ALL IN THE NAME. Locals Chance Smith, right, and Travis Gorell, left, recently launched their podcast, Small Town Big Gays, discussing their lives as openly queer men in a small city. (Image via YouTube)

The LGBTQ+ community is often depicted living fabulously in big cities. But a new local podcast asks: “But what about the rest of us?”

Small Town Big Gays, hosted by Chance Smith and Travis Gorell (aka local drag performer Khloe Wold) released its first episode on Nov. 15. “It’s something I’d been wanting to do for a while,” Chance explained. “And then Travis brought it up organically, and we kind of ran from there.”

At its core, Small Town Big Gays is Chance and Travis discussing life as openly queer men in a small city. “We really want people to see that queer people aren’t a cultural monolith,” Chance said. “We talk about starting a queer trapshooting league, for example.”

While the podcast isn’t dominated by discussing mature subjects, it is explicit and certainly not for kids. “I think straight people are really reserved and serious when they talk about sex,” Chance said. Travis added that, “Queer spaces can offer everyone a chance for a few less inhibitions.”

The first episode is primarily spent discussing their early periods of coming out, different levels of acceptance in their respective families and communities, and early experiences. Travis and Chance offer vulnerable insights and a close-to-home portrayal of coming out in small-town America.

“The queer community has grown a lot in the last decade,” Travis said. “I remember when the annual Pride celebration was just a little thing in Braun’s Bay beach.” Chance added that “Eau Claire has always been a pretty welcoming place to queer people, and the acceptance of drag performances has only gotten more popular in recent years.”

While the podcast isn’t dominated by discussing mature subjects, it is explicit and certainly not for kids. “I think straight people are really reserved and serious when they talk about sex,” Chance said. Travis added that, “Queer spaces can offer everyone a chance for a few less inhibitions.”

“The episodes have an ‘Ask Khloe’ section where we’ll answer people’s questions,” Travis said. “So we really want people to write in so I can give some terrible advice.” The two are starting small, but hope to gain broader visibility. “There’s small towns all across America, and queer people in all of them,” Chance added.

Small Town Big Gays uploads new episodes on Fridays, available anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Keep up with the podcast on Instagram and visit its Linktr.ee to find more.