Interview: Gay Youtube twins Aaron and Austin Rhodes

Meet the gorgeous twins who captivated the world when they came out to their father online. And you’ll never guess what happened next…

Earlier this year, Aaron and Austin Rhodes told their father that they were both gay. But unlike most of us, who probably would have chosen to share our news in private, these handsome chaps made their announcement on video and then went on to share it with their 67,000 YouTube subscribers:

Within hours of it being uploaded, the video went viral and has now been viewed over 18 million times (jeepers!) and turned the fellas into not only global superstars but inspirational role models to kids going through the same angst. We caught up with Aaron to chat about that video and to find out more about the boys who captivated the world…

The video you came out to your father in has gone down a storm! What made you decide to film your coming out? Were you not worried about his reaction?

We were very worried about his reaction, but we wanted to show people the experience in the hope that it would inspire them to make that leap like we did and be comfortable with themselves, whether the reaction be good or bad. We had been hiding our sexual identity from our viewers for quite some time and we just
wanted to start the new year in a very honest way.

You said you’d already come out to your mum and friends – was your father the last and most important person to tell?

Yes, our father was the last person to tell. I wouldn’t say most important, because telling both of our parents was very important to us, but it was definitely more scary telling him. We were afraid he would think differently of us, but you know, that wasn’t the case at all and it felt so good.

What kind of reactions did you have from your subscribers – did you inspire others to do the same?

The reaction was so overwhelmingly positive. We got emails from people around the world, from countries we’d never even heard of, saying that we had inspired them to make that jump like we did and be open with their loved ones.

Going back, when did you tell each other that you were both gay? Did you suspect? Who was the first to broach the subject?

We told each other when we were seniors in high school at 17. We suspected a little bit that we might both be gay because our interests were so similar, but we would quickly dismiss the idea because the thought of both coming out some day scared us so much. I was the first to bring it up. We went to lunch one day and I just decided to tell him. After doing so, Austin told me about himself and we quickly started bonding about it. It was a little awkward at first, but it was really cool to finally have someone to talk to and relate to  so vividly.

How was school for you? Were you ever bullied?

School for us was alright. We moved to our town in the sixth grade, so being those new kids, we quickly became targets for bullies. Throughout middle school we were harassed and name-called every day because they had suspected us of being gay. It was terrible. We would literally try to find new ways to go to our classes every day so we could try to avoid the hurtful words being yelled at us in the hallways. My mom always taught us to be the bigger person and stand strong, so that’s what we did. Eventually it stopped and as we moved into high school everyone matured and things got so much better. We actually became friends with some of them.

How did you get started – was there a YouTube star that inspired you?

I think they all inspired us. YouTube is like a big family that connects so many different people from around the world. That’s what really got us interested. But we actually got started with the help of our friend Davey Wavey on YouTube. He showed us everything we needed to know about the platform and passed on his knowledge on how to have a successful channel. YouTube has changed everything for us in such an amazing way. It’s given us a platform to share our story and touch people’s lives. To be
that person that young people can look up to.

Do you think you have an important role to play in helping young gay guys feel okay about coming out?

I think so, yeah. We gave them hope that not all experiences are bad. I think a lot of times people publicise the negative, but with our story we let them know that there are people out there that will love them no matter what. If not their family, ours will. 

What advice would you give young guys about coming out?

To create a support group around yourself. If you’re afraid of someone’s reaction, before telling them, find people – friends, co-workers, cousins etc – that will accept you and be there for you to fall back on if the experience is negative. But even if it is, I promise you that you will feel a million times better about life. It is such a liberating feeling to know people know the real you and you don’t have to hide yourself any more.

You can read our full interview with the Rhodes twins, plus much more, in the new issue of aTEEN – Attitude’s special digital magazine for young LGBT people. Grab your copy now from Pocketmags.com/aTEEN.