LGBT Stories: Accidental Online Chat Leads To 13 Years Of Love

BY NATHAN MANSKE

Before we even started the Story Tour, I received a donation along with a message from today's storyteller, John, insisting that we make a stop in Palm Springs. We were still in the planning stages of the Tour and John really wanted us to visit and collect some stories. We figured what the heck, if someone has a story to share, that's what we're here for so Palm Springs, here we come. After hearing John's sweet story, I'm sure glad we did.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Nathan Manske and Marquise Lee embarked on a 4 month, 50 state tour of the United States collecting stories for their I'm From Driftwood site. We'll be sharing some of the stories they collected along with some of the insight into what they saw. They're still encouraging people to submit their written stories via IFD. You can follow IFD on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

CHECK OUT OUR RECENT LGBT STORIES...
A Man's Journey Into - and Out of - 'Ex-Gay' Therapy[tr]
Gay Teen Saved by Lesbian Teacher, Outed, Excommunicated by Church [tr]
Boston College Professor Nearly Outed in Uganda, Comes Out in Ghana [tr]
Inclusion Activist Organizes Protest Against Kansas City Pride [tr]
Serbian Exchange Student Remembers Tough and Unwelcoming Life Back Home [tr]

LGBT Stories: A Man's Journey Into--And Out Of--"Ex-Gay" Therapy

Nathan Manske and Marquise Lee embarked on a 4 month, 50 state tour of the United States collecting stories for their I'm From Driftwood site. We'll be sharing some of the stories they collected along with some of the insight into what they saw. They're still encouraging people to submit their written stories via IFD. You can follow IFD on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Whenever I show ex-gay therapy stories or conversion therapy stories at presentations, it's almost guaranteed someone from the audience will ask, "That doesn't happen still today, does it? That story is from a long time ago?" Obviously the answer is, yes, it still happens today unfortunately.

Watch, and check out your invite to tomorrow's BBQ in NYC AFTER THE JUMP...

AIDS/LifeCycle Stories: Ride Brings Actor Chad Allen and Father Closer Than Ever

The ImFromDriftwood.com crew is in California for the 10th annual AIDS/LifeCycle, a bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles raising money for HIV/AIDS. IFD founder Nathan Manske and guest videographer and editor Jesse James Rice will be sending us exclusive daily Video Stories from some of the 2350 riders who are embarking on the 7-day, 545 mile trek. You can also follow their daily adventures on Facebook and Twitter.

Chad arrived in the small town of Bradley, CA, early in the morning to wrap red ribbons and bows on the fences, bridges and light posts for the riders to see when they arrived for lunch. After lunch we found a field nearby and he assured me he already had a story in mind that he wanted to share. Just before we started filming, though, we were chatting about LifeCycle and a lightbulb went off in his head. He suddenly had a different story he wanted to share and I'm sure glad he did.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

PREVIOUS STORIES FROM OUR AIDS/Lifecycle SPECIAL...
From Mocking LGBT People to Cycling 545 Miles By Their Side [tr]
After Decades of Stigma, Man Feels Comfortable in Being Open About HIV Status [tr]

AIDS/LifeCycle Stories: From Mocking LGBT People To Cycling 545 Miles By Their Side

NATHAN MANSKE

The ImFromDriftwood.com crew is in California for the 10th annual AIDS/LifeCycle, a bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles raising money for HIV/AIDS. IFD founder Nathan Manske and guest videographer and editor Jesse James Rice will be sending us exclusive daily Video Stories from some of the 2350 riders who are embarking on the 7-day, 545 mile trek. You can also follow their daily adventures on Facebook and Twitter.

We met David at the lunch stop on the first day of the ride. After asking him to share a story with us, he immediately agreed and only asked for 5 minutes to finish eating. I didn't know he was straight at first but sure enough, we ended up getting our first ally story. Following David, we met so many other straight allies we had to start making sure people we were speaking with were actually LGBT. It's inspiring to meet so many allies on the ride.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

PREVIOUS STORIES FROM OUR AIDS/Lifecycle SPECIAL...
After Decades of Stigma, Man Feels Comfortable in Being Open About HIV Status [tr]

LGBT Stories: Serbian Exchange Student Remembers Tough And Unwelcoming Life Back Home

NATHAN MANSKE

Nathan Manske and Marquise Lee embarked on a 4 month, 50 state tour of the United States collecting stories for their I'm From Driftwood site. We'll be sharing some of the stories they collected along with some of the insight into what they saw. They're still encouraging people to submit their written stories via IFD. You can follow IFD on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Given all the news about homophobic protests and violence in Serbia, it wasn't surprising to hear a less-than-rosy story from a Serbian teen. What was nice, though, is hearing him talk about his near-perfect experience of being out and gay in a high school in the U.S. Even though we clearly still have a way to go, I couldn't help but take a step back after hearing Stefan's story and be proud of where we're headed in terms of societal acceptance and rights here in the U.S.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

CHECK OUT OUR RECENT LGBT STORIES...
Dustin Lance Black Comes Out to College Roommate Using Bar of Soap [tr]
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Lexington Mayor Jim Gray on Coming Out to the Media [tr]

LGBT Stories: Dustin Lance Black Comes Out To College Roommate With Manuscript And Bar Of Soap

NATHAN MANSKE

Nathan Manske and Marquise Lee embarked on a 4 month, 50 state tour of the United States collecting stories for their I'm From Driftwood site. We'll be sharing some of the stories they collected along with some of the insight into what they saw. They're still encouraging people to submit their written stories via IFD. You can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

“Milk” was what inspired me to create “I’m From Driftwood” so meeting the film’s screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, was both meaningful and exciting. He was kind enough to show me some artifacts that belonged to Harvey Milk, which he was soon going to donate to a museum or archive. One item was a funny hand-written note from Harvey to a local politician he had met the night before, which said something along the lines of, “Had fun last night. Not in that way! -Harvey”. Anyway, I was half expecting Dustin to talk about “Milk” or winning his Oscar but he surprised me by telling a funny but still personal and meaningful story I hadn’t previously heard from him.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Recently in this series...
A Lesbian Finds Relief and Community in the 1970s [tr]
Gay Teen's Father Says Discussion with Bullies Put End to Harassment [tr]
Gay Wasilla Teen Met with Religious Fanatics at School, Support at Home [tr]
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray on Coming Out to the Media [tr]
Reflecting on a Father's Pride, a Grandmother's Fears [tr]