In Episode 29 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, hosts Jack Higgins and Ozzie Luna sit down with “Rugby Daddy” himself, longtime New-York City rugby lifer (and Gotham Knights legend) Kevin Healy, for a conversation that pulls back the curtain on the early days of gay and inclusive rugby, when there was no Instagram, no Tinder, just sweaty post-game beers, in-person recruiting, and a handful of shirts passed around the pitch.

Over two decades playing for Gotham Knights RFC: one of the founding clubs of International Gay Rugby (IGR) in the United States. Kevin witnessed first-hand how gay rugby went from underground whispers to international tournaments like the Bingham Cup. But this isn’t just nostalgia. As “Rugby Daddy,” Healy turned his love for the sport and his affection for the community into a print-on-demand merch company helping inclusive rugby teams fundraise, build identity, and support players.

On this episode he shows us his shirt designs, and talks about how merch became a lifeline for teams across the IGR network.We dig deep into the taboo and the tenderness of dating teammates, a reality some have lived, few have spoken about. We talk love and loyalty, identity and passion, the unspoken rituals of the locker room, and why being on a rugby team can feel like finding a home.

Whether you’re a seasoned rucker, a curious newcomer, or someone who just wants to see what happens when toughness meets tenderness; tune in. This isn’t just about sport. It’s about belonging.

There’s a certain poetry to how someone ends up in rugby without ever planning to touch the pitch. For Eric Anderson, it started the day his husband joined the local team in Los Angeles and Eric, who’d never played a minute, walked into the Rebellion’s orbit and somehow wound up running the whole thing. On Episode 28 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, Jack Higgins and Ozzy Luna sit down with Eric, now President of the Los Angeles Rebellion Rugby Club and part of the team behind Rugby LA, to talk about what it’s like to inherit a sport through love and build a community through intention.We get into the real stuff: how a partner’s weekend hobby morphed into a full-blown commitment to inclusive rugby in Los Angeles, what it means to lead one of the most visible LGBTQ+ rugby clubs in the country, and why the Rebellion has become a touchstone for queer athletes looking for a place to land. Eric also breaks down the work going into the upcoming Rucktacular Rugby Tournament in Palm Springs on December 13th, including a first-of-its-kind non-binary and trans-inclusive rugby match that’s pushing the sport forward in a way traditional leagues haven’t dared to.This episode touches on the entire ecosystem of queer rugby - from the Rebellion’s growth to the culture around International Gay Rugby, the Bingham Cup, community rugby in LA, and the broader movement to make full-contact sport accessible to every body. It’s the kind of conversation that reminds you how these clubs aren’t just teams; they’re survival networks, social circles, and accidental families.If you’ve ever wondered how someone becomes the face of a rugby club before ever lacing up boots - this is your episode.

Tom Goss brings the room to a hush before he makes it sing. We caught him with the band for a full live set and a wide-ranging interview that cuts under the surface of a queer music career, the songs that make crowds cheer, the parts of gay life only other gay men sing about, and why a single track like Bears can mean more than a chorus. Tom’s been turning honest storytelling into sing-along anthems for years; he’s toured, headlined pride stages, and built a quiet, fierce audience by telling simple truths. This episode moves between performance and conversation: acoustic confessions, band arrangements, and a talk about community; from the bear subculture to how queer musicians carve space on and off stage. If you want notes on how to find queer music near me, Tom Goss live set, or what it’s like to be a gay musician touring, listen for the full performance and the moments where Tom explains why visibility and joy matter. We also dig into practical bits for listeners: where to catch Tom on tour, what tracks to start with if you’re new to his music, and why live queer music scenes still feel like the best kind of resistance. If you searched gay singer songwriter, Tom Goss full set, queer artists live performance, or LGBTQ music podcast, this is the episode that answers those searches with songs and stories from within both the Rugby and Bear communities.

