Today's is a very special Father's Day episode of “Hey Gerle!” with Mike's father, Bill! The “Hey Gerle!” episodes are designed to be an “ask anything” Q&A between me and you, the listener. I will normally be doing these with the help of my GerleMen Podcast family, Garrett & Lesley. On this special Father’s Day edition of “Hey Gerle,” my dad and I will both be asking each other questions and answering each other’s questions. My Dad answers questions about what it was like to be a Mormon ...
Jun 19, 2020•55 min
Today I talk with Aaron Ferante-Alan. Aaron is a very close friend of mine who I deeply respect for his intellect and his bravery, but most importantly, his vulnerable honestly. He’s a man I consider family and I’m thrilled to have him on the podcast speaking about his professional specialty, sex/relationships, and how all that relates to our mental health. We talked about: Sexual Addiction vs. Compulsion [4:40] Gay Mirroring and Overcoming Shame [15:00] Open Relationships and Sexual Balance [25...
Jun 12, 2020•53 min
I was excited to talk to Jai Rodriguez because I’d seen him on Queer Eye, then I realized I’d seen him perform in one of my favorite musicals ever, “Zanna, Don’t!” So I was a bit star struck. I don’t like admitting that, but I was. Then the real magic happened when we spoke, one gay man to another. Jai is approachable and tells us how it really is for queer people in Hollywood, how COVID-19 is affecting his sex life, growing up evangelical, and being a mentor. This high energy interview that mov...
Jun 05, 2020•59 min
This is my response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. I’m 55 years old. I was born in 1965. Before I was 5 years old, Martin Luther King would be murdered, Drag Queens and trans women would fight off the police in front of Stonewall, and the United States would launch a rocket that would land men safely on the moon. In 1992 I listened to the same cacophony of helicopters that are in the air in Los Angeles and many other cities today, as people took to the streets af...
May 31, 2020•12 min
Today’s episode is the 2nd installment of my “Being a Man” series. This is an intimate 1on1 between me and you, the listener. I will present ideas on “living” on “being” (as in Being A Man) that I find useful in my own life. Being A Man episodes are: part older brother insight, part theoretical sandbox, and part Gay Elder pontificating. These are ideas I’ve cobbled together from just paying attention during my life, from doing my own personal work with therapists, from writing my memoir, from be...
May 29, 2020•25 min
Today’s guest is Dr. Don Kilhefner. I wanted to interview Dr. Don Kilhefner because his name and accomplishments show up nearly every time I do work on elevating Gay Male Existence. He’s a living icon of gay activism. In his 80’s, he is still a dynamic force in the gay community. As you will hear in this episode, it’s a community he considers family. Dr. Kilhefner has a remarkable amount of energy, vision, experience, and wisdom he generously offers to his family on a daily basis .Another guest,...
May 22, 2020•53 min
Today I talk with Yuval David. Yuval is an accomplished actor, filmmaker, content creator, and activist. But the biggest reason I wanted to have a conversation with him is because of his attitude. His motivation for doing all of these things comes from a place of love. If you have already listened to the first Being a Man, or BAM episode, you’ll remember that I’m big on understanding our core motivations, our feelings, our foundational beliefs about ourselves. Because when we do that, we get wha...
May 15, 2020•1 hr 6 min
This is the first in a series of Q&A episodes. Feel free to submit your questions via Facebook , Twitter or using the voice memo feature on your smartphone and emailing it to Mike@gerlemen.com . Enjoy the show! We talked about: Why did you start this podcast? [06:59] Is there anything that’s off the table in these Q&A? [10:45] What’s the impact of physical distancing due to COVID-19 on the LGBT community? [11:47] How are you managing the tight living quarters? [18:44] Why are gay men sti...
May 08, 2020•54 min
Today I talk with Dr. Frankie Bashan, renowned relationship coach and dating expert. Dr. Frankie Bashan (or, just Dr. Frankie) is the founder of Little Gay Book, the most successful exclusively lesbian (and bisexual women) matchmaking agency in the United States. I wanted to interview Dr. Frankie Bashan because of her authenticity, her dignity, and her courage to serve her community. She leads by example. If I am reincarnated as a lesbian, I hope to be exactly like Dr. Frankie Bashan. Dr. Franki...
May 01, 2020•56 min
Today, I’m speaking to JD Wolfe. I wanted to interview JD because I saw his gifts in action in brotherhood at the ManKind Project (MKP). It’s a pleasure to have JD Wolfe joining us on today’s podcast to discuss (among other things) re-framing our gay personal history as a hero's journey, healthy emotional advice for this quarantine season, and navigating healthy, sustaining relationships. He has the ability to connect with men and support them in their own work to become better individuals and b...
Apr 24, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Welcome to the "Being A Man" series! These are not “BE a man” directives. Instead, I present ideas on “ living ” and “ being ” I find useful in my own life. I’m not telling you what to do to prove you’re a man. I’m sharing insight on “being,” the inward reflections of a conscious man who knows what he wants and how to get it. Your authenticity is the tool and a heart-centered connection with yourself, with other gay men, and with your own chosen communities is the goal. Use the parts that work f...
Apr 17, 2020•31 min
Today we talk with the Mayor of West Hollywood, John D’Amico . He’s a civic leader who recently contracted COVID-19 and is here to tell us his story. I first met Mayor D’Amico when I was working in the City Manager’s Office at West Hollywood City Hall. Later, John believed in my vision of creating “ TRIBE - Gay Men’s Discussion Group” that was made possible by the City Council and I facilitated for over 5 years. For more than 20 years, Mayor John D’Amico has participated in city leadership as a ...
Apr 10, 2020•48 min
Blessings from Sister Unity. Sister Unity and I met more than 25 years ago at a photo shoot where the boys were naked and the sisters were in full, clownlike “face”: bright-colored heretical nun gear. We were shooting for a “cooking calendar” fundraiser. I stood on set naked while Sister Unity drew the Ohm symbol on my right butt cheek in cake frosting. It was a wonderful beginning. Later I noticed this incredible being, along with the other Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence providing rituals in u...
Apr 03, 2020•56 min
As a culture, we are facing a sexual moratorium that, for gay men, is simultaneously familiar and completely new. I discuss the impact on gay men’s connecting culture, hooking up, missing the gym, AIDS vs. Coronavirus, and the opportunities this social isolation presents. The GerleMen team was planning to launch this podcast in June of 2020 on Father’s Day, but right now, it’s impossible to have a conversation about brotherhood, conscious sex, and heart-centered connection without also discussin...
Mar 27, 2020•13 min
I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s as a kid in the state of Nebraska, Wyoming and Idaho with a last name pronounced girly. Yeah, you heard that right, girly. That name was challenging. It was a daily experience and being seen for who I was a gay boy. And then lying to everyone, telling them that the girly nature inside of me was just a joke. Fostering heart-centered connections between gay men is what this podcast is about. It's a place for gay men, and anyone self-identified as “the other”...
Mar 21, 2020•3 min
