosely modelled on beauty pageants, but I kind of assumed that they weren't all that serious.

I just thought that people showed up, had a bit of a laugh, took a few pictures and then went home.

But, I was wrong.

And, I quickly learnt that when I sat down to talk about lost London space The Hoist with life coach and former stand up comedian John Pendal.

John also happens to be the International Mr Leather 2003, so you can rest assured he knows a thing or two about leather pageantry.

As well as excessive instances of me saying 'wow' you can expect to hear about John's sex spreadsheet, the effort he put in to preparing for the different categories of the pageant, and how he discovered his neurodiversity many years later.

Follow me

Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sign up to the Queer Word newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://queer-word.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Support me

Buy Me A Coffee: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow my guest

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnpendal.coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Website: johnpendal.com

Website: https://www.leatherlondonguide.com

The lyric to that very famous 80s TV theme song is 'sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name'.

Whilst I think that's true I also think there are times where you want to go where nobody knows your name and where there's absolutely no risk of running in to anybody that you even vaguely know.

It's that type of space that gave this week's guest - scholar, therapist and host of the Gender Studies podcast Alex Iantaffi - the courage to actually go through the front door and start to explore their queerness for the first time.

And so, in this episode, Alex takes us back to the 90s and sits us down in a corner seat in London's First Out Cafe to show us the magical, open, friendly space that made them feel welcome.

Follow me

Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sign up to the Queer Word newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠ https://queer-word.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Support me

Buy Me A Coffee: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow my guest

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/xtaffi

Podcast: https://episodes.fm/1353717550

I think what's so magical about a place like London is the promise of what the city represents rather than what it can actually meaningfully offer people...

And, that might sound like a strange distinction, but for me London was always the place that I was going to run away to in order to become the person that I was meant to be. And it was here that I was going to live out my dreams and have every success in the world.

And, in some ways it didn't matter that all of those things didn't happen to me, because the magic of the city still drew me to it.

For many it still holds this promise.

In fact, it was this way for this week's guest, the artist Recognition.

London gave him this vast city where he was anonymous and able to play around with his own concept of who he was.

He did that through dating apps (of course), but also through queer sports clubs, and the many bars and nightclubs in the city.

In our chat we talk about age-gap relationships, dark rooms, and taking your shirt off on the dancefloor of the lost space XXL...

Follow me

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lostspacespod

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

Subscribe to the Queer Word newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/qwsignup

Support me

Buy Me A Coffee: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow my guest

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/recognition.art/

Website: https://www.recognition-art.com/

Normally when I sit down to talk to my guests we have a bit of chit-chat to break the ice and ease us in before we get going. 

But, occasionally, the chit-chat turns in to something very interesting and I have to scrabble to press record whilst making sure we don't lose the rhythm of the conversation.

Which is what you will find with the start of this week's episode, where Mike, one half of the presenters of the Gayish podcast started to tell me about going out to the gay bar R Place in Seattle with his then wife... 

And, if the conversation is getting good before you've even started recording then you know you're in for a good episode!

I talk with Mike, and his co-host Kyle, all about how they first met, how to spot a Seattle gay, and we reminisce about standing on the pavement at the end of the night after you've been kicked out of the pub scouring around for someone to go home with....

Do you have any memories of R Place, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Mike and Kyle by visiting their website https://www.gayishpodcast.com/, following them on Twitter https://twitter.com/gayishpodcast or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gayishpodcast/, or listening to their show wherever you find podcasts!

If you love episodes where I gasp a lot, you're going to love this week's show!

Now, I know you're not going to believe me when I say this, but the whole concept of cruising in bathrooms is totally foreign to me, and something that I thought it was high time I got a little lesson on. 

So, luckily for me, Mat Hawley, from Mat Tales Podcast, dropped by to talk me through the basics. 

And, I'm in good hands. His show, Mat Tales: 40 Years of Gay Adventures, is a show where he shares stories of his sexual experiences over the last 40 years... And, if he doesn't know about it then it's probably not worth knowing!

We talk all about growing up in a small town, the fine art of fuck buddies, and learning to amalgamate both the vanilla and slutty sides of yourself.

Do you have any memories of cruising, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Mat Tales by following him on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mattalesgayadventures), visiting his website (https://www.mattales.com/), or.... just listening to his show wherever you stream podcasts!

* This episode is sponsored by Spaces, the new group chat app for queer communities - find out more at https://www.queerspaces.com/ (and, come join the Lost Queer Spaces Space after you've set up your profile! *

One of the things I love doing most about this show is, obviously, getting the chance to learn about different people's experiences and circumstances. 

But, within that, there's often a really nice reminder of how nobody's journey is the same. 

There are so many ways to come out, there are so many ways to fall in love, and there are all of these different ways in which a space can be important to you. 

Some of my guests have only been to a space once, some went religiously over a period of years (or decades)... and, then, there are some people who had breaks in-between, going at different periods of their life.

One such person is the Canadian writer, artist, historian, and host of the trans history podcast 'One From The Vaults', Morgan M Page. Morgan first went to Goodhandy's in Toronto as a fresh-faced 19 year old, but then had a few different periods where the space wove in and out of her life, each time offering something different...

We caught up to talk about call centre scams, conspiracy theories, and having warm and fuzzy feelings for someone who is supposed to be a friend...

Do you have any memories of Goodhandy's, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Morgan by visiting her website www.odofemi.com

* This episode is sponsored by Spaces, the new group chat app for queer communities - find out more at https://www.queerspaces.com/ (and, come join the Lost Queer Spaces Space after you've set up your profile! *

Picture it.

It's 1989. 

Maud's, one of the only lesbian bars in San Francisco, is about to close down permanently. 

And, in its last few days a plucky film crew sets up to document the final days of the bar, celebrate the women who went there, and mark the importance of such a space.

I know this is a really naive thing to say, but it blows my mind that as a community we were having these conversations about the importance of queer spaces and their preservation of our culture over 30 years ago! And we're still having them! 

The resulting documentary from these few days of filming, 'Last Call at Maud's' is a fascinating insight into not only the lesbian bar scene, but where we were culturally at that time.