Lelo Adult Toys - Black Friday Sale | Save an additional 20% off already amazing deals by using code GRP20 at checkouthttps://www.lelo.com/Kevyn Fong doesn’t do small talk. The LA comedian came by the Gay Rugby Podcast and immediately started asking the questions everyone avoids — what actually happens when you join a gay rugby team, and what’s it like living inside that community once you’re in it?This episode sits somewhere between a locker room and a group therapy session. We talk about identity, masculinity, hookup culture, and how an inclusive rugby club becomes more than just a place to play. It’s a raw look at what it means to show up queer in a sport that still wears toughness like armor.Kevyn pushes us into uncomfortable territory — the gay rugby confessions we don’t always say out loud: dating within the team, the tension between competition and community, and the weird beauty of finding family on the field. If you’ve ever searched how to join gay rugby, LGBTQ rugby podcast, queer rugby stories, or just gay sports community LA, you’ll get why this conversation hits different.We also talk about the scene in Los Angeles gay rugby, from local clubs like Rebellion Rugby to the underground crossover between comedy and rugby LA. It’s funny, honest, and a little unhinged; the way good conversations should be.Subscribe to the Gay Rugby Podcast for more stories from inside the queer rugby community. Try Popstar today and use the code RUGBY for 20% off your first orderhttps://www.popstarlabs.com/rugby

On this week’s Halloween-themed episode of The Gay Rugby Podcast, we’re diving into the ridiculous, creative, and occasionally questionable world of rugby sevens fan costumes. From diehards who commit fully to a theme to those who look like they got dressed in the dark before kickoff, we’re ranking them all; not out of judgment, but appreciation for the spectacle that happens when sport collides with personality.This episode isn’t about who wore it best; it’s about how expression shows up in the stands. Rugby has always been about grit and teamwork, but there’s something special about seeing fans bring humor, camp, and individuality to the sidelines. Whether it’s a full-blown character transformation or a last-minute prop situation, each look tells a story about confidence, identity, and the culture that’s grown within inclusive rugby.We break down how costume can turn a tournament into a performance, how fans use it to subvert expectations, and how the queer rugby community finds joy and freedom in moments that might seem ridiculous to outsiders. This is the kind of episode that reminds you why sport can be more than a game; it’s a stage, a celebration, and sometimes, a drag show with a whistle.Subscribe to The Gay Rugby Podcast for new episodes every week!

Downtown Los Angeles was pulsing with color when we set up our mics at DTLA Proud Festival. The air was thick with basslines, drag queens strutted past the fountains at Pershing Square, and somewhere between the main stage and a churro stand, we spoke with actor and activist Milton Darnell Smith, a man who carries pride in his bones. This is Episode 24 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, and it’s all about diversity, visibility, and what it means to belong.Milton’s energy is magnetic. He talks about his roots in the church, the grind of becoming an actor in Hollywood, and the urgency of creating space for queer joy, not just on stage, but in everyday life. Sitting with him, it felt like we were talking to someone who’s lived a dozen lives and somehow managed to stay open-hearted through them all. He embodies what inclusive sports and queer culture both aim for: a world where authenticity doesn’t have to be negotiated.DTLA Proud, now a staple of Los Angeles Pride season, has become more than just a festival, it’s a mirror for what queer LA looks like right now. There’s sweat, laughter, flirtation, activism, and art happening all at once. It’s a love letter to the city’s LGBTQ+ heartbeat, where the rugby field and the dance floor somehow share the same rhythm. Standing there with Milton, surrounded by thousands of people celebrating who they are, we couldn’t help but feel like this is exactly what we’ve been talking about all season: inclusion that moves from words to action.We talk about inclusive sports culture, the gay rugby community, LGBTQ pride in Los Angeles, and how events like DTLA Proud push conversations forward. Milton opens up about his creative journey, his advocacy work, and the ways he’s seen representation shift in Hollywood. It’s an interview that feels both intimate and electric; part festival recap, part cultural checkpoint, part love letter to the people who show up as themselves, no matter the space.DTLA Proud isn’t just another Pride festival; it’s a reminder that inclusion isn’t something we talk about once a year; it’s something we live. From the rugby pitch to downtown LA’s streets, from athlete activism to queer storytelling, this episode is a snapshot of a movement in motion.

