Meet Barrie Rose and Laurenzo De Camilla

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Barrie Rose and Laurenzo De Camilla a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Barrie and Laurenzo, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Our work ethic comes from knowing our “why” and the impact we want to make in the world. In difficult moments, returning to that central purpose is key to our long-term success. We also believe in slow, consistent effort that sustains our longevity.

[Laurenzo] I’ve cultivated a strong work ethic from my background as an academic. In getting my PhD, I was driven to accomplish projects through my inherent curiosity and passion for the work I was doing. I refined skill-sets like self-discipline, self-education, and conducting independent research projects–all of which have carried over into my career as an Entrepreneur. My film specialization in Graduate School allowed me to study visual work through a critical lens and to use production strategies to leverage impact in the digital space. Additionally, my formal training in women, gender, and sexuality studies helped me to distill concepts like ‘gender is a social construction,’ but it now also informs how I structure my storytelling approach. My identity as a queer, nonbinary person fuels my desire to support and encourage other LGBTQ+ individuals going through similar life experiences.

[Barrie] My work ethic comes from the love I have for the work I do, and personal drive to bring the most value possible through these modalities.  Being a Content Creator involves many different skill-sets, such as the ability to write scripts, shoot videos, edit, produce consistent creative ideas, storytell, and act. I was a writer from a really early age, and for as long as I can remember I’ve kept journals, so writing came to me naturally. As a kid, I was obsessed with making movies and being in front of the camera, and I asked my parents to let me act around the age of 7. I was in commercials and short films, so creating in this format has always been part of my life. Singing, writing songs, and producing music was also a self-taught endeavor, which I honed through a lot of practice and years of being in bands and putting myself into the world as a musician and artist. The LGBTQ+ advocacy component came into focus after I became interested in discovering my own identity as a queer, nonbinary person and in figuring out how to integrate and heal parts of myself.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
We founded Queer Hangouts, a patron-supported program that provides free visits to LGBTQ+ clubs in schools. During these Queer Hangouts, we speak with LGBTQ+ students for the purpose of affirming, supporting, and encouraging their identities. Queer Hangouts began when a leader of a student-run LGBTQ+ club in Ohio emailed Laurenzo asking if they would speak at their school’s club. They said yes, and then the school invited them to come back a second time. In February, Barrie moved to Columbus, Ohio, and when the school asked Laurenzo to visit a third time, Barrie joined as well. As a nonbinary couple, our presence opened a unique connection with the students where they felt supported to engage openly and authentically. The students felt comfortable asking more personal questions, such as “What do I do about menstrual dysphoria?” Since we both have different, but sometimes overlapping experiences with our gender identity and queerness, the students appreciated our distinct perspectives. After the event, one of the students shared that they had participated in LGBTQ+ groups for years, but this was the most powerful and honest discussion they had ever experienced. It showed us that there is a real need for these types of spaces and conversations. Since we have both developed audiences of primarily LGBTQ+ youth and parents, we believed that visiting more LGBTQ+ groups was the next logical step for our careers–to give value and further connect with these individuals in our local area, in addition to our global online communities.
We want to show that happy, healthy queer adulthood is possible and help facilitate environments that allow young people to feel safe and to be their authentic selves. We realize that schools do not necessarily have the funds to pay for speakers to visit, so we decided to structure the business in a way where LGBTQ+ adults and allies could become patrons of the program. The majority of our revenue comes from paid partnerships and collaborations, but those opportunities are inconsistent. Queer Hangouts, thus, offers us sustainable and reliable income while also bringing value to queer young people.
If your school would like to book a Queer Hangout, you can contact us at [email protected]. Or, if you would like to become a Patron you can scan the QR Code below or sign up at patreon.com/QueerHangouts. Thank you for contributing and believing in this mission. Our first Patron, Jill, is pictured below! (Left to Right: Barrie, Jill, Laurenzo)

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which skills or qualities would you focus on?
Our advice to people who are early on their journey, is to tap into your own passions and personality traits that make you feel like you. Through practicing self-acceptance and self-love, you can develop the confidence to thrive as your authentic self. Learn to develop the parts of yourself that might be holding you back, and be honest with your feelings because they are valid! Maintain practices that keep you grounded and continue to heal on the deepest levels. Have determination and believe in yourself, because there will always be obstacles–but through persistence and consistent effort, you will be able to transform the challenges and learn from them.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We have enjoyed working with organizations that are bringing forth positive change for the LGBTQ+ community, such as the Kaleidoscope Youth Center and Equality Ohio here in Columbus, Ohio. We’d love to continue to collaborate with forward-thinking organizations as well as LGBTQ+ students, school leaders, and passionate LGBTQ+ allies and advocates. In launching the program, we have already received requests from schools in California, South Carolina, and British Columbia in Canada. While our geographical focus will initially be Ohio and the Midwest region, we wish to expand this venture to visit schools across the United States and even internationally. Thank you to all of you who uplift and support this community-centered program. You can contact us at [email protected] if you wish to connect further.

Contact Info:

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