So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, i was lucky enough to sit down with the film-makers Paris Poirier and Karen Kiss, to talk about them making the film, the reaction to it, and..... what San Francisco life was like back in the 70s and 80s....

Do you have any memories of Maud's, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Last Call at Maud's by visiting the website http://lastcallatmauds.com/

* This episode is sponsored by Spaces, the new group chat app for queer communities - find out more at https://www.queerspaces.com/ (and, come join the Lost Queer Spaces Space after you've set up your profile! * 

You know how when you were a baby gay and you had to someone pluck up every single shred of courage within you in order to make that first visit to your local queer bar, and how you had to go through the emotional acrobats just to make that first step through the front door?

Well.... my guest this week DIDN'T have that experience at all! 

In fact, bucking all trends and being in a long-term relationship that started when he was 16... Which means he was introduced to clubbing by his boyfriend, and didn't have to do all of that awkward small talk and flirting with strangers that made the rest of us want to shrivel up and disappear in to the beer-soaked carpet... 

So that means that this week's guest, Jonathan Marotto, from the Yaaas Bro podcast, has a really different perspective on his early days of clubbing and how they shaped him. 

We caught up to talk about the Miami under-age club 'Diskotekka', and along the way we discuss how Lady Gaga helped with his coming out, breaking up, getting back together, and then breaking up again.... and I get some tips on how to convince your classmates that you're totally, totally 'masc'... 

Do you have any memories of Diskoteka, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Jonathan by visiting  his website https://www.yaaasbro.com/,  or follow him on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yaaas.bro/

*Before we dive in to this week's episode - did you know that I also write a weekly newsletter? I'd love to spend a little time in your inbox! If you want some queer shit once a week sign up here - https://tinyurl.com/lostspacespod *

One of the perverse things about doing this podcast is that when I'm talking to a potential guest and they say that all of the bars that were ever significant in their life are still open, instead of me responding 'Yay! That's great news! Queer spaces are thriving', I'm like 'Damn! Now we have nothing to talk about!'  

Anyway, that's a long way of saying that that is exactly what happened when I first got in touch with this week's guest. J.P. Der Boghossian, the founder of Queer Armenian Library and the host of the podcast This Queer Book Saved My Life. 

The bar that he first went to when he started going out, Sidetrack in Northern Michigan, is still open. 

But, after a bit of back and forth we realised that one of the other spaces that he frequented at that time, the magical world of AOL chatrooms, no longer exist!

So, we're taking a trip back to the late 90s, in the very early days of the internet, to talk to random strangers and take grainy pictures of ourselves with our shitty webcams! 

Do you have any memories of AOL chat rooms, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about J.P. by visiting his website https://jpderboghossian.com/, the Queer Armenian Library https://queerarmenianlibrary.com/ website or the podcast This Queer Book Saved My Life https://thisqueerbook.com/

*Before we dive in to this week's episode - did you know that I also write a weekly newsletter? I'd love to spend a little time in your inbox! If you want some queer shit once a week sign up here - https://tinyurl.com/lostspacespod *

So, you're new to a city... You know no-one... The job you moved for has since disappeared, and you've got to start from scratch...

Where do you go to meet people? How do you make new friends?

Well, how about... Facebook? (You thought i was going to say your local gay bar, didn't you?)

For this week's guest, Maurice Smith from Category Is... Podcast, it was Facebook where he first made connections after he moved to Philadelphia in the late 00s.

But, when it was time to meet them in real life? That's where Bump came in to play.

We chat all about renaming the gaybourhood, learning to overcome shyness, and, I learn a new word - meetcute! Wanna know what it means? Well, you'll have to listen to the episode to find out....

Do you have any memories of Bump?, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Maurice by following Category Is... on twitter (https://twitter.com/CategoryIsPod), or listen to the show wherever you stream podcasts!

*Before we dive in to this week's episode - did you know that I also write a weekly newsletter? I'd love to spend a little time in your inbox! If you want some queer shit once a week sign up here - https://tinyurl.com/lostspacespod *

It's no secret that there's an addiction issue in the queer community, with those identifying as LGBTQ+ more likely to experience an addiction. 

And there are different theories about why this is - LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience early emotional trauma, which means they're more likely to experience a mental health problem, and there can also be additional barriers to accessing support. But, one of the big reasons, and one of the things I'm sure you've heard before, is that our community spaces are often centred on drinking and drug-taking, which means there's an added exposure and, some would say, pressure. 

Which brings us to today's guest - Dillan Gay (yes, that is his actual surname!), is the co-host of The Sober Gay, a podcast about being sober in the LGBTQIA+ community. In our chat we talk a lot about his alcohol addiction, how queer spaces intersected with that, and his experiences with recovery... 

But, that makes it sound like this is a really heavy episode - it's not! Although we cover a lot of serious topics in our chat there are giggles aplenty! I promise!

Do you have any memories of Stonewall?, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about The Sober Gay podcast by visiting the website https://www.thesobergay.com/, following him on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thesobergaypodcast/), or, of course, listen to the show wherever you stream podcasts! 

*Before we dive in to this week's episode - did you know that I also write a weekly newsletter? I'd love to spend a little time in your inbox! If you want some queer shit once a week sign up here - https://tinyurl.com/lostspacespod *

This week we're doing something a little different - we're not going to a bar, a club, or even a community group. We're embracing summer and headed to a lost queer beach! 

The Belmont Rocks were large limestone rocks on the lakefront of Lake Michigan, Chicago, that served as a gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community for decades, but were removed in 2003 due to erosion. 

I caught up with the writer Owen Keehnen, who runs 'A Place for Us', a facebook page that gathers people's memories of Belmont Rocks, to discuss his early days in Chicago in the 80s (when his dream job was to work at Ripley's Believe It or Not), coming out during the AIDS crisis, and why it was so important to him to have access to this space.