Rugby has its own language. Every scrum, ruck, and knock-on carries meaning, rhythm, and history. In this episode of The Gay Rugby Podcast, hosts Jack Higgins and Ozzie Luna from Los Angeles Rebellion Rugby unpack the slang that runs through the sport — and what it says about identity, culture, and belonging.It’s part translation guide, part cultural study. The guys break down how rugby’s coded vocabulary connects players across continents while still leaving outsiders guessing. They look at how queer players make that language their own, and how inclusive rugby communities flip tradition into something more open, and a little more honest.The Gay Rugby Podcast is born from the scrums and sidelines of the Los Angeles Rebellion, an LGBTQ+ team that’s rewriting what toughness and teamwork look like. Each week, Jack and Ozzie talk rugby, queerness, and everything that happens in between; no filters, no PR polish.Stream the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Subscribe if you’re into rugby, language, or just good conversation that doesn’t pull its punches.

His decision didn’t just ripple, it detonated. In Episode 22 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, we sit down with R.K. Russell, the NFL player who, in a moment of courage and clarity, became one of the first active players to publicly identify as bisexual. What follows is equal parts locker-room confession, cultural reckoning, and hard-won tenderness: a story about leaving silence behind, about masculinity and vulnerability on the field, and about what it means to be bisexual in the NFL while still loving the game.R.K. brings the kind of candor that rewrites the playbook. He talks about the pressure cooker of professional sport, the complicated dance between team loyalty and personal truth, and why he believes representation matters for LGBTQ athletes who are still figuring out how to balance identity with ambition. This is essential listening for anyone searching “bisexual NFL player interview,” “coming out in pro sports,” or “what it’s like being queer in the NFL.”There’s a symmetry here we can’t ignore: rugby and football are cousins - collision sports that prize toughness, camaraderie, and ritual. On our show (born from the Los Angeles Rebellion Rugby community) we explore that overlap: how locker room culture shapes men, how inclusive sports can heal, and why queer players in both codes wrestle with similar stakes. If you care about inclusive rugby stories, bisexual athlete stories, or the future of LGBTQ representation in pro sports, turn this up.R.K. Russell tells his full story in his powerful memoir The Yards Between Us: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Football. It’s more than a sports book — it’s about identity, family, love, and what it costs to live authentically on the biggest stage in American sports. If you want to go deeper into his journey as the first openly bisexual NFL player, you can pick up The Yards Between Us wherever books are sold, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores.In this conversation you’ll hear R.K. Russell on mental health, activism, and the moment he decided to be public, plus practical messages for young athletes: how to come out as an athlete, how to navigate team dynamics, and how to find allies in sport. Subscribe to The Gay Rugby Podcast for more interviews that sit at the intersection of sport, identity, and community.

Episode 21 of The Gay Rugby Podcast - “When Did Pool Parties Become Boring? | Andrés Rigal & Summertramp” - finds us sitting down with longtime nightlife & event-producer Andrés Rigal, founder of SummerTramp and a co-organizer of DTLA Proud, to talk about the arc of queer pool parties in Los Angeles. Rigal reflects on the early days of SummerTramp, the gaps he saw in Los Angeles’s summer event landscape, and how those ideas shaped what SummerTramp was trying to build. We explore what has changed, crowd expectations, venue availability, creative ambition, and whether pool parties have lost their luster. We also dig into how SummerTramp has responded: its vibe, its message, and how authenticity and community stay central even as the scene evolves.You’ll hear about the history of SummerTramp parties: how in 2010 Andrés Rigal noticed that pool events in DTLA weren’t delivering the joy or inclusivity he wanted, and how that prompted him to create something different. The landscape of queer nights, poolside spectacles, and summer culture has shifted since then, and this episode asks: do we need to do more than resurrect nostalgia—do we need to reshape what a queer summer party can be in 2025?

Episode 20 of The Gay Rugby Podcast drops us right into the middle of DTLA Proud Festival 2025, recorded on August 24 at Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles. The episode features Richard Suarez-Tascon of Rebellion Rugby, where he helps lead alumni and RugBAE engagement, and the conversation zeroes in on the rivalry and shared DNA between rugby culture in New York City and Los Angeles.With the festival celebrating its tenth year of LGBTQ+ community and pride in Los Angeles, the setting underscores the larger conversation: why inclusive rugby matters, how grassroots clubs in LA have taken shape, and what lessons can be learned from New York’s long-standing tradition of gay rugby. Richard speaks from his perspective with Rebellion Rugby about the challenges of building visibility in sports and the opportunities for connection across cities and communities.The episode captures the energy of two different rugby worlds colliding, one built in the intensity of New York, the other shaped by the laid-back sprawl of Los Angeles, while tying it back to the bigger picture of representation and belonging in the game.

