Wisconsin podcast aims to give perspective to ‘Small Town Big Gays’

A new Eau Claire-based podcast is trying to dispel the misconception that LGBTQ+ people only live and thrive in big cities. 

The “Small Town Big Gays” podcast highlights queer life in rural areas and discusses topics like dating, religion and local icons. Travis Gorell and Chance Smith host the podcast, and release a new episode each Friday. 

“We’re people, too. We’re in your community, We’re here. We’re hanging out and we like to have fun, I guess,” Smith recently said on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” 

The following interview was edited for clarity and brevity.

Kate Archer Kent: Travis, what does it feel like for you to launch this podcast in a smaller community?

Travis Gorell: I grew up in the millennial generation of having technology kind of come a little bit later in my life. So I feel like I have an interesting perspective of what it was like to grow up as a queer person before and after technology.

KAK: Can you share more about technology and what has changed for you personally?

TG: In my home we didn’t even have the internet till I was a senior in high school, so I had very limited access to resources and understanding. It was very much just having to figure things out on my own through experience. 

Then after I came out and then started doing drag here in Wisconsin there were still very limited resources as far as YouTube videos and TikToks. People just have access to so much information now, where before you had to really seek it out and seek out relationships and seek out people in places to find that stuff.

KAK: Travis, in the podcast both of you talk openly about yourselves, about your coming of age, relationships. Is it difficult to open up and be honest behind the mic, and how has that openness changed within you and perhaps your audience? 

TG: In general I just tend to be an oversharer, which is probably why I’m perfect for this and just like through doing drag, hosting events and just talking to people I’m more comfortable.

One of the biggest things I learned through doing drag is when I first started out, there were so many performers that I really looked up to, especially here in the Chippewa Valley. And I thought, “Oh my gosh, these people are so beautiful, they’re so perfect, their life must just be so great.” 

And then I realized that they struggled and dealt with the same insecurities and the same things that I was dealing with. 

It really opened my eyes to understanding that people are all going through experiences, just in a different way. So that made me… just have this openness and understanding that at the end of the day, we’re all dealing with insecurities and we’re all dealing with struggles. 

And it’s been awesome to hear others relating or understanding. … I always get like groups of older women, straight women in the community and they’re always wanting me to be spicier. So vicariously living through those experiences as well is kind of fun. 

KAK: Chance, I was drawn to the two of you discussing when you knew, as a kid, that you were gay, and I’m wondering how this opening up behind the mic affected you and the stories that you tell?

Chance Smith: The thing I’m realizing is it’s making me remember a lot of stuff from my childhood that I had kind of forgotten about. So we’re unpacking some trauma on the mic, that’s for sure. 

One of the things that the podcast is great for is letting people know your experiences in a smaller town as a queer person is valid. It’s weird, it’s embarrassing, it’s cringy. But ultimately, it’s what made us who we are now and you just gotta embrace it. 

KAK: Chance, a recent episode is called “Local Icons” and highlights role models. Here in Wisconsin, you talk about having someone to look up to in a small town is rare. How has that shaped your life?

CS: I do think a lot of younger queer people, especially in small towns, don’t have a role model.

I didn’t really have a gay role model when I was a child. And I think that it is really important to find one. To find someone who they live their life, they’re living it openly, they’re living proud, and they’re just unafraid and unashamed of who they are as a queer person. 

Then they themselves can start making steps to living their life authentically, and then they can be that person for another generation of queer youth.

KAK: Who fits into that definition for you? 

CS: One of the big ones would be my husband, Tom. He has been incredibly important to my growth as a queer person. 

I said this on the “Local Icons” episode of the podcast but Travis is one of my role models as a very authentic, out-loud queer person who does so much for our community. He is such a beacon of what we should all aspire to be even if you are in a small town. And I can’t see Travis right now, but I do hope he’s tearing up.

TG: Do you want me to make a crying sound bit?