Do you have any memories of The Belmont Rocks?, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Owen by visiting his website www.owenkeehnen.com, following him on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/owenkeehnen), or follow the facebook page 'A Place for Us' - https://www.facebook.com/A-Place-for-Us-LGBTQ-Life-at-the-Belmont-Rocks-1962452347335386/

*Before we dive in to this week's episode - did you know that I also write a weekly newsletter? I'd love to spend a little time in your inbox! If you want some queer shit once a week sign up here - https://tinyurl.com/lostspacespod *

Coming out later in life brings a whole different set of challenges and questions about identity, community and where you fit in to all of that. 

This week I was lucky enough to sit down and talk to writer and podcaster Nicholas McInerny, who is the host of Rainbow Dads, a podcast that shares the stories of gay and bisexual dads, most of whom have come out later in life. 

But, we're not here to talk about them - we're here to find out about Nicholas, and his experiences navigating the gay scene after coming out. 

We talk all about the magic of Burning Man festival, the iconic London club night XXL, and one of my favourite topics ever - embarrassing sexual encounters!

Do you have any memories of XXL, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Nicholas by following him on Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/NMcInerny), or listen to the Rainbow Dads podcast wherever you stream podcasts

I love the kind of people that can go through a whole bunch of bullying, a whole bunch of othering, a whole bunch of shit in their life and still come out the other end and be like 'this is who I am, take it or leave it, I'm not changing for anyone'...

And those are exactly the vibes that this week's guest, singer/songwriter Van Hechter, was putting down when we got together to talk about his lost space, KOX, which was in Montreal, Canada, and which he started going to whilst he was still in high school.

Takeaways

• The KOX nightclub in Montreal was a significant place for the queer community in the 1990s. KOX provided a vibrant and inclusive atmosphere for people to express their true selves.
• Van Hechter reflects on his time in the closet and his relationships with both men and women.
• The catacombs at KOX offered a different vibe, attracting closeted men and providing a sense of secrecy and understanding.
• Van's experiences at KOX have influenced his current work as a performer, as he aims to recreate the feeling of acceptance and self-expression he found at the club.
• There was a fear of AIDS during that time
• Van Hechter had a conflicted relationship with his father after coming out, but eventually found forgiveness and acceptance.

• Self-acceptance and embracing one's uniqueness are important for personal growth and happiness.

Follow me

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lostspacespod

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support me

Buy Me A Coffee: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow my guest

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanhechter

*Before we dive in to this week's episode - did you know that I also write a weekly newsletter? I'd love to spend a little time in your inbox! If you want some queer shit once a week sign up here - https://tinyurl.com/lostspacespod *

So, my American guests often talk about go-go dancing as though it's this super common thing, and I always feel a bit too dumb to ask too many follow up questions. But, this week I put all of that aside and asked EVERY. SINGLE. DUMB question there is to ask about the art of go-go.

And I was in good hands because this week's guest, Steve V Rodriguez from the Talk About Gay Sex podcast, used to be a go-go dancer in the 90s. We caught up to talk about N Touch, the San Franciscan bar where he first shaked his booty. A,nd along the way we talk about jockstraps vs thongs, playing it straight in Hollywood, and having sex with your favourite porn star....

Do you have any memories of N Touch, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Steve's podcast Talk About Gay Sex by listening to the show wherever you find podcasts, or following them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TAGSPODCAST) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/tagspodcast/)

Cast your mind back to the year 1999 - we were all worried about the Y2K bug, there's this new cartoon called Spongebob Squarepants, and the queer folk punk duo Bitch and Animal release their debut album 'What's That Smell?'. One of the songs on the album, 'Drag King Bar', documents the band's misadventures at a night called Club Casanova, which was a weekly drag king night held at Velvet in New York City.

I was lucky enough to nab some time with Bitch, who is in the midst of touring her latest record 'Bitchcraft', to find out about that bar and the make out session with drag King Murray Hill that inspired the song. Along the way we talk about how Bitch and Animal were first discovered by legendary singer/songwriter Ani Difranco, a roommate from hell, and what it's like having a pretty much ungoogleable name...

Do you have any memories of Club Casanova, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Bitch by following her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/bitchmusic) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bitchmusic/) of facebook (https://www.facebook.com/b.tchmusic)... AND, make sure you check our her most recent album, Bitchcraft, which I LOVE!

Sweet, sweet love.... 

Usually on this show when a guest brings up affairs of the heart i’m like ‘ugh, let’s move on…’, but this week I didn't. Maybe it’s the summer weather, maybe I’m mellowing in my old age, but this time i leant right in and learnt all about a significant relationship in social justice singer-songwriter Crys Matthew’s life. And, that relationship would not have happened were it not for the lesbian bar Phase 1 in Washington, DC.

We talk all about the evolving nature of language (one of my favourite topics, as you know!), listening to your gut, and why lesbian bars are still important.... 

Do you have any memories of Phase 1, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Crys by following her on Twitter (https://mobile.twitter.com/crysmatthews) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/crysmatthews/)... AND, make sure you check our her most recent album, Changemakers, which is OUT NOW!  

You know how I always get overexcited when I learn a new word or phrase on this show? 

Well, this week I was lucky enough to learn some gay Arabic terms when I sat down to talk to Intesar Toufic about growing up gay in Lebanon. 

Intesar is an author, stand-up comedian, and patrona of a multinational phone-sex ring. He first started going to Acid, a club that was found in the capital Beirut, when he was in university and had just started to meet other people like him.

We talk all about community and what it means to belong at the same time as not belonging, how the club operated in a country where it's illegal to be gay, and - what could possibly be my new favourite saying - the malice of gays.

Do you have any memories of Acid, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Intesar by following him on Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/ClassyBoomBoom) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/scandalousArab)... AND, go have a read of an excerpt from Toufi's book 'The Glorious Prince'  https://newsmutproject.tumblr.com/post/631935496605630464/intesar-toufic-on-excerpt-from-the-glorious/amp

Mitzi MacIntosh is the drag persona of the artist Graeme Browning (oh, yeah, and she also happens to be queer Sydney royalty).

Graeme moved to Sydney, from Canberra, in the late 80s and quickly established himself as a powerhouse performer, full of the typical down-to-Earth Australian wit and adorned with the most fantastic costumes.

It was in the Imperial Hotel, which at the time was owned by Dawn O'Donnell, that Mitzi got the opportunity to really create big, bold exciting drag shows with her contemporaries and that's when she fell in love with this space.