Episode 19 of The Gay Rugby Podcast features Lauren Doyle, a former USA Women’s Rugby Sevens star and three-time Olympian who represented Team USA in Rio, Tokyo, and Paris. Doyle opens up about what happens when the Olympic dream ends, the adrenaline fades, the medals go into storage, and suddenly you’re left facing the world outside of sport. She speaks openly about the post-Olympic blues, the mental health struggles athletes face after retirement, and the disorienting shift of entering the workforce with no experience beyond the game.But this is also the story of Doyle’s life beyond rugby. She reflects on coming out as a lesbian athlete, how she told her family, and what it meant to compete as a gay woman in rugby at the highest level. Doyle shares her connection with teammate Ilona Maher, the power of LGBTQ+ visibility in sport, and the way identity off the field can be just as defining as performance on it.This conversation isn’t just about rugby, it’s about resilience, identity, and the cost of chasing greatness. If you’ve ever wondered what life after the Olympics really looks like, or how athletes navigate the intersection of mental health, sexuality, and elite sport, Lauren Doyle offers a rare, unfiltered look.

Pride as a Form of Protest” isn’t just a rallying cry - it’s the reason DTLA Proud exists. Formed as a more diverse, grassroots response to the mainstream West Hollywood Pride, the festival brings queer culture back to the center of Los Angeles with intention and bite.In this episode of The Gay Rugby Podcast, filmed live at DTLA Proud festival 2025, we talk with Eric Solis and his husband Dennis Caasi about why Pride still matters as activism. Eric - a longtime organizer and creative producer - traces the roots of LGBTQ activism in Los Angeles, while Dennis dives into the behind-the-scenes work of building an event that’s equal parts joy and queer protest tactics.From the history of Pride protests to the tension between Pride visibility and gentrification, this conversation shows how DTLA Proud has become more than just another festival | it’s a stage for culture, politics, and radical visibility. Recorded near Olvera Street, the birthplace of the city, the episode connects past and present: Stonewall to Silver Lake, marches to music, rugby to resistance.

In Episode 17 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, we pull charts, pull no punches, and let LA stand-up Kevin Sullivan read the scrum like it’s written in the stars. From Aries flankers who live for collision to dreamy Pisces fullbacks who can’t stop chasing the offload, we map out rugby zodiac signs with a wink, a whistle, and a little queer magic. Kevin (an openly gay comic you’ve seen around the Hollywood Improv and on the Two Broke Gays pod) drops into our locker room to talk astrology, identity, and why inclusive rugby keeps rewriting the playbook. If you’re here for LGBTQ sports stories, queer athletes, and the wild overlap between astrology and rugby culture, this one’s your new north star.

We talk inclusive rugby, how clubs like LA Rebellion turn game day into community, and why astrology somehow explains everything from World Rugby news to the weirdly accurate rugby memes clogging your feed. Along the way, Sullivan drops stories that make the huddle feel more like a late-night set at the Hollywood Improv.

If you’re here for LGBTQ sports, queer athletes, and the overlap between comedy, rugby, and astrology-you’ve found the right podcast. Episode 17 isn’t just a conversation, it’s a reminder that the game’s always been bigger than the scoreboard.

