Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Simeon

Hi Michael, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

My name is Michael Simeon and I go by BlackGayComicGeek on social media. The way I got started in creating content and becoming “BlackGayComicGeek,” is a friend of mine at the time went to go see “John Wick 2,” that friend also was running his own podcast, and his co-hosts were away on vacation, and after we saw the movie, he said he enjoyed it so much that he wanted to talk about and review it on his podcast and asked if I was interested in coming on as a guest. I had never done anything like that before, but I was interested and so I said “Yes.” The episode aired on Feb. 20, 2017 and that was my first time putting my opinion out to the public or doing anything of that sort. I was going by “Nephilim_Rising010” on Instagram at the time. Back then I was pursuing being an actor. I received my degree in Theatre Performance from Florida A&M University, and that’s what I thought my trajectory was, but the universe had a different plan. After that episode like a month later I was asked to return and be a permanent co-host and I discovered a new love and passion and a different way to entertain people outside of acting and eventually I created the “BlackGayComicGeek” persona and started making my own videos as well, because there were things I was interested in talking about that the showrunner wasn’t, and then eventually due to Covid the podcast kind of dissolved after that, but I kept building and growing, and here I am.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

The road is never smooth. Potholes always develop along the way. One of the biggest hurdles as a content creator is you are subject to the whims of the algorithm. It doesn’t matter how much effort you put into something or how many followers you have, or how good you might think a video is, the algorithm is going to do what it does. So I notice a lot of times because I have “Gay” in my name my videos will often get flagged in the algorithm, not pushed out to even my own followers, because of things like that, which has often caused me to debate whether I should change my name or not. Even if you look at the hashtag “gaygeek” on Tiktok that hashtag has been removed/banned for some reason. Why? I don’t know. Also and a more obvious answer, being a black gay comic geek, you deal with racism and homophobia from white people, you deal with homophobia from black people. So there are multiple potholes along the way when you put yourself out there in the public, and people have this idea that because you’re putting yourself out there that you should just be able to accept rude comments. Like yes, I understand it can come with the territory, but that also doesn’t mean I should just accept it.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

My name is Michael Simeon and I go by BlackGayComicGeek on the internet and I am a media personality pop culture critic. I review movies, tv shows, videogames, comic books, sometimes regular novels from a black gay perspective. I always say the things that I love to talk about has “Blood, S*x, Gore, and Magick” and any variation of the four. So I love to talk about superheroes, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, etc. The thing that sets me apart is sure there are black reviewers and even some queer reviewers, but I don’t see a lot of Black queer reviewers and yet there are a lot of black queer nerds and our perspective and voice is valid and deserves to be heard. So I’m hoping to open the door for that to happen.

What does success mean to you?

The obvious answer of how I define success is being able to financially support myself with the chosen career and to not be struggling to keep a roof over my head. More importantly though I define success in also creating a lasting legacy. I’ve gotten messages from people thanking me for my videos, thanking me for being authentically and unapologetically me, and by me being me without filter has allowed them to be more comfortable in themselves. I had a young woman come up to me a few weeks ago saying that she’s always wanted to do what I do, but she didn’t think she’d be able to because she didn’t think anyone wanted to hear from a black lesbian, but because of my videos, because of the small amount of success that I’ve garnered she sees it’s possible and it gave her the strength to start making content. That to me is success and something I want to continue to build upon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://the-safe-gayven-store.creator-spring.com/?_ga=2.86541208.1809139028.1718647824-650952107.1718647823&_gl=1*1i1bc8f*_gcl_au*MTMxNzA3MjcxMi4xNzE4NjQ3ODIzLjgxNTE0NjAxNy4xNzE4NjQ3ODI3LjE3MTg2NDc4MjY.*_ga*NjUwOTUyMTA3LjE3MTg2NDc4MjM.*_ga_PKGJ770MJQ*MTcxODY0NzgyMy4xLjEuMTcxODY0NzgzNy4wLjAuMA..*_ga_G3GKJFR6Z9*MTcxODY0NzgyMy4xLjEuMTcxODY0NzgzNi40Ny4wLjA.
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgaycomicgeek
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackgaycomicgeek
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/blackgaycomicg
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/blackgaycomicgeek