This is a really fun episode. We talk all about how Graeme met his husband (at The Imperial, no less!), the power he found in community, and we also get a little educational - teaching you Aussie slang like root and thongs...

Do you have any memories of The Imperial Hotel, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Mitzi by following them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Mitzi_Macintosh)

The golden age of cruising... No one has quite pinpointed the exact years of this magical era, but the 70s were definitely a part of it. It was post-Stonewall, so there was a new kind of hope and enthusiasm, and it was pre-AIDs and HIV, which meant there was less shame attached to sex. 

And, it was at the tail end of the 70s that this week's guest, the award winning filmmaker Glenn Gaylord first moved to LA from Ohio. At this point he was too young to go to the clubs, but too horny to stay home, and so he found himself gravitating towards the gay bookshop Drake's. There was tonnes of cruising that happened inside Drake's, but there was also a LOT that happened on the streets surrounding the business... Like, a lot a lot... like, hard to believe how much sex was happening.

But, don't take my word for it! Let's hear from Glenn. 

Do you have any memories of Drake's, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Glenn by following him on IG (https://www.instagram.com/glebborama/), or on Twitter (https://twitter.com/glenngaylord)

This thing about fancying straight people... like, I don't get it... is it because they're unobtainable? Is it because we're socialised in a heteronormative society that conditions us to see more value in straightness? Is it because we just really hate ourselves? 

I don't know... But, luckily I have recovering straight-luster-afterer Mark Perez, co-host of the Star Wars appreciating Pink Milk podcast, to help fill me in.  

We talk all about Club St. John, a bar in San Jose, California, that Mark started going to in the early 90s. Expect to hear about trashy 80s soap operas, how exhausting it is to pretend to be someone you're not, and those pesky straight people... 

Do you have any memories of Club St John, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Mark by following him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/iameldiablito). And, if you love Star Wars, then you're going to the love the Pink Milk podcast, which you can find wherever you stream podcasts. 

A few episodes ago I spoke to the wonderful singer/songwriter Chris Pureka (and, if you haven't heard that chat yet go back and give it a wee listen - I'll still be here when you get back!). 

After we spoke Chris suggested that I get in touch with their friend, the artist Samantha Nye.

Samantha's work is all about a fantasy history and a fantasy future of queer/lesbian pleasure utopias made from references of 1960s pop culture, and so she has lots to say about the importance of spaces in forming and expressing your identity. 

And, she's taking us back to the late 90s, when Samantha was a little baby-dyke and had just been invited to her first lesbian bar by someone she spoke to in an AOL chatroom (could anything be more late-90s than that?). 

We talk about representation, the difference between the gay scene and the lesbian scene, and a special surprise that Samantha got from her dad in a mystery lesbian bar that we need your help finding!  

So, listen on to find out more... 

Do you have any memories of Partners, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Do you have any idea what the bar in Dania Beach is? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Samantha and her wonderful art at https://samanthanye.com/, or follow her on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/samantha_nye_studio/).

So, gentrification is a bit of a dirty word around here, and you'll no doubt have heard me talk to at least one of my guests about how gentrification pushes out the queers and the misfits from areas where they once thrived.

One of the places in the world that has been totally transformed by gentrification is King's Cross in Sydney, Australia. When I was growing up as a little queer boy in Adelaide, King's Cross was known as a place of debauchery and sin, most famous for the strip bars and prostitution. Now the place has been completely transformed, full of yummy mummies and expensive coffee shops. 

Back in the 90s this week's guest, (with also happens to be Australia's first lady of striptease), Imogen Kelly, first started stripping at Stripperama, one of the clubs on the main strip. She's written a book about those times, and we caught up to discuss what King's Cross was like in those days, living during the HIV and heroin epidemic, police corruption, and the woman she fell in love with....

Do you have any memories of Stripperama, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Imogen by visiting www.imogenkelly.com.au, or following her on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/theimogenkelly).

Usually on this show we talk to someone about a very specific time in their life when they went to a particular venue. What we don't do that often is look at the same venue at different time periods, and reflect on the journey and the growth that the person experienced in the intervening years... 

But, today, James O'Hagan, writer, activist and co-host of the Drag Race recap podcast Sissy That Pod visits to tell us all about two periods in his life going to Break for the Border, a bar in Ireland's capital, Dublin. We hear about his first attempts at going out as a scared wee thing in his early 20s, and then coming back in his late 20s to have a totally different experience (and outlook on life). 

Oooh, also, if you like odd little analogies that are inserted seemingly randomly in to conversations then you're going to love this conversation! 

Do you have any memories of Break for the Border, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about James by following him on IG (https://www.instagram.com/jameso_hagan/), listening to Sissy that Pod wherever you find podcasts, or following Sissy that Pod on IG (https://www.instagram.com/sissythatpod/)

One of my favourite things about queer people is that they make shit happen. 

Ok, ok, so that's a massive generalisation. And here's another one...  

Straight people (apologies to any that are reading this) are not forced to put themselves out there and meet people and make new connections in the same way that queer people are.

So they don't have to go through all the effort of plucking up the courage to go to bars and clubs on their own, and then talking to strangers and trying to appear charming. How exhausting!

But, that is exactly what this week's guest, Colin Drucker from the drag race recap podcast Alright Mary, did in his early days in New York City way back in the mid-00s.

Every weekend he would drink a cocktail or two at home, get on the subway, and made his way to his lost space, Splash, where adventures abounded....

Takeaways

• Moving to a new city can be both intimidating and exciting, requiring resilience and adaptability.

• Navigating the challenges of finding a job and a place to live in a big city requires resourcefulness and a willingness to take risks.
• Personal experiences and relationships can shape our perceptions and behaviors, even in the context of a new environment. Trying to please others and be seen as good enough can lead to exhaustion and inauthenticity.
• Using alcohol or drugs as a crutch to feel more comfortable in social situations can have negative consequences.
• The desire for connection and to be chosen can drive behavior in sexual encounters.
• Anxiety can have a significant impact on daily life and relationships.
• Finding healthy ways to manage anxiety, such as therapy or medication, is important.
• Colin reflects on his experiences at Splash, a gay nightclub in New York City, and the expectations he had for his life as a gay man.
• He shares his journey of letting go of societal expectations and finding new priorities.
• The conversation highlights the importance of resilience and the unpredictability of life's outcomes.

