Going to therapy is a sign of strength, not weakness. Our paid partner BetterHelp makes therapy simple, with 10% off your first month to help you get started: https://betterhelp.com/happyhealthyhomo

Find Michael Pezzullo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelpezzullolmft

What does it really mean to be “sex positive”? And has the movement actually gone too far? 🌈

This week on Happy Healthy Homo, we sit down with therapist Michael Pezzullo (He/Him), a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist specializing in LGBTQ+ mental health, trauma, and chemsex. Together we dive into some of the toughest but most important conversations for gay men today: sexual trauma, the chemsex scene, ketamine-assisted therapy, and how we can reclaim masculinity in a healthy, authentic way.

Michael also shares how trauma shows up uniquely in gay men’s lives, why so many avoid reaching out for help, and what real healing can look like.

If you’ve ever wondered where sex positivity ends and self-destruction begins — or how we can build healthier relationships with sex, masculinity, and ourselves — this episode is for you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feeling overwhelmed? Us too. In this episode, Keegan & Joel break down the difference between stress, overwhelm, and burnout and why so many of us are stuck in the messy middle right now. From constant notifications to comparison culture, cost of living stress to queer emotional labour, it’s no wonder life feels like too much.

We share our own stories of hitting breaking point, what actually helps us cope (and what definitely doesn’t), and why “just do yoga” isn’t the whole answer. Think practical tips, honest laughs, and a reminder that if you’re overwhelmed, you’re not broken—you’re just human.

✨ Highlights include:

Stress vs. overwhelm vs. burnout (and how to spot the difference)

Why modern life feels impossible sometimes

Coping strategies that actually work (and the BS ones we’ve tried)

The queer side of overwhelm—extra layers nobody talks about

🎧 Tune in for real talk, practical tools, and a little less FOMO.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grief, romance, and a father with a surprising secret — James Patrick Nelson’s award-winning TV pilot For Years to Come dives deep into the messy, beautiful complexity of queer life. In this episode of Happy Healthy Homo, we talk about rewriting queer narratives, balancing joy and trauma on screen, and why telling our own stories matters now more than ever. From the Off-Broadway stage to indie film festivals, James shares his creative journey, the challenges of making authentic queer art, and how embracing his identity changed everything.

🎬 Watch the Trailer for "For Years to Come" here: https://youtu.be/jMrHzo03fxE?si=EXxBSqcsdEu3VILF

Follow James here: https://www.instagram.com/jamespatricknelson

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Going to therapy is a sign of strength, not weakness. Our paid partner BetterHelp makes therapy simple, with 10% off your first month to help you get started: https://betterhelp.com/happyhealthyhomo

We talk Botox, burnout, and botched jobs—and yes, he tells us exactly what work he’d do to our faces 👀

From the emotional toll of working through COVID to building a booming aesthetics business, Jonny gets real about mental health, beauty standards, and what not to do with filler.

✨ Expect skincare tips, aesthetic red flags, and the ultimate question: are we tweakment material?

🎧 Listen now for:

– What he'd do to Keegan’s face (it's… specific)

– How to spot bad work

– Skincare that actually works

– The pressure of being a gay man in a beauty-obsessed industry

– And why looking “done” isn’t the flex people think it is

You can find Dr Jonny here:

https://jbaesthetics.com/

https://www.instagram.com/drjb.aesthetics/?hl=en

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re joined by award-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ungers, the creative force behind Shape — a bold, unflinching look at body image, masculinity, and identity in gay culture.

We dive into the real conversations behind the glossy Instagram feeds:

– Why so many gay men feel pressure to look a certain way

– How racism, ageism, and toxic masculinity show up in queer spaces

– What it’s like making indie queer films with limited support and big ambition

– And why Roger believes representation has to get more honest

Roger shares the behind-the-scenes process of making Shape, the personal stories that inspired it, and what he hopes it sparks in the queer community.

If you’ve ever felt like you don’t "fit the mould," this one’s for you.

Roger's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rogerthatpictures

Watch the trailer for Shape here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeYEwSetW-8

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Going to therapy is a sign of strength, not weakness. Our paid partner BetterHelp makes therapy simple, with 10% off your first month to help you get started: https://betterhelp.com/happyhealthyhomo

This week we’re joined by husbands, homemakers, and content creators Toby & Mikey — better known as ⁨@Tobyshome⁩ You’ve probably swooned over their stunning interiors and cosy online presence… but behind the perfect posts was a very different reality.

We talk about their big move from rural life to London, the mental health struggles that followed, Mikey’s recent health scare, and what it’s really like to build a brand (and a life) together online. From burnout and boundaries to balance and breakthroughs, this one gets real.

🎙️ Topics include:

– Moving to London and starting over

– Navigating mental health as a couple

– The pressure of perfection on social media

– Working together without losing yourself

– What it takes to show up authentically online

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You asked — we finally answered. In this tell-all Q&A, we’re diving into everything: Are we getting married? How do we really feel about open relationships and cheating? What habits drive us absolutely crazy? And what are the things we’ve never shared publicly… until now?

From playful banter (yes, we tackle the "Is Keegan a giant or is Joel just tiny?" debate) to the most personal corners of our relationship, this episode is full of honesty, laughs, and a few surprises we didn’t plan on sharing.

Whether you’ve been with us from the start or you’re just tuning in, this one’s raw, real, and 100% us. 💕

🎧 Grab your favorite drink and come hang — it’s a good one.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Going to therapy is a sign of strength, not weakness. Our paid partner BetterHelp makes therapy simple, with 10% off your first month to help you get started: https://betterhelp.com/happyhealthyhomo

Welcome to Season 5 of Happy Healthy Homo hosted by Keegan Hirst and Joel Wood. Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, it'd really help us out: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/welcome-to-happy-healthy-homo/id1677092370?i=1000604110054

This week we're getting fired up about Pride and the companies that have done a runner when things got too real. We're talking about the companies who were all rainbow logos last year but mysteriously went silent this Pride month.

We chat about the statistic that 39% of Fortune 500 companies pulled back their Pride support this year, why Trump's election has made everyone scared of being "too woke," and how Pride feels more like the protest it started as rather than the party it became.

Joel opens up about going back to therapy because of Keegan's heart condition, while Keegan gets passionate about why some gay people are distancing themselves from trans issues when we should be standing together.

We also give massive props to the brands that actually showed up, from Boots smashing it to train companies wrapping entire trains in rainbow colours, and an exciting announcement about Leeds Pride!

Plus we get into what real allyship looks like when it's not trendy, why supporting queer owned businesses matters more than ever, and what it really means to be part of our community in 2025.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.