It's highly unusual for teens to know the direction they want to take in life. But these two did... here's their story.
Preston Shatwell and Brenton Thomas have been together for over 13 years. Brenton added Preston on Myspace when they were 14 and 16 years old and that started their love story.
Preston is a born and raised Oklahoman with a passion for local progressive politics and advocacy. He is a creative professional using his skills to support causes he cares about and currently works in the adolescent sexual health nonprofit field.
https://www.instagram.com/prestonshatwell/
Email: prestonshatwell@gmail.com
Brenton works as a consultant at a software company. Brenton is fun-loving, excitable, and always ready to dance and laugh. He loves to travel, experience new cultures, and meet people.
https://www.instagram.com/brenton.thomas/
Email: brentonthomas1@gmail.com
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
Andrew Easton is a young scientist who decided to get into the gay adult entertainment industry as a performer.
Contact Andrew: scruffygaynerd@gmail.com
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
Barbara Kerr, APR, Fellow PRSA, is an award-winning journalist, public relations leader, and actress whose career has taken her across the United States and around the world.
Journalism, communications and public relations
An Emmy-nominated reporter as well as an anchor, producer and news director at network television affiliates in Ohio and Maryland, Barbara Kerr was named “Achiever of the Year” by the Dayton Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television. In 2019, she was inducted into the Dayton (Ohio) Area Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
As a communications and media advisor for government, business, public and nonprofit organizations, she has worked nationally in cities including New York City, San Francisco, Portland, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C. as well as internationally in Bulgaria, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Her honors include the “Leading Change Award” from the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of Women in Communications as well as recognition from the Hermes Creative Awards, MarCom Awards and the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations.
As a member of PRSA's Portland Metro Chapter (now part of PRSA Oregon), Kerr served as chapter president in 2014, having previously served as vice president of member services and vice president of member communications. In 2016, she received the chapter’s William W. Marsh Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, she was inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows. She served in multiple roles on the College of Fellows Executive Committee, including secretary-treasurer, vice chair and chair.
With a passion for stories about people and the arts, she has served as a freelance writer for the Desert Sun, a daily news outlet serving the Coachella Valley, and for other regional organizations.
Theater
Barbara Kerr’s lifelong love of theater began in the first grade and has continued throughout her life.
She has appeared in regional productions from New York City to San Francisco and in Canada and Greenland. In the Coachella Valley, she has been proud to perform with The Bent Theatre, Desert Ensemble Theatre and RJ Art Theatrical Productions.
She received rave reviews for her performance in the one-woman play, Shirley Valentine. Her dramatic credits includeThe Lion in Winter (Eleanor of Aquitaine), Agnes of God (Mother Superior and Dr. Livingstone), Hamlet (Gertrude), Wit (Dr. Vivian Bearing), The Sisters Rosensweig (Sara), Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Gerte), The Guys (Joan), Moon Over Buffalo (Charlotte Hay), Separate Tables (Anne/Sibyl), Talley’s Folly (Sally Talley), and Monday After the Miracle(Anne Sullivan Macy).
She has performed in comedies including It’s Only A Play (Julia Budder), The Importance of Being Earnest (Lady Bracknell), Moon Over Buffalo (Charlotte Hay), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena) and Plaza Suite(Karen/Muriel/Norma).
Her musical credits include Gypsy (Rose), Mame (Mame), Follies (Phyllis), Company (Joanne), Anyone Can Whistle (Cora and Fay), Anything Goes (Reno), Annie (Miss Hannigan), A Little Night Music (Charlotte), The Most Happy Fella (Cleo), Bye Bye Birdie (Rosie), Applause (Margo), Lady in the Dark (Liza), and musical tributes to Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Kurt Weill and Sir NoëlCoward.
To contact Barbara: barbararkerr@hotmail.com
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
In Marc's own words:
"The practice of Orgasmic Shamanism emerged as a result of exploring Shamanism, somatic movement therapy and tantra.
It is also a Mystery school practice. Mainly attributed to the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians, the mystery school is a grueling and process of radical transformation.
It is based on awakening the true self by connecting with the greater realms of the unseen, the cosmos.
All my workshops, sessions, retreats, trainings all work within a 5-stage framework:
Stage 1- Discovery: The discovery that our body is our tool to access great transformation by connecting us to oneness.
Stage 2- Initiation: After this discovery, we then find ourselves able to face our demons, our shadow, every area of our life that is seeking resolution.