Follow me

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lostspacespod

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠

Support me

Buy Me A Coffee: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠

Follow my guest

Alright Mary Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/alrightmarypod/

Colin's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colindrucker_/

Have you every had that experience of being 'fresh meat'? 

When you walk in to a bar and receive all the attention of everyone who is in there? 

Well, this week's chat threw me back in time to the (admittedly very few) occasions when that's happened to me, and how glorious and all-powerful I felt in those moments! 

And, who reminded me of those heady days? Well, it's Bryan, the co-host of Pink Milk Podcast, a show that views Star Wars (and its many properties) through a queer lens. 

Bryan currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with his husband Tom and three kids. But, when he was a plucky (and some might say naive) 18-year old, Bryan packed up all his things and moved from to Austin, Texas, which was kind of an elaborate plan to avoid coming out. 

We talk all about the first club that he went to there, The Forum, and, along the way we discuss the perils of heteronormativity, tip-toeing around your parents, and the pluckiness of youth.... 

Do you have any memories of The Forum, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Bryan and his podcast Pink Milk on Twitter (https://twitter.com/ServingPinkMilk) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/servingpinkmilk/)

Very early on in the life of this podcast I had Boogaloo Stu on to talk about the cult London club night Shinky Shonky. And, in lots of ways, that was the episode that helped show me that the concept of Lost Spaces was going to work because suddenly people who used to go to Shinky Shonky were talking about the episode on social media and celebrating all of the good times that they had there. 

So, I wanted to bring Stu back on the show to talk about the final years of the night, when it had moved from central London to The Oak Bar in Stoke Newington, North London. I also wanted to find out why the night eventually ended. I had lofty ideas that the conversation would be about how scenes evolve and change, and how things go from being in fashion to out of fashion... but, Stu couldn't quite remember any of the details of that time, so it's more of a fun chat of some of the adventures and misadventures that happened because of the night, and what the ingredients were that made the night so special. 

There's also a really interesting conversation about what constitutes 'drag' in 2022. Is Boogaloo Stu, a man dressed as another man, with a big blonde quiff and a polyester thong, drag? Or is it just a man in a wig and unhygienic underwear? 

These, and other cutting edge questions, are asked, and not quite answered on this week's show!

Do you have any memories of Shinky Shonky, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Boogaloo Stu by visiting his website www.boogaloostu.co.uk, or follow him on Instagram (www.instagram.com/boogaloostu) 

There's a really interesting conversation in this week's episode about the 'we're all in this together' mentality that queers in small towns have, supporting queer spaces even if they don't particularly enjoy the music or the events held there.  

And, to show us the way is singer/songwriter Chris Pureka, who took time from promoting their new EP, The Longest Year, to talk all about Diva's, the only queer bar in the small college town of Northampton, Massachusetts.

In our chat we talk all about post-university uncertainty, the loss of mass-cultural milestones, and how truly terrible they think that the original The L Word tv show was...

Do you have any memories of Diva's, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Chris at https://www.chrispureka.com/ or follow them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/chrispureka) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/chrispureka/)

So, I'm kinda fascinated with gay country and western bars, where people dress up in their finest cowperson garb, and square dance, two-step and mosey on down... This isn't something that I think is a thing in the UK, so it's just been a curiosity to me until now. 

But, luckily for me, Dennis Hensley - writer, performer and host of the podcast 'Dennis Anyone?' took the time to tell me all about the etiquette, the ceremony, and the vibe that you'd find at Oil Can Harry's, a country and western bar in LA, which unfortunately closed during the pandemic. 

Along the way Dennis tells me all about his experiences fumbling with men-folk, feeling lonely at the club,, and how it felt the first time he saw two men dancing cheek to cheek.

Do you have any memories of Oil Can Harry's, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Dennis and his podcast at http://www.dennisanyone.net/, or follow him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/HensleyDennis).

I got an e-mail from this week's guest saying that he'd like to be on the show. He pitched himself with something along the lines of 'I know you like talking about sex, so I think you'll be really interested in my stories!'. After feeling very judged and a smidgen shamed I responded immediately to book him!

And, so that is how Dave Quantic came on to tell me all about lost LA spaces Spike and Cuffs.

And he knows what he's talking about when it comes to sex and sexuality! Dave is the creator of Fruitbowl - an oral history podcast about queer sex and lives where he talks to people about their personal journeys. 

We chat all about the magic of a scuzzy dive bar, the pains of removing body hair, and Dave tries to help me figure out what my kink should be....  

Do you have any memories of Spike or Cuffs, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about the Fruitbowl Podcast at https://www.fruitbowlpodcast.com/, or follow on Twitter (https://twitter.com/fruitbowlpod) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fruitbowlpodcast/)

It's the crossover episode that none of you asked for (but I promise you're going to love it!)!

If you follow me on social media (and, if you don't, why not? @lostspacespod on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook), you will have seen earlier this week that I was a guest on the NotStalgia podcast. Now, this is a really cool show, where hosts Jess and Eric discuss an original film and then they discuss its remake, and contrast and compare the two... The episode that I was on was a discussion about 'Boys in the Band', that classic queer film that was recently remade for Netflix. 

So, why am I telling you this when all you want to do is hear about a lost queer space? Well, today's episode return the favour! I was lucky enough to be joined by Eric La Febre, one of the hosts of the NotStalgia show, who came on to reminisce about the lost San Franciscan punk gay bar Lucky Thirteen. 

Along the way I learn a lot about the fine art of cruising,  we talk all about sloppy snogging in nightclub toilets, and we have a really interesting conversation about the idea versus the reality of community....

Do you have any memories of the Lucky Thirteen, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Eric on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/elafebre/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ericthefever). Also, make sure to listen to NotStalgia wherever you find podcasts, and give them a wee follow on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/notstalgia.pod/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/NOTstalgia_pod) too (although, to be honest, they're a bit rubbish at keeping their twitter updated)!

