Riyadh Khalaf
Riyadh K is a journalist, YouTuber and LGBT+ advocate.
He is best known for his ground breaking BBC docuseries, “Queer Britain” in which he investigated issues affecting the queer community; he is a host of BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks and Unexpected Fluids shows and can now add author to the list, as he has just released his first book – “Yay! You’re Gay! Now What?”
BOOK COVER REVEAL! I wrote this for the thousands of queer teens & their friends/family who’ve asked me for help over the years. Chapters include:
🌈 Gay sex ed
Dealing w/bullies
How to come out
Learning to LOVE your identityPreorder here 👉🏼 https://t.co/ZaKutMGfQY pic.twitter.com/cZVJ3nGq4Z
— Riyadh Khalaf (@RiyadhK) 28 February 2019
Riyadh joined Sarina to chat about his coming out story; the gift of gayness; taking chances; his career and more.
Moving to London
It was a big decision to quit his steady radio gig in Ireland but Riyadh really wanted to see if he could make things work in the UK.
He went over to work for a big media organisation and while it was a great opportunity, it wasn’t the job for him.
It was affecting his mental health so he decided to quit and make other stuff happen.
But stuff didn’t just happen. He worked hard to make it happen.
There were a lot of meetings, many pitches and many rejections.
However, he kept working away and things finally started happening.
As a result, videos went viral, the BBC wanted to work with him and then was even an offer to write a book. He almost missed that opportunity thanks to the original email going straight into his Spam folder!
He never imagined he would be an author, he never thought of writing this book but after the publishers managed to get in contact with him, this is one of the things that he is most proud of!
Yay! You’re Gay! Now What?
This book is useful for many people but he especially wrote it for young gay boys.
He has an important message for the boys, “I want you to take away from this that you are amazing and strong and loved by me and millions around the world.
It will be tough for a while - that’s just the way the world is but its so worth living for.
Hang on in there because you’re life is waiting to blossom - it is all ahead of you.
The book is available in bookstore and Amazon now.
Listen Back
Finally, you can listen back to Riyadh's full interview here:
