On My Own (Ep. 265 - Willy Wonka/Gus Lanza)

My guest this week had to figure out a lot on his own. After dropping out of high school and moving across the country at the age of 15, Gus Lanza had no idea how to finish school, how to find a career, or what he was meant to do in life. Figuring that stuff out involved a lot of listening to himself — and also finding others who could help him along the way. As time passed, a unique chosen family grew around him, from childhood friends to neighbors to his partner, a performer many of us would come to know as drag star BenDeLaCreme. And it wasn’t until a few years ago that Gus finally realized that his path ahead had been staring him right in the face. We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First a big thanks to everyone who makes the Sewers of Paris possible with a pledge of support on Patreon! Head over to SewersOfParis.com and click “support the show on Patreon” to check out the rewards for backers. And just a reminder that The Sewers of Paris is on Twitter and Facebook — I post clips of the stuff that we talk about on each episode. Also I hope you’ll join me for our next fun friendly livestream on December 28. It’s a laid back brunch-time chat about the books and movies and music and shows that are bringing you joy right now. There’s a link at the top of the Sewers of Paris twitter feed. And by the way, if you like LGBTQ podcasting you may enjoy my other show, Queens of Adventure, a comedy-adventure show that stars drag queens playing Dungeons & Dragons. That’s at QueensOfAdventure.com.