Jeffrey Masters is the creator and host of the long-running interview podcast, LGBTQ&A (recommended by The New York Times!). Here he has interviewed such guests as John Cameron Mitchell, Laverne Cox, and Melissa Etheridge, and over 200 others. 

Back when he was a baby-gay, and after an earlier three-month stint over summer holidays, he packed his bags and plonked himself down in LA, where he lived for several years. it was here that he was exposed to the magical world of West Hollywood, which is like a gay Disneyland (and, depending on who you are, you either got excited or winced at that description, which is pretty much the perfect response).

We caught up to talk about the bar Eleven, the obliviousness of some human beings, and the shallowness of LA. 

Do you have any memories of the West Hollywood, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Jeffrey on Twitter as either his personal account www.twitter.com/jeffmasters1 or his podcast account www.twitter.com/lgbtqpod... and listen to the LGBTQ&A podcast wherever you stream podcasts!

This week we're welcoming back an old guest - Craig Law is a DJ and the host of the #InTheMix show on Gaydio, the world's biggest LGBT radio station. 

The last time he was here he told me all about his early days of gay clubbing in his hometown Swansea, Wales. This time around we're visiting Manchester's gay village and the lost club Kiki, whose tagline was "A grown-up club for those who grew up clubbing" 

Now, if you've ever listened to this show before you know that we do tend to sometimes maybe occasionally perhaps veer off topic, and this week I fear we may have outdone ourselves... So, as well as me learning about Craig's days drowning in paperwork as a defence paralegal, and how DJ-ing and the queer scene saved him, we also discuss... in no particular order....  the logistics of hooking up with strangers when you're staying in a hotel with key cards and security guards, getting your friends to set you up with their friends, bottom-shaming, the concept of camp, and my new business idea for pee-shyness coaching...

Do you have any memories of Kiki, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

And, whilst you're at it - go and give Craig some love. You can listen to his mixes (www.mixcloud.com/djcraiglaw) and follow him on twitter (www.twitter.com/djcraiglaw)

This week I am talking to Seth... no last name, just Seth... who is the former co-host of the Thanks for Coming! podcast, which recapped episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race whilst also covering queer pop culture. Alas, the show ended earlier in 2022. 

Having lived in LA for a few years, Seth moved back to his college town of Bloomington, Indiana (where he had that weird experience of everything being exactly the same but also kind of different) and took the time and space to figure out his next moves. It was at this time that the gay bar Uncle Elizabeth's became so important to him, and gave him the space to become more confident in his queerness. 

For some reason I try to bully Seth in to becoming a drag queen AND have sex in public during this episode... I'm not really sure why i felt the need to do that, but... well.. yeah... I sure was determined... 

Let's find out how successful I was!

Do you have any memories of Uncle Elizabeth's, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Seth on Twitter at https://twitter.com/homosethual, or listen to old episodes of Thanks for Coming wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’ve heard a few times on this show about the healing power of drag, and how important it has been on different guests journeys of self-discovery and recalibration... but that’s always been from the perspective of drag artists, and not the audience who find escape in their art....

Well, that's all about to change. On this week's episode we are talking to Jaimie Sherling, who has recently published her book 'From Queens to Queens: How the Madison Drag Community Saved My Life', which is all about her experience as a breast cancer survivor, and how the magic that she found in her local drag scene helped her to stay strong... 

Jaimie tells me all about the drag scene in Wisconsin's capital Madison (which, much to my dismay, has nothing at all to do with the schlocky 90s romance The Bridges Over Madison County), and in particular Five Nightclub, a club that is still open and which Jaimie is a big fan of, and Prism/Plan B, a gay bar that closed in 2019, and which Jaimie is less keen on...

We talk all about the magic of drag, relationship breakdown, and having sexy time with your AirBnB guest....

Do you have any memories of the Prism, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Jaimie by following her on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/jaimiesherling/).

You can also find her new book, From Queens to QUEENS, wherever you buy books online (more info here - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59001288-from-queens-to-queens)

So, this week we’re doing something a little different. Rather than visit a lost space we’re setting out to answer the question ‘is the ancient art of cruising about to be lost?’.

I know that's a fairly dramatic question, but there are a number of factors - like hook up apps and the over-gentrification of our cities - that seem to threaten these little discreet woodlands or private beaches from offering a secret place for people to meet and do the things that they do...

Anyway, to help me answer this question I am joined by Marcus McCann, who is the writer of the book Park Cruising: What Happens When We Wander Off the Path. And, after writing a whole book about cruising I think he may know a thing or two about the subject.

If you've ever wanted:

• tips on how to improve your cruising skills
• to know what the biggest lessons that come from mastering the art of cruising are
• understand the impact the pandemic had on people going out in nature

then I think this is the episode for you!

If you want to grab a copy of Marcus's book Park Cruising: What Happens When We Wander Off the Path then you can find it:

⁠Amazon UK⁠

⁠Amazon USA⁠

Bookshop.org

Full disclosure - if you buy using any of these links I will get a small commission.

Follow me

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lostspacespod

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@lostspacespod⁠⁠

Support me

Buy Me A Coffee: ⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠

Follow my guest

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/mmccnn/

X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/mmccnn

The longer I do this podcast the more I'm learning about a real and very serious affliction on our community - and that is 'lesbian drama'... a few guests have now talked to me about this phenomenon, and at first I brushed it off, but the more I heard about it the more I wanted to know...

Now, if you google 'lesbian drama' you'll probably find a list of films to watch on Netflix, but dig a little deeper and you'll find the Urbandictionary.com (ah, Urbandictionary!) definition, which is:

"Drama caused by lesbians in their community because they don't know how to behave like adults"

Now, it's probably a little more nuanced than that, but that gives us a bit of a flavour of what we'll be covering in today's episode!

I'm delighted to be joined by the TV presenter, actor and media personality Sade Giliberti, who is taking Lost Spaces on its very first trip to South Africa. 

