I’ve been a huge fan of Fiona Dawson for years. At the very very beginning of my speaking career (like, a month in) we met while recording a COVID-safe online webinar. I was an immediate fan and we became fast friends. Her work is a fantastic blend of humor, storytelling, and helping people see each other and be seen in new and courageous ways. When I ran into her at Out & Equal a few weeks ago and she told me about her new show, I knew I had to get a guest post from her!
One last quick housekeeping thing, there’s still a few more days to register and share my annual “home for the holidays” webinar on allyship, mental health, boundary-setting, and difficult conversations at family gatherings!
Without any further shpiel, let’s hear from the delightful Fiona!!
By Fiona Dawson (she/her)
🌈 OUT with Fiona is officially here! Our very first episode has just premiered, featuring legendary breaker Gabriel “Bboy Wicket” Jaochico. Watch the premiere and subscribe to OUT with Fiona here!
I’ve spent a considerable portion of my life on airplanes.
As a British immigrant who’s lived in the United States for 26 years, with loved ones scattered around the world, airports have become places of emotional reunions, difficult goodbyes, adventures, and the occasional reminder that I really should have packed lighter. And sometimes, a little magic.
Earlier this year, I was on a flight home to Austin, Texas. We’d landed but were waiting for our gate, so I got chatting with the person beside me about filmmaking and my work with the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
Unbeknownst to me, someone in the row behind was listening.
Walking toward baggage claim, a man approached me and mentioned a documentary about a legendary breakdancer who had come out as gay. It had recently won an award at San Francisco’s Frameline Film Festival.
Naturally, I was intrigued! “So, what’s your role on the film?” I asked.
“Well, it’s me.”
WHAT?!
I’d just met Gabriel “Bboy Wicket” Jaochico.
When we later recorded an interview, Wicket confessed he’d been exhausted and grumpy that day. He’d wanted nothing more than to get home, but something told him to get out of his own way and say hello.
“And I’m so glad I did it,” he told me.
I’m so glad he did, too!
Meet Wicket
Wicket became one of the most celebrated breakers of his generation, performing around the world and working with major names in entertainment. Yet behind his extraordinary talent was a man carrying a secret.
For decades, Wicket was afraid to come out as gay. He worried about how people would react and whether being himself might jeopardize his place in the hip-hop culture he loved.
He continued dancing, creating, and expressing himself through music. Then, on his 41st birthday, he gave himself an extraordinary present: he released music he’d been creating privately and came out publicly.
The love and support that followed helped open a new chapter in his life.
Today, Wicket lives in Austin, Texas, with his husband, Ronnie, having moved from California for love. He teaches breaking at Texas State University and continues discovering new things about himself.
His coming out didn’t create the wonderful person he already was. It allowed more of that person to be seen.
A birthday I’ll never forget
That chance airport encounter eventually led to the Texas premiere of WICKET, directed by Lily Plotkin, at Big Queer Weekend, presented by aGLIFF and the Austin LGBT Chamber.
Our screening took place on September 27, just three days before Wicket’s 48th birthday and the anniversary of his coming out.
After watching his remarkable journey, the entire audience sang Happy Birthday to him.
Oh, my heart!
Here was someone who had spent decades fearing how people might react to his sexuality, now surrounded by people celebrating him. The love in that room was palpable.
And Wicket is wonderfully funny, too.
During our podcast recording, we laughed about his spin bump, a callus developed from years of spinning on his head. Our hair and makeup artist actually powdered it before filming! Wicket had expected a facial touch-up, not a spin-bump makeover.
Afterward, he even taught me a few breaking moves. There I was, removing my high heels and attempting a cross step under the guidance of a legendary breaker. What a joy!
Why I’m launching OUT with Fiona
Yesterday, I launched my new video podcast, OUT with Fiona, with Wicket as my first guest.
After more than two decades of filmmaking, writing, and LGBTQIA2S+ advocacy, I want to create opportunities for people to connect through authentic conversations. To ask questions, challenge assumptions, laugh together, and recognize our shared humanity.
I also want to celebrate the goodness I know exists in Texas.
I’ve lived here since 2000 (with just a nine year gap in New York and Washington DC), and despite our differences, I’ve experienced extraordinary kindness and friendship. During the pandemic, I lived in a small Texas town where many friends held different views from mine. I never hid my queer identity or advocacy, and we still cared about one another.
That experience reinforced my belief that getting to know people can open doors that stereotypes keep closed.
It’s why Texas will be the starting point for the television series I’m developing from OUT with Fiona, eventually taking these stories of kindness, courage, and connection across America.
Love actually is all around
Remember the opening scene of the 2003 film Love Actually, with people embracing at Heathrow Airport? Families, friends, and lovers reunited, delighted simply to be together.
It gets me every time.
That everyday love is why I’m so grateful to my dear friend Ben Greene for creating Good Queer News and inviting me to share this story. His commitment to celebrating LGBTQIA2S+ lives feels beautifully aligned with what I’m building.
Difficult stories matter, but so do kindness, courage, laughter, and love.
Last Tuesday, someone asked how I was feeling. “I feel like I can finally breathe again,” I replied.
There had been an undertone of anxiety for so long, even while I continued believing in people’s goodness.
I often think about flying through dark, stormy clouds before emerging into brilliant sunshine. The sunshine was there all along, even when I couldn’t see it.
That’s how I feel about goodness. It’s not something I have to hope exists. I know it always does.
Wicket shares that belief in being present. When I asked what gives him hope, he spoke about focusing on what he can do today: helping a student, making someone laugh, becoming a little better than yesterday.
“Let me just enjoy being in the now,” he said.
I love that. Goodness isn’t only something we’re working toward. It’s happening right now, in conversations, celebrations, friendships, and ordinary acts of kindness.
So here I am today, writing about airplanes while sitting on one!
A stranger’s decision to say hello led to a friendship, a beautiful birthday celebration, and the first episode of OUT with Fiona.
And I can’t wait to see where the next conversation takes us.
Come curious. Leave connected. 🌈
Love always,
Fiona xo
Watch OUT with Fiona and subscribe on YouTube!
Discover the documentary WICKET:
https://www.wicketdocumentary.com
This post made me very nostalgic for Austin, TX, where I lived in 1985.