Stage 3- Awakening: This is the awakening of a higher power within. It also involves the realization of the uniqueness of our essence.
Stage 4- Embodying: We then embody and harness this higher within ourselves and feel its medicine.
Stage 5- Integration: We then embody and harness this higher within ourself and feel its medicine.
Today my work is unapologetic, simultaneously subtle and explicit, supportive and radical.
I work with men to explore every aspect of their lives. Together, we explore their darkest shadows and most shameful fantasies and learn to make space for their highest gifts to emerge. At times, we sit in the stillness of the eternal void and let the energy transmissions do their job.
Everything I do aims to help people connect to their truth by engaging with the oneness within. Whether someone is a beginner, an experienced practitioner, a facilitator in training, or an advanced therapist, this work is about allowing them to be who they truly are; to engage with the flow of life; and to bring forward their highest gifts in the most effortless way possible".
For more info or to contact Marc, please visit his website (Must be 18+ years old):
https://orgasmicshaman.com
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
Interesting Facts About Kevin Phinney:
*He has worked across the strata of media and yet so far remains below your radar.
*Over the course of his various lifetimes, he has been a drama critic, a boyfriend, fiancé, a husband , morning show radio host, an ex-husband, the creator of a gay advice column called "Ask Daddy" that briefly broke the internet and an entertainment reporter whose interviews range from stage and screen stars to musicians, politicians, news celebrities, and sports heroes.
*He's a native of Brooklyn who was raised in El Paso, Texas and graduated from a small college in Austin.
*He's lived in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle and New York City.
*These days, he divides his time between NYC and his beloved second home of Austin.
*He's currently a resident of Hell's Kitchen, and partnered to Ryan Branom, perhaps the sweetest man on Earth.
*He works part time as a Manhattan tour guide and moonlights as a screenwriter.
*He is an adult survivor of domestic violence and no longer bats an eye to be hypospadic.
*Also being Irish, his favorite drink is the next one.
*He is the only man alive who can honestly claim to have been understudy to Sonny Bono in "The Owl and the Pussycat," and to have bought U2's Bono his first margarita.
Everything else is all lies, rumor and innuendo.
Contact Kevin via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.phinney.12
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
Find Micky on his IG: https://www.instagram.com/luismigueldmc/
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
STEWART WADE
From a young age, Stewart Wade knew he wanted to tell stories. He performed skits in the backyard for his captive parents and friends, and attempted his first novel at age ten. A bit later, Stewart tried his hand at poetry, short stories, and playwriting, ultimately getting a Master’s degree in Theater, Film and Television from UCLA.
After a few years in the Hollywood trenches, Stewart wrote and directed his first feature film, Coffee Date, starring Wilson Cruz, Jonathan Silverman, Sally Kirkland, Elaine Hendrix, Jason Stuart, and Debbie Gibson. The movie garnered numerous awards and received a limited theatrical release, ultimately playing in rotation for a year on MTV's LOGO channel. His next movie, Tru Loved, starred Najarra Townsend and Jake Abel, and featured Jasmine Guy, Alexandra Paul, Alec Mapa, Cynda Williams, Bruce Vilanch, Nichelle Nichols, Vernon Wells -- and Jane Lynch. It also won several awards before playing in rotation on Here!TV for many years.
Next up, Stewart directed and co-produced Such Good People, a screwball comedy written by David Michael Barrett and starring Michael Urie, Randy Harrison, and James Urbaniak, with supporting roles by Scott Wolf, Ana Ortiz, Lance Bass, Alec Mapa, Tom Lenk, Drew Droege, and Rick Overton. At about this same time, Stewart created Coffee House Chronicles. This web series is an ongoing passion, as each episode is self-contained and can be produced when time and money allow.
Most recently, Stewart has written and directed his first drama, Say Yes, and now the sequel, Baby Steps. Both star Patrick Zeller and Matt Pascua, and are available on Amazon Prime.