From dating app dopamine to locker room breakdowns, the messy overlap of rugby and mental health. Episode 16 of The Gay Rugby Podcast is less polished highlight reel and more raw post-match debrief. We dig into using dating apps for validation and rugby and mental health, pulling no punches on how those late-night swipes blur into dating app addiction, how the highs of a “like” hit feel like a dopamine loop, and why those same patterns leave players limping emotionally by Monday practice.We ask the uncomfortable question: is this toxic behavior? The answer takes us back to the childhood, where trauma first wired us to chase approval and into the present, where we mask it with locker room jokes and humor as a coping mechanism.The conversation sprawls out like an open pitch: seeking validation online, online dating burnout, the weight of hookup culture burnout, and how gay men’s mental health too often gets hidden behind “I’m fine, mate.” We talk queer masculinity, body image in the gay community, and the uneasy marriage between sports culture and toxic masculinity. Rugby is supposed to be an escape, but the algorithm follows you onto the field, whispering about abs, likes, and worth.But this isn’t just a therapy session in boots. It’s strategy talk: carving out space for LGBTQ athletes’ mental health, building mental fitness for rugby players, and exploring what it looks like to attempt a dating app dopamine detox or rewire toxic dating patterns. We’re finding scrums of support in the queer rugby community-proof that identity runs deeper than algorithms, and recovery can be a team sport.

An Olympic rugby prop eats like it’s a full-time job. For Episode 15, Elliot Norris joins us on The Gay Rugby Podcast to find out what it really takes to get through a day on that kind of fuel.We hand him the daily meal plan built for an elite front-rower: thousands of calories spread across precision-timed meals, heavy carb loads before training, protein spikes after, and recovery shakes that taste like ambition mixed with chalk dust. It’s a diet designed to keep a body anchored at the heart of an Olympic scrum.Elliot approaches it with equal parts curiosity and skepticism. He’s no stranger to eating on camera, his own audience knows him for high-energy food content and an unfiltered personality, but this is another level. We set the table, roll the mics, and watch as the lines blur between mukbang spectacle and candid conversation.In between bites, Elliot talks about his life as a content creator with a massive online following: the balancing act between being “on” for the camera and staying grounded, the grind of turning creativity into a career, and the surprising ways food bridges the gap between his world and ours. There are moments of laughter, deadpan honesty, and a few long silences when the sheer volume of food demands all his focus.The Gay Rugby Podcast has always been about more than the sport-it’s about the people who make it what it is, and the stories that unfold where sport collides with real life. This time, the backdrop just happens to be a mountain of food and a guest willing to take on a completely different kind of challenge.If you’ve ever wondered what an Olympic rugby prop eats in a day, or wanted a front-row seat to the intersection of elite athletic routines and internet-era storytelling, this episode serves it up-messy, human, and honest.

The Gay Rugby Podcast dives headfirst into the chaos surrounding the Run It Straight Challenge reaction, peeling back the layers of a viral trend that’s become as controversial as it is captivating. Episode 14 doesn’t hold back-we talk about the brutal clips flooding feeds, the adrenaline‑hungry crowds, and the moment it all turned dark in New Zealand after a young man’s death.The conversation moves from laughter to unease as we ask the question no one in rugby wants to touch: has New Zealand, the sport’s spiritual home, turned rugby into a sideshow? Watching those run it straight rugby reaction videos feels like scrolling through modern gladiator games-raw hits, bone‑jarring collisions, fans egging it on like it’s entertainment. And then there’s the fallout: the run it straight challenge controversy, the whispers of blame, and the headlines that made the world wonder what went too far.We talk about the ugly beauty of the game, the way Kiwi rugby culture has always flirted with danger, and how this viral craze-these run it straight challenge highlights-pushes the boundary between passion and recklessness. We break down footage, swap stories from the LGBTQ+ rugby scene, and wrestle with the uncomfortable reality of watching young players throw themselves into each other with no padding, no plan, and too often, no way back.It’s messy. It’s emotional. It’s the kind of rugby reaction video that won’t leave you with easy answers-and maybe that’s the point.

Jack Higgins and Ozzie Luna just got back from Boston with bruises, stories, and a hangover or two, and they’re spilling it all on Episode 13 of the Gay Rugby Podcast. The NORAM Cup isn’t just another weekend of rugby - it’s the beating heart of the gay and inclusive rugby community, a mash‑up of bone‑crunching tackles, sideline laughter, and late‑night socials that feel more like a family reunion than a sporting event.In this episode, they unpack exactly what happens at a rugby tournament when you throw together teams from across North America under the banner of International Gay Rugby. From pool play battles and knockout rounds to the electric buzz of the all‑trans match - only the third of its kind in history - the weekend pulsed with milestones. The Fog’s A‑side steamrolled through pool play and knock‑out rounds, ultimately defeating the Washington Renegades in the final to become North American champions-an achievement they proudly crowned on their website as “2025 North America (NORAM) Cup Champions”Jack and Ozzie paint the full picture - the pre‑match nerves, the post‑match beers, the camaraderie that lingers long after the final whistle. It’s a ground‑level look at the NORAM Cup that goes beyond scores and stats, showing why gay rugby tournaments have become some of the most welcoming, chaotic, and unforgettable weekends in sports.Whether you’ve laced up for a match yourself or just want to know what really goes down when hundreds of players and fans converge on one city, this episode gives you the inside story of an LGBTQ rugby tournament that proves the game is as much about community as it is about contact.

Dre’s been one of our teammates for years — but he’s also Mr. Mega Woof 2024, a staple in West Hollywood’s go-go scene, and one of the most magnetic performers we know. So when he invited us to learn a few moves, we showed up… completely unprepared.What started as a friendly tutorial turned into a full-on spectacle: a bunch of sweaty rugby players trying to keep up with a seasoned go-go dancer. There was glitter. There were body rolls. There were a few pulled hamstrings. And somehow, it turned into the most unexpectedly wholesome moment of queer team bonding we’ve ever had.This wasn’t a joke, and it definitely wasn’t just a gay dance challenge — this was the overlap of gay rugby culture, inclusive sports culture, and the kind of masculine dance challenge you don’t usually see outside of a late-night club in the Castro. And yeah, it turns out go-go dancing for beginners is way harder than it looks.You’ll see Dre Thee Cyborg dancing, coaching, roasting, and teaching us how to move like we mean it. You’ll also see some very awkward attempts at men’s go-go dancing, plus a few rugby locker room comedy skits that came out of it.Filmed at Jam in the Van, hosted by Jack Higgins & Ozzy Luna.

Before rainbow laces, viral TikToks, and international tournaments, there was a handful of gay men in Los Angeles brave enough to build a rugby club from the ground up—one scrum at a time. In Episode 11 of the Gay Rugby Podcast, hosts Jack Higgins and Ozzy Luna sit down with Gabriel Galluccio, co-founder of the Los Angeles Rebellion, to trace the untold story of queer rugby in Southern California.Galluccio, a sports producer who worked behind the scenes at Fox Sports, didn’t set out to become a community trailblazer. But after witnessing the silence around HIV, the isolation of gay athletes, and the aftermath of 9/11, he helped launch what would become a safe haven for queer men on the field—a place where strength, identity, and belonging weren’t contradictions.It was the heroic actions of Mark Bingham, an openly gay rugby player who lost his life on Flight 93, that became the catalyst for the first international gay rugby tournament. In 2002, the inaugural Bingham Cup brought queer athletes together from across the globe—transforming grief into legacy, and visibility into power.This episode doesn’t just chart history—it revisits the early 2000s, the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, and how rugby became more than a sport for many gay men. It became resistance. It became joy. It became home.Whether you're a player, a fan, or someone who's never touched a rugby ball, this one’s for anyone who’s ever felt like the locker room wasn’t built for them.

When Brazilian rugby star Izzy Cerullo took the field at the 2016 Olympics, she had no idea she was about to become a queer icon. But after her then-girlfriend proposed on live television-mid-Games, mid-glory-Cerullo found herself at the center of a global moment that said everything about visibility, identity, and the politics of being queer on the world stage.

In Episode 10 of The Gay Rugby Podcast, Jack Higgins and Ozzie Luna unravel how an impromptu proposal turned into a cultural flashpoint. Was it empowerment? Exploitation? Or just love in a very public place?

We get into the messy, beautiful truth: how queer athletes often become symbols whether they like it or not, how the media spins a moment into a movement, and why Cerullo’s story still hits hard nearly a decade later.

Expect candid talk about LGBTQ representation in sports, the unintentional politics of being visible, and what happens when your private life becomes Olympic history.

New episodes drop weekly. This one? You won’t want to miss.