Becoming Wilkinson

From an article by Max Berlinger in Vogue Runway:"Some designers create for fantasy, some designers create for reality, and then there’s Rio Uribe of Gypsy Sport, who doesn’t bother differentiating between the two. In fact, that blurring of the lines is a hallmark of his brand, which draws deeply on the Chicano American experience and then filters it through Uribe’s viewpoint as a queer man.This season, the designer showed in Los Angeles, the city where he was raised and has returned to during the pandemic. He had originally planned to show here in March of 2020, but the coronavirus upended that. So the mood atop the Petersen Automotive Museum, where his runway show was staged just as the sun dipped below the Pacific, was ebullient. Hoots and whistles rose up as the lights went down, and the clapping began before the first model even hit the catwalk. The clothes matched the vibe.“The main arc is about Chicano culture,” Uribe said. “But there’s so many subcultures under that umbrella.” So he pulled together the looks of various groups: the swaggering machismo of the lowriders; the ornate street look of the cholos and cholas; the zoot-suit-wearing pachucos and their elegant pachuca wives, who flourished in L.A. during the 1950s; and the whitewashed, exoticized version of the bombshell Latina that was offered up by Old Hollywood. Sprinkle on top of those elements a heavy dose of the drag and vogueing scenes, and you get a sense of Uribe’s vision...."Check out Gypsy Sport at Vogue Runway: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/designer/gypsy-sportAnd in LA Fashion Week:https://lafw.net/portfolio-item/gypsy-sport/Gypsy Sport's page:  http://gypsysportny.comPhoto: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

In this podcast episode, Eddie discusses what circumstances in his life brought him to the place he is today.  It's an interesting and poignant story of this father of eight, now living his best gay life in Palm Springs.Bonus: He reveals why he wears a cape while dancing each week at Oscar's Sunday Tea dance, and what the cape symbolizes.And Eddi talks about the group he created some time ago:   "Among Friends is all about... YOU!!!We exist to provide a platform to produce true community in the Palm Springs Area. We are an event company that loves to do fun activities, Interactive movies, and charity events to bring the community together.Come join us...Even if you don't know anyone... You are AMONG FRIENDS."Find Eddie and the gang of community -minded friends on FaceBook (Copy and paste):  http://www.facebook.com/Amongfriendscommunity/Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

I met Anthony some time ago. He was an Airbnb guest at my place in Palm Springs.  He made the decision at a birthday party that his coworkers had thrown for him.  He just couldn't spend the rest of his life in that corporate job .  So he carefully made plans for his exit strategy and then began a journey to discover parts of the world that he hadn't seen before.  And in the process, he began to discover his true self.Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

This is my second episode with Mark as my guest.  In the first episode, he primarily discussed his own personal journey and then he touched on his energy work toward the end of the recording.In this episode, he explains in more detail how he approaches the energy work that he does.EVERYTHING IS ONE WITH SOURCE CREATOR.  "That makes us all co-creators. We are, I AM, consciousness and right now WE are expanding into our fully awakened, co-creator beings! Can you feel it? We are remembering who we truly are in profound ways that are dramatically shifting how we live on planet Earth. We are coming together in awakened power, purpose and divine perfection. It is so exciting"!                                                                                                                                -Mark HollensteinAs a facilitator and coach for over two decades, Mark Hollenstein has been honored to blend his skills and gifts as a business coach, spiritual life coach, energy healer and intuitive reader to what he describes as a call  to “Love on” people in the name of the Divine.He see himself as a conduit for Spirit, The Divine, Source, The Universe, God, Goddess, Creator, or All That Is. However one divines that/it for his or her self. Simply, the Source, or energy greater than ourselves the guides, instructs, leads, loves and supports all of us, absolutely unconditionally through this human experience we call life.As his personal evolution has continued and he experienced higher energetic vibratory upgrades daily, his work is now calling out to men and women of all gender identification and sexual orientation who are resonating, recognizing, and remembering – in order to together find our way to each other.Find out more about Mark here:  http://MarkHollenstein.comPhoto: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

In 2015, Alan Fraser was in the best physical condition of his life.  But then one day after training he went home and realized that something just wasn't right.  Thankfully his (now) husband Tim jumped into action and drove a couple hours to see why Alan had stopped responding when Tim kept checking on him.  Tim found Alan unconscious in his bed, helped revive him and then rushed him to the nearest ER.  They were told later that if he hadn't come in at that time, he wouldn't be with us today.  His condition was so bad that the medical team had to put him in an induced medical coma in order to save his life.  He was "out" for two weeks.  He describes how the induced coma saved his life, but it had other severe consequences that would impact him the rest of his life.His story is real, it's heartfelt and it has meaning and a message for all of us... Listen as he describes the ordeal that he had to endure and he shares what he's learned from this experience.Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

