Nathan's story is, at once, extremely unique and totally relatable in that he comes from an Egyptian-American family but was raised in an insular Christian community in New Jersey where being gay was a red line that was not to be crossed. The youngest of his family with two much-older sisters, Nathan didn’t always fit in as the leader of his high school bible club. Fortunately, his best friend, Michelle, was the leader of the school’s Straight/Gay Alliance. Years later, Stephen would ask Michelle why she didn’t call him out as a closet case in high school. “Because that’s what the bullies were saying,” was her brilliant response. Then, she took him to The Cock in downtown New York City and … well you can listen and find out what happened next. BTW, if you want another story from The Cock, you can listen to Adam’s episode (S2E3). This interview was recorded in August of 2020 during a very small window in the Pandemic when restrictions were eased temporarily. This trip to Portland was the only excursion I took outside of Seattle during the shutdown. FRUITBOWL is produced independently without financial sponsors, advertising revenue or corporate media support. Every interview is recorded in-person, on location in each interviewee’s home and production expenses including travel, accommodations, equipment rental, editing and post-production are paid for out of pocket by Dave Quantic, FRUITBOWL’s creator.  The only consistent financial support (currently $93/month) comes from FRUITBOWL’s Patreon community. Help support FRUITBOWL’s mission of documenting and sharing stories about queer coming of age by becoming a patron! A minimum $5 monthly donation allows patrons early access to episodes, behind the scenes updates and exclusive video content that is not available to the general public. Learn more about how to become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/fruitbowlpodcast  Do you have a business or product that you think FRUITBOWL’s audience would like to know about? Underwriting/advertising rate sheets are available for advertisers and underwriters as well as production support. For more information, visit: https://www.fruitbowlpodcast.com/donate. Underwriting fees are 100% tax deductible through a partnership with Northwest Film Forum’s fiscal sponsorship program.  FRUITBOWL RECEIVES NO DIRECT FUNDING FROM NWFF, only the use of their non-profit status to receive tax deductible donations. For more information check out: https://nwfilmforum.org/education/artist-services/nonprofit-fiscal-sponsorship-filmmakers/fiscal-sponsee-fruitbowl-oral-history-queer-sex/  Word of mouth is our most powerful promotional tool right now, so tell your friends about FRUITBOWL and rate & review us on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fruitbowl/id1468574292  Subscribe to our YouTube video channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjuUDG5nTc6x0oZtL0guPiA Twitter: https://twitter.com/fruitbowlpod  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fruitbowlpodcast/ The official website: https://www.fruitbowlpodcast.com/ Fruitbowl’s fruit artwork was created by Patrick Stephenson of Bearpad! https://bearpad.storenvy.com/ Check out host Saira B’s awesome podcast about erotic fan fiction, FREAKY TALES 4 U! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freaky-tales-4-u-a-queer-fanfiction-show/id1463915467 On iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fruitbowl/id1468574292  On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3LVzFe2HSEWCcWtP9OvSbQ?si=aopBYD9oTOqdXKZ7ZZCmXg