We caught up to talk all about the Johannnesburg bar Ramp Divas, and, in the course of our conversation, I got to find out all about Sade's past life as a child beauty queen, what it felt like to be outed in the press, and, of course, navigating that tricky, tricky lesbian drama.... 

Do you have any memories of the Ramp Divas, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Sade on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sadegiliberti) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/sadegiliberti).

Lee Sean Huang is Taiwanese American designer, educator and podcaster. He grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and had what he describes as a typical middle American upbringing. 

In the late 90s, as a teenager, he spent two summers in Paris, France on a study abroad programme. It was here that he got an opportunity to explore his identity and figure out who he was. 

And one of the gay bars where he got to do that? The wonderfully named Le Queen.  

We talk all about being relegated to sidekick role by a boy you fancy, random encounters with men whose language you don't speak, and kinda accidentally taking part in a foursome...  

Do you have any memories of Le Queen, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Lee-Sean by following him on Instagram (www.instagram.com/leesean) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/leesean), and find his podcast, AIGA Design Podcasts, on all good podcast catchers. 

Amelia is the co-host of the podcast Pitney and Amelia's Bitchen Boutique - they may be awful, but they’re right! 

(Actually, i don’t know if i agree that they are awful or right, bit it’s how they describe themselves on their show so we’re just gonna go with it....)

We caught up to talk about the Austin, Texas club The Crossing. 

Now, this is one of those situations where, because the club existed before the internet did, there is NOTHING about this venue online. Which is kind of weird when you think about all the crap that IS online, but also a bit of a reminder of the importance of this project to document our memories... 

We talk about letting go of toxic friends, the flouncing, bouncing flaccid dick dance of male strippers, and - one of my all-time favourite subjects - the universal appeal of scuzzy, grotty, dirty nightclubs.... 

Do you have any memories of The Crossing, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Listen to Pitney and Amelia's Bitchen Boutique wherever you find podcasts, and follow them on Twitter (https://twitter.com/bitchenboutique) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pitneyandamelia/)

Doug Crossley is an award-winning writer and artist based in the UK (and - spoiler alert - he also recently won a baking episode of Kirstie's Handmade Christmas which was on Channel 4 over the festive period!).

He moved to London in the early 00s to study musical theatre at the infamous BRIT school, and came with a set of preconceptions about the big city and how his life would be there. 

We caught up to talk about Popstarz, London's legendary weekly indie rock night that started in the 90s. Along the way we discuss teenage insecurities, showing up to work hungover, and Doug tells me all about the one that got away.... 

Do you have any memories of Popstarz, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Doug at his website (https://thedougiestore.com/) on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thedougiestore) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thedougiestore/)

Having been an in-demand DJ for the better part of the last 20 years there were a lot of queer spaces that I could have talked about with DJ Dan Murphy,  but we decided to go with the venue that gave him his big start all those years ago... 

And so we're headed back to the early 2000s to talk about Arq, the legendary superclub at the tip of Sydney's queer district of Oxford Street. 

At this time in his life he had just returned from living in London, where he sold t-shirts and lollipops at Heaven nightclub, and moved to Sydney from his native Brisbane for adventure and purpose. 

We talk all about making queer friends as an adult, Dan remembers a time when you could go out clubbing every night of the week, and I get to use the Australian phrase 'dud root', which excited me no end but didn't seem to impress Dan that much... 

Do you have any memories of Arq, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Dan on Twitter (https://twitter.com/DJDanMurphy) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/DJDanMurphy/)

If you liked this episode I'd really appreciate if you subscribe, leave a review on your podcast platform, or just tell people that you think might be interested!

Have you ever had someone try to coax you out of the closet by asking the seemingly innocent question 'is there anything you want to tell me?'? 

Do you remember the anguish and pain of simply muttering the 3 or 4 words needed to just confirm their suspicions? 

Well, if you have, I have a feeling you'll love this week's episode. 

I'm talking to comedy writer and actor Lisa Haas about her very first trip to the lesbian bar Three Sisters in Denver, Colorado in the 80s. 

We talk about how depressing a lesbian bar can be on Christmas eve, the awkwardness of coming out support groups, and what signal your sister might be trying to send you when she offers to buy you a plaid shirt! 

Do you have any memories of Three Sisters, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Listen to Lisa's podcast 'IN HEAT: A Lesbian Comedy' wherever you stream podcasts, and follow her on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lisahaasactor/)

There's nothing quite like a small town gay bar.

This week we're catching up with Martin J Dixon, a stand-up comedian who is really into soft core porn and hard core hand holding.

He lived in Truro between the ages of 16 and 18, having moved there to live with his grandparents and finish high school.

It was here that he snuck in to Eclipse, and had his first gay bar experience.

During our conversation we veer all over the shop, and discuss what we think is the appropriate Grindr etiquette, what we even mean when we talk about the queer community, and what kind of decisions amorphous spiritual blobs would make about our lives...

But before we get in to that we talk about Martin's very first night at the bar as an unsure 16 year old... he's snuck in with friends from his college, the lights are low, and Destination Calabria by Alex Gaudino and Crystal Waters is playing. All of a sudden a stranger hops in to Martin's lap...

Listen to the episode to find out what happened next...

Do you have any memories of the Jack Horner, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Martin on Twitter (www.twitter.com/martinjdixon)

Self confessed pop culture expert Charlie Sayce, creator of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Fans, and host of God Save the Queens, a drag race review show on Glitterbeam Radio, is this week's guest. 

And he's taking us on a trip back in time to his uni days in Worthing, a small seaside town in the south of England. It was here that he found the only gay bar in town, the Jack Horner. Despite it looking like a generic old man pub they played Britney Spears, had dodgy karaoke nights, and gave him an opportunity to explore his identity. 

Do you have any memories of the Jack Horner, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Charlie on Twitter as either his personal account (https://twitter.com/IAmCharlieSayce) or the account for RPDR UK Fans  (https://twitter.com/rpdrukfans). 

1 December is World Aids Day, an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic. 

To mark this day on this week's show I'm joined by De'Vannon Hubert, podcaster and author of 'Sex, Drugs, and Jesus', a memoir about his struggles with his HIV+ diagnosis, drug addiction, homelessness, and rejection from his church for his sexuality.

And the venue we're discussing is F-Bar in Houston, Texas, a place that holds bittersweet memories for De'Vannon - it was here that he celebrated, danced, and made friends and chosen family. But it was also here that he received the phone call telling him that he'd contracted HIV. 

Do you have any memories of F Bar, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about De'Vannon at his website - (https://www.sexdrugsandjesus.com/) , or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SexDrugsAndJesus/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TabooTopix) 

So, if you've ever listened to this show before you'll know that I often talk to my guests about straight people in queer spaces... and, for the most part people are not exactly against the idea, but fear that it can compromise the integrity of a space, or... just make it a bit more boring...

Well, this week's guest, Gretchen Phillips, has an entirely different view, and wants to see a world where there is more integration, and more 'reaching across the aisle', as she puts it...

Gretchen is an influential singer-songwriter, who currently lives in Ottawa, Canada, but spent a good proportion of her life in Austin, Texas, where she was involved in cult bands Meat Joy, Girls in the Nose, and Two Nice Girls. 

It was with Two Nice Girls that she released her best known compositions, 'The Queer Song', and 'I Spent My Last $10 (on Birth Control and Beer)', a song which sends up heterosexual relationships.

We got together to talk about Chances, a lesbian bar in Austin that Gretchen started visiting in the 80s, and the space where she first laid eyes on her partner of 30 years.... 

Do you have any memories of Chances, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Gretchen at her website - http://gretchen-phillips.com/

LA. Los Angeles. City of Angels.

It's not really known to be the easiest of towns to live in. But, i think that's part of what makes it so exciting, right? Not to completely plagiarise a popular song, but if you can make it there then... you know the rest...

And this is what brought Karl Dunn, who has just released his first book How To Burn A Rainbow: My Gay Marriage Didn't Make Me Whole, My Divorce Did, to town.

In amongst all the newness, and networking parties with fellow wannabes, there was a reliable, dependable small gay bar in Venice Beach called Roosterfish where Karl could escape the inanity of tinseltown and just be in a place where (here I am about to steal lyrics again) everybody knew his name....

If you want to grab a copy of Karl's new book 'How To Burn A Rainbow: My Gay Marriage Didn't Make Me Whole, My Divorce Did' then you can find it:

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Full disclosure - if you buy using any of these links I will get a small commission.

Follow me

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lostspacespod

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.facebook.com/lostspacespod⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@lostspacespod⁠

Support me

Buy Me A Coffee: ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lostspacespod⁠

Follow my guest

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/karldunn/⁠

Website: ⁠https://www.karldunn.com/⁠

This week's guest is Reese Williams, host of the Not Another Drag Race Podcast. 

If you follow me on social media you'll have seen this week that I was the guest on his show, spouting my ill-informed opinions about last week's episode of Drag Race UK, and now it's time to return the favour!

Reese grew up in Melbourne's outer suburbs and still remembers the long train ride he'd take to come in to the city and explore queer nightlife...

The place that's left the strongest impression on him is The Greyhound Hotel (or, as it came to be known, The GH), which was in the seaside area of St Kilda, and which was closed in 2017 to make way for some luxury flats (sound familiar?).

We talk all about taking your straight female friends out dancing, seeing drag for the first time, and we even have a little lesson in Aussie slang!

Do you have any memories of The Greyhound, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Follow Reese on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/notanotherdragracepod/ and https://www.instagram.com/reesieboi/

Michael Ryan, who leads the Gay Bars That Are Gone walking tour in NYC, and loves queer spaces as much as I do, is this week's guest.

Originally from Augusta, Georgia, he first moved to New York for college, and although he quickly threw himself in to the scene, he wasn't sure what kind of gay he wanted to be... It wasn't until he found Splash, one of those old school gay bars that was bold, trashy and, invariably, the place you'd end up at the end of the night, that he found his tribe...

And that tribe was the people that went to Musical Mondays, a night that celebrated all things musical theatre.... And, if you've listened to the show before you know that I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to musicals, but through this conversation I feel as though I'm starting to understand the appeal a little bit more... 

If you're listening to this on Spotify I'm experimenting a little with their new interactive features - I've set up a simple question - 'What is your favourite musical of all time?' - so if you can have a look at the episode there and answer the question that'd make me super excited.... and I'll be your best friend FOREVER if you say Grease 2!

Do you have any memories of Splash, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Michael at his website https://michaelryanlovesplaces.com/, or follow him on IG https://www.instagram.com/michaeljamesryan/ and https://www.instagram.com/gaybarsthataregone/

If you're in NYC and you want to go on Michael's walking tour you can book through Bowery Boys Walks - https://www.boweryboyswalks.com/walking-tours/gay-bars-that-are-gone-tour/

The story behind how this week's conversation happened is almost as good as the interview itself!

So, you may know this already, but I’m a big fan of Grease 2, which I think is a far superior film to Grease. 

Having heard me rant about it on a previous episode of the show (see 'Queer as Punk' with Demi Wylde) a follower on twitter, @rnfrw, who is also a long time listener of the show (hello!) reached out to disagree, and we had a little bit of a back and forth about it. 

This got me thinking about Grease, which led me to wikipedia, and then I fell in to a bit of a wiki-hole and now I have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the two films… But, one of the things that I didn’t know before I fell in to this wiki-hole, is what happened to the singer behind my absolute favourite song from the soundtrack to the Grease movie, which is obviously ‘It’s Raining on Prom Night’. 

And my internet sleuthing led me to the singer/songwriter Cidny Bullens....

Cidny has had a long and fascinating career, and made the brave decision to transition in 2010 in his early 60s…

We had a really great conversation about his life, but I have to admit that we’re kind of stretching the theme somewhat, and rather than talk about one physical space we are talking about the spaces that were created on the 1975 Elton John West of the Rockies Tour.

Cidny was a back up singer on this tour, and is currently in the process of writing his memoir, so had a tonne of stories and insights to share about that experience and creating magic in front of an audience every evening....

Do you have any memories of clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Cidny at his website (https://www.cidnybullens.com/), or on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/cidbullens/), or Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/cidnybullens/)