The last two weeks, I visited my middle son Dave, his wife Meredith and my two grandsons Henry and Jack at their home in Dartmouth MA.Dave is a good sport.  He agreed to be interviewed for my podcast.  After we were finished, he told me that it was now my turn and that he was going to interview ME for a podcast episode!I was surprised at what I was feeling at first.  I guess I was afraid of what he might ask.  After all, he IS an attorney and he's be putting me on the stand, so to speak.  LOL.But as I thought about it and mentioned to my friend and energy guru Mark Hollenstein, he encouraged me to do it.  He thought it would be good for both of us.Before this interview, I had a little time to reflect and one of the things thatI realized was that I knew virtually nothing about my own father (or his father).  What a gift it would have been to have been able to sit my own "Pop" down and ask him a bunch of questions.    So we did the interview.  I kind of figured that it would be a gift to each of us.I had no idea what Dave would ask me.  There were some interesting questions and I'm pretty sure that he got some interesting answers.  Like:  "Whoa.  No, I did not know that grandma used to be an underwear model before she met your Dad and then she became a radio preacher"!It's a light-hearted interview with a lot of interesting questions.  I appreciate the time Dave took in preparing to participate.Listen in to our bantering, interspersed with some great dialogue.  Photo by Meredith Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

In this episode, I interview one of my favorite people in this world: my son David.  Two people can experience the exact same event and yet they can have two different perspectives on what happened.  So we discuss what I saw as an amazing turnabout in his life from a very average high school student, to his life now as an attorney with multiple law offices on both coasts.He talks about his current life as a married man and dad and we share some memories of his life growing up. Lastly, we discuss what it was like for him when I came out as a gay man in 1999.  I hope you enjoy this rather personal look into my life as a father to this amazing man.Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

RICHARD H JESSUPRichard has been Producing, Directing, Choreographing and Teaching Dance since 1982. He has focused his work in the genres of Musical Theatre and Concert Dance. Richard has directed and/or choreographed over 100 productions.Richard was the founding member of Against the Grain/MEN IN DANCE, and is the Producing President for the organizations Festival of MEN IN DANCE, now in its 26th year. Some of Richard’s other favorite things to do, include massage, hiking, travel, and eating coffee-flavored ice cream. He lives in Palm Springs, CA and would rather be nowhere else.Linkswebsite:  http://www.menindance.orgVirtual "watch" page:  http://www.watch.menindance.orgPhoto: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

An Interview with Bar Bionic: A Non-Binary* Visual and Musical Artist.Pronouns: They/Their/Them*Bar and their friend came to visit Palm Springs over the 4th of July holiday weekend and they stayed at my Airbnb.  I found Bar's story, look and history to be fascinating.  In this interview, we chat about Bar's life in Israel, coming to the USA and landing in New York City where they experienced the brutal "Chew them up and spit them out" mentality found in parts of the entertainment industry.  We chat about their various struggles arriving in a large city - not knowing a single person.  The creative process, sources of inspiration and gaining a foothold  in the social media/entertainment universe are further explored and discussed.  Watching some of their videos and spending time over a couple days was a real treat for me!  I found their over-the-top creativity, professionalism, kind & gentle spirit (and chutzpah!) to be absolutely amazing. Check out some of their videos via the links below.*Non-Binary Defined"Some people don't identify with any gender. Some people's gender changes over time. People whose gender is not male or female use many different terms to describe themselves, with non-binary being one of the most common. Other terms include genderqueer, agender, bigender, and more". ( Reference: Google)Links (Copy and Paste where Required):TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@bar_bionic?lang=enFacebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Bar-Bionic-113834460168592Twitter:  http://twittter.com/barbionicSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/16H8BCBnedryC6Grw1hEQQInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bar_bionic/Listen On @applemusic: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id/1529841379Listen on Itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1529841379?ls=1&app=itunesListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1lGoIbyX4YZ9HtWFQDQsDnListen on Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/King-of-Downtown/dp/B08H5TWWVF/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=bar+bionic+king+of+downtown&qid=1599717097&sr=8-1...Listen on YouTube Music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk8nbC2PNR7623_9bZuDUlABar Bionic's sample music video at the end of this podcast:  Bar Bionic - BiPAP Tempo (Official Music Video).Copyright Bar Bionic/2022. All rights reserved.  To watch the video version of this piece and to read the lyrics, go here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILZDfbG2YbAPhoto: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com

An Interview with Ben Miller. Searching: The Wanderlust of a 60-Year Old Gay Man from Pender to Pittsburgh, From Lincoln to LA, and Many Points in Between.Ben Miller and I discuss his interesting sixty year journey to where he is today.  He shares some of his spiritual practices which he uses to find peace and ground himself.  And he discusses a long term struggle with addiction and how he has managed to stay on the upper road in his journey for many, many years.I was introduced to Ben by our mutual friend Larendee Roos.  She talks about Ben in a transcript that she wrote many years ago, detailing her amazing story.  She wrote: "... My lifelong soul mate and friend, Ben flew in from LA to stay with my children and me. I will always think of him when I smell bacon. He loved my children and held me in his arms as I slowly unraveled and pulled myself back together again. To this day, he always knows just when I need him. Within a few hours he is on the phone calling or in my city to hold me..."After spending just a few hours with Ben, I get why she feels this way about him.  His gentle spirit and his heart are obvious in this short interview....Ben Miller has been an actor, director, writer, Alexander technique teacher and college professor.  Right now he's working on a screenplay that has been gurgling in his brain for years.  He strives to be kind. He's opinionated.  Contact Ben at: benjaminmillerla001@gmail.com. (323) 385-9537Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2022Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.To contact Wilkinson- email him at BecomingWilkinson@gmail.com