We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Simeon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?
The first time I got paid as a creative was in the Fall of 2020. I was one year into making videos on Youtube and the show “Lovecraft Country” came out on Youtube and I was reviewing and talking about every episode. Reviewing that show really blew up my Youtube Channel, and before “Lovecraft Country” I didn’t meet the requirements yet to monetize my channel. That quickly changed thanks to that show and I eventually received my first over $100 check just from making videos and I was like wow, can this hopefully turn into a lucrative and sustainable career? I was definitely excited by that.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Michael Simeon and I’m simply a guy that likes other guys and enjoys talking about nerd stuff. I go by the name BlackGayComicGeek on social media and I always say the things I love to talk about on my channels has “Blood, S*x, Gore, and Magick” or any variation of the four and I talk about those things from a Black Queer perspective. Which is a perspective I definitely feel is needed and lacking in this social media review space. Most reviewers are straight white men and then when you do see reviewers of color they’re also virtually all straight. My mission statement is to provide voice to the voiceless, queer nerds, especially queer nerds of color, black queer nerds, we’ve been here. My motto is “Make It Blacker! Make It Gayer!” We too are fans of Marvel, DC, anime, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Game of Thrones, horror movies, etc and our perspective doesn’t often get voiced. That’s why I open up every video I do by saying “Welcome to my Safe Gayven!” I want queer people and their allies to know this is a space for us.
I started getting into this space because someone I knew had a podcast at the time, and one day he asked me to be a one time guest. We spoke about and reviewed John Wick 2. After that episode he then asked me to come back on, and then I returned again and again and again until I became a permanent co-host. We eventually stopped recording when Covid hit and I branched off and started my own brand name. It was because of that podcast that I discovered this new love of content creation and reviewing movies, tv shows, comics, etc and I hope to continue to do this full time forever.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My main mission and why I do what I do outside of my joy and love of it is to simply be the person and representation I wish I had growing up. Some people don’t realize how much representation matters and through representation it equal normalization. When I was a teenager growing up, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my obsession. However one of my biggest criticisms of the show was Buffy didn’t any black friends. There are barely any main black characters in Sunnydale. So one day I ended up joining a roleplaying site called “Demonic Darla,” based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where you would create your own character based off the rules of the show. So as I previously mentioned during that time there were barely any black characters, let alone black main character on Buffy, and not just Buffy, but most of the sci-fi fantasy shows at that time did not have black leading characters: Xena, Hercules, Charmed, Roswell, Dark Angel, etc, and if they did none of them were powerful, the chosen one, the protectors, etc. So because I did not see myself, the character I created, even though he was basically me as a warlock, I made the choice to make him white, because in a world of vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness I thought it was more unrealistic for a black warlock to exist. It’s one of my biggest creative regrets and something I take with me everyday going back to my mission statement of being who I wished I saw growing up.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for me, even though I’m not full time yet, and hopefully one day will be, is that I have been able to create my own lane, create my own community of black queer nerds and allies. Simply by being my authentic self I’ve been able to create my own pathway and road that was virtually unpaved. Interestingly enough more people know me from my catch phrase “Welcome to my Safe Gayven,” than they know my actual name and screen name, and honestly I think that’s create because that means the catch phrase hit them, it means something to them, and it left an indelible mark on them. To me that is rewarding, because as I said previously representation equals normalization. Receiving messages from people of all ages thanking me for simply being me and creating the type of content that I do, people saying that not only have I helped them come to terms with their own sexuality, but also embrace their inner nerd, get more into comics and fantasy. I find that to be both very humbling, but also reassuring that I’ve found my calling in this world and I hope to continue to live in it and grow in it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackgaycomicgeek
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackgaycomicgeek
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/blackgaycomicg
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/blackgaycomicgeek
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@blackgaycomicgeek Merch Store https://the-safe-gayven-store.creator-spring.com