In this episode of Out & About After Dark, host James Grady talked to Ezra, a handsome, soft spoken young man—not quite a pocket gay but close—about how he grew up a double outsider in small town, Tennessee. He was the closeted gay son of Mexican immigrants, and he secretly became (almost by accident) a sex worker, specifically an escort. And despite the obstacles, his experience of entering and engaging the profession has been remarkably normal, and often fairly wholesome. He has few scary stories and little interest in long term planning his exit from that career. Busting stereotypes, he has a day job, his siblings are supportive, and they even know what he does. Plus, he's got a stable relationship with a boyfriend who has no issues with what he does to make a little cash—After Dark.

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Excerpt:

Beginning 2:35

James: So what was it like growing up gay in a small town near Nashville?

Ezra: I mean, it wasn't terrible. I actually get asked more how what was it like being like the only Hispanic person... But actually being gay and Hispanic in a place like that wasn't bad. Most of the people were very nice. They never treated me any different. But I wasn't actually really openly gay in school.

Around 33:30

"One of my first few jobs that I first got was this 35 year old, yummy man that you almost feel bad for charging for money. It's just like, all he wanted was a full body massage, and you know, a happy ending. And I'm like, I'll do that gladly. I can get to touch you up and down and then jerk you off. Yes! I almost don't want to charge you but I need money. But it was great. I loved it. And he would pay me like twice the amount I charged him for the service. And it was definitely one of my favorites. I think I met him maybe one or two times more. And then he disappeared on me."

Around 46:50

"I feel like me being Hispanic does kind of get me a certain type of person to hire me. I'm actually not that ... I don't find it a touchy subject, because I actually try to use it to my advantage. when I try to pick out cities to visit for work, I see the escorts that are there. And if there aren't many, you know, twinky Latinos there, then it's a goldmine because, you know, I'll be new meat, a new type of genre person there... I don't think I would go to Florida for example, to do jobs. I've actually had this one experience when I was in Miami. This one guy I set him pictures—I am pretty tan with black hair—and I get to his place, and it's like this skyscraper condo type building in Florida by the beach. I get in and he looks at me and then after like, maybe 10 minutes he's like, "Yo, I'm not feeling this, I thought you were like basically white and hairless."