Contact: Stewartnla@aol.com
Web: http://www.stewartwadefilms.wordpress.com
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
BILLY CLIFT
Emmy nominated filmmaker, Billy Clift, “A Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate Celebrates 50 years”, has created a vast body of work that consists of a wide range of different genres. Such as the Feature film “Jacked”, on Homeless youth, The short films, “Monty”, Montgomery’s Clift’s last dying day, “No Goodbyes”, a true story about love in a concentration camp, and “Lena’s Dance” ( Dee Wallace). The ridiculous cult comedies, “Baby Jane?” And “Hush Up Sweet Charlotte” (Mink Stole, Varla Jean Merman), realty tv such as “Food Fetish”, “Behind the Bar” and the travel show “Underground”. Streaming tv shows, (two seasons) “Not So Straight in Silver Lake”, (Daniel Franzaese, Calpernia Adams), “My Sister is So Gay”, (Loni Anderson, Debra Wilson, Ray Dawn Chong) and in post for “The Lair : Hollywood” to be streaming in January 2024.
He's created over 40 music video’s of different musical styles… short form documentaries focusing on people who have made significant contributions to society like Arron Walton, a CEO of a black Public relations firm to Lawyer, Gloria Allred who has been a strong force in underserved rights.
He is in post-production for the feature film “Here We Are”, a film on racism during the pandemic, starring Sally Kirkland, Christine Elise, Elizabeth Regan, Wil J. Jackson and Mel England. He's also in post-production for the documentary “Our Lady in The Kitchen” About a painting that had been stolen by the Nazis, ending up in a household in Silver Lake, California.
Billy is in pre-production with a plethora of different projects, continually striving to push his creativity to find new fresh ways to tell stories.
Email Billy: billyclift@me.com
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
J Craig Fong is a recovering attorney. It is not clear whether an attorney ever truly recovers.
A graduate of Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, J has been a corporate attorney and a civil rights advocate. J served as the Director of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and also as the Board Chair of Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team in Los Angeles.
In recent decades, J was an immigration attorney with offices in Hollywood, Pasadena, and Palm Springs, focusing primarily on family unification cases and visas.
Currently, he serves as a Commissioner on the Palm Springs International Airport Commission.
He lives in the Cathedral City Cove, with his two cats Benji and Merlin, and with his husband Andrew.
Email J at: jcf@fongaquino.com
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
Craig Chester is an award winning actor best known for his roles in the movies “Swoon”, ”Grief”, “Frisk”, “Kiss Me, Guido”, “I Shot Andy Warhol” and as the Birkin Bag Guy on “Sex & The City”.
He transitioned to a successful career as a television writer when St. Martin’s Press published his memoir, “Why The Long Face? The Adventures of a Truly Independent Actor”, writing and producing three seasons of LOGO’s “Big Gay Sketch Show” and HBO’s smash hit, “True Blood”.
He is currently working on a new memoir and “Adam & Steve 55+”, the sequel to 2005’s “Adam & Steve”, which he starred in and also wrote and directed.
He lives in Palm Springs, CA.
Craig's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrcraigchester/
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
BENNETT YELLIN
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Bennett received his B.A. in fiction from U.C.L.A. Still not ready to enter the real world, he enrolled at UMass in Amherst for an M.F.A. in fiction. It was there — on the first day of school — that he met and befriended Peter Farrelly. On a lark, they tried writing a comedy together and this spec script ultimately got into the hands of Eddie Murphy and the Zucker Brothers, creators of Airplane and The Naked Gun. Both Murphy and the Zuckers asked the duo to write movies for them, and their career was off and running.
Yellin wrote exclusively with Peter for years until they asked his brother Bobby to join them. The three went on to write a number of unproduced features together until they created Dumb and Dumber in 1994 and reunited in 2014 to co-write the official sequel chronicling the further idiotic adventures of Harry and Lloyd, Dumb and Dumber To.
In 2007, the Farrelly Brothers branched out on their own and Yellin partnered with James Robert Johnson to create a professional writing duo that has endured for sixteen years. Among the plethora of projects they’ve tackled during their career — some produced, others not — the two have co-written Let’s Scare Jessica to Death for Paramount Pictures, the Fox situation comedy Unhitched, the direct-to-DVD thriller Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead, Paramount Pictures’ Hotel For Dogs 2, the Anchor Bay action-thriller In the Blood with Gina Carano, the 20th Century Fox family film, Santa’s Little Helper, and the Warner Brothers re-boot of the Police Academy series, Police Academy: Takin’ it to the Streets. More recently, Yellin and Johnston have co-written a live action family stage show adaptation of the hugely popular Angry Birds IP, and the two are currently at work creating an original pilot for a new animated show.
Bennett's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bennett.yellin
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2023
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com
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