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'''Michael J. "Mick" Peterson''' was born on May 22, 1956 to a [[Christian]] family in [[Minnesota]]. His father was a [[World War II]] veteran-turned-[[dentist]] and his mother was [[schoolteacher]], who quit her job to raise Mick and his three sisters before being hospitalized with [[Lupus]] when Mick was only six months old. During her hospitalization, Mick and his siblings were raised by thirty different housekeepers until a plump [[Finland|finnish]] woman, Susan, joined his family and continued to raise them for years, even after their mother was discharged from the hospital. Mick moved to [[Southern California]] immediately after graduating college, then worked as a competitive [[bodybuilding|bodybuilder]] after meeting a former [[Mr. Olympia]] on the beach.
'''Michael J. "Mick" Peterson''' was born on May 22, 1956 to a [[Christian]] family in [[Minnesota]]. His father was a [[World War II]] veteran-turned-[[dentist]] and his mother was [[schoolteacher]], who quit her job to raise Mick and his three sisters before being hospitalized with [[Lupus]] when Mick was only six months old. During her hospitalization, Mick and his siblings were raised by thirty different housekeepers until a plump [[Finland|finnish]] woman, Susan, joined his family and continued to raise them for years, even after their mother was discharged from the hospital. Mick moved to [[Southern California]] immediately after graduating college, then worked as a competitive [[bodybuilding|bodybuilder]] after meeting a former [[Mr. Olympia]] on the beach.


'''Dr. Joc James A. Anderson''' was born in the [[Philippines]] but considers himself a native Californian after moving with his to [[Mission District, San Francisco]] at four years of age.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Joc |title=About |url=https://docjocanderson.wordpress.com/about/ |website=Anderson Consulting & Educational Services |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite podcast|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyUb4ref_hXDIgY|title=Old Gays on Coming Out, Hook-Up Stories, and More|website=YouTube|publisher=Retirement House Podcast}}</ref> Joc and his family relocated to [[Southern California]] in his high school years, where he excelled in academics and was considered a star athlete in [[track and field|track]] and cross country. Anderson is Martin's longtime friend and a fellow Seventh-day adventist.
'''Dr. Joc James A. Anderson, [[PsyD]]''' was born in the [[Philippines]] but considers himself a native Californian after moving with his to [[Mission District, San Francisco]] at four years of age.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Joc |title=About |url=https://docjocanderson.wordpress.com/about/ |website=Anderson Consulting & Educational Services |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite podcast|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyUb4ref_hXDIgY|title=Old Gays on Coming Out, Hook-Up Stories, and More|website=YouTube|publisher=Retirement House Podcast}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Joc |title=The Author of Love: Understanding a Misunderstood God |date=July 8, 2011 |publisher=WestBow Press |isbn=978-1449708047 |pages=384 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Author-Love-Understanding-Misunderstood-God-ebook/dp/B07933F5VP/ref=sr_1_2?refinements=p_27%3AJoc+Anderson&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Joc+Anderson |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref> Joc and his family relocated to [[Southern California]] in his high school years, where he excelled in academics and was considered a star athlete in [[track and field|track]] and cross country. Anderson is Martin's longtime friend and a fellow Seventh-day adventist.


=== 1980s-2017: Meeting Up ===
=== 1980s-2017: Meeting Up ===
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The group became a viral sensation in March 2021, gaining millions of followers from daily [[TikTok]] videos filmed at Reeves' house.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kacala|first=Alexander|date=November 5, 2021|title=The 'Old Gays' are getting their own docuseries|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/old-gays-are-getting-docuseries-rcna4620|access-date=2021-11-08|website=NBC News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ermac|first=Raffy|date=2021-06-16|title=The Old Gays Sharing Their Coming Out Journeys Gives Us So Much Hope|url=https://www.out.com/lifestyle/2021/6/16/old-gays-sharing-their-coming-out-journeys-gives-us-so-much-hope|access-date=2021-11-08|website=Out.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Henderson|first=Taylor|date=2019-05-28|title=Old Gays Reminiscing Over Past Lovers Will Warm Your Heart|url=https://www.pride.com/lovesex/2019/5/28/old-gays-reminiscing-over-past-lovers-will-warm-your-heart|access-date=2021-11-08|website=Pride.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kacala|first=Alexander|date=June 29, 2021|title=How 4 gay seniors became social media stars for their humor and heart|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/meet-old-gays-going-viral-tiktok-their-humor-heart-t224076|access-date=2021-11-08|website=Today.com|language=en}}</ref> Their popularity would later hit the [[Mainstream media|mainstream]] with appearances on [[The Drew Barrymore Show|Drew Barrymore]] and [[The Today Show]], collaborations with [[Netflix]], [[T-Mobile]] and [[Rhianna]]'s [[Savage X Fenty]], and the 44th spot on [[Forbes]]' 2022 Top Creators list.<ref name=":0" />
The group became a viral sensation in March 2021, gaining millions of followers from daily [[TikTok]] videos filmed at Reeves' house.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kacala|first=Alexander|date=November 5, 2021|title=The 'Old Gays' are getting their own docuseries|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/old-gays-are-getting-docuseries-rcna4620|access-date=2021-11-08|website=NBC News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ermac|first=Raffy|date=2021-06-16|title=The Old Gays Sharing Their Coming Out Journeys Gives Us So Much Hope|url=https://www.out.com/lifestyle/2021/6/16/old-gays-sharing-their-coming-out-journeys-gives-us-so-much-hope|access-date=2021-11-08|website=Out.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Henderson|first=Taylor|date=2019-05-28|title=Old Gays Reminiscing Over Past Lovers Will Warm Your Heart|url=https://www.pride.com/lovesex/2019/5/28/old-gays-reminiscing-over-past-lovers-will-warm-your-heart|access-date=2021-11-08|website=Pride.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kacala|first=Alexander|date=June 29, 2021|title=How 4 gay seniors became social media stars for their humor and heart|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/meet-old-gays-going-viral-tiktok-their-humor-heart-t224076|access-date=2021-11-08|website=Today.com|language=en}}</ref> Their popularity would later hit the [[Mainstream media|mainstream]] with appearances on [[The Drew Barrymore Show|Drew Barrymore]] and [[The Today Show]], collaborations with [[Netflix]], [[T-Mobile]] and [[Rhianna]]'s [[Savage X Fenty]], and the 44th spot on [[Forbes]]' 2022 Top Creators list.<ref name=":0" />


The group was later expanded after Anderson, now a [[PsyD|Doctor]] of [[psychologist|Psychology]] from nearby [[Rancho Mirage]], first appeared in a video dancing to [[Shania Twain|Shania Twain's]] [[Man! I Feel Like a Woman!]] alongside Twain, Lyons, Martin and Justin Fuko on June 30, 2023. Anderson officially joined the group the following August after filling in for Reeves, who had been hospitalized with a [[urinary tract infection]].
The group was later expanded after Anderson, now a [[psychologist]] from nearby [[Rancho Mirage]], first appeared in a video dancing to [[Shania Twain|Shania Twain's]] [[Man! I Feel Like a Woman!]] alongside Twain, Lyons, Martin and Justin Fuko on June 30, 2023. Anderson officially joined the group the following August after filling in for Reeves, who had been hospitalized with a [[urinary tract infection]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Joc |title=Do Everything in Love |date=November 20, 2023 |publisher=The Book Publishing Solutions |isbn=978-1963017182 |pages=371 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Do-Everything-Love-Joc-Anderson/dp/1963017188/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14HWA8713T7HS&keywords=%22Joc+Anderson%22&sprefix=joc+anderson+%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-1 |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref>


== Personal lives ==
== Personal lives ==

Revision as of 02:47, 21 December 2023

Old Gays
TikTok information
Page
Followers10.9 million
Likes217.8 million
Last updated: 10 August 2023

The Old Gays are a group of five gay social media personalities and LGBT rights activists.[1] The group consists of Robert Reeves, Michael "Mick" Peterson, Bill Lyons, Jessay Martin and Joc Anderson. At the time of their formation, their age range was from mid-60s to late 70s. They are the subject of an upcoming unscripted docuseries produced by Brian Graden Media.[2]

History

1943-1980s: Background

Robert E. Reeves was born on October 28, 1943 to a supportive middle-class family in Jonesboro, Arkansas.[3][4] By third grade, Reeves worked the cash register and helped people at his father's shoe store, which shared the space with a nearby bakery,[5] played the baritone saxophone in high school and attended a rural Southern Baptist church.[6] Reeves left Jonesboro to study architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

William C. "Bill" Lyons was born on May 18, 1994 to a loving mother and charismatic father in Covina, California. He was the eldest of five siblings, though his father favored his younger brother for getting a basketball scholarship to UCLA. Lyons grew up working for his family's restaurant, Lyons Den, before working as a general manager for an interior design showroom in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood.[7]

Jesse L. "Jessay" Martin was born on July 31, 1953 to Benjamin and Jannie Martin, loving parents from Greeneville, Tennessee who worked as a police officer and a housekeeper respectively whilst shielding Jessay from racism and homophobia by insulating him in a Seventh-day Adventist Church. Because of racial segregation, Jessay attended an all-Black school until the 6th grade, when all of his classmates were white except for in his choir class.

Michael J. "Mick" Peterson was born on May 22, 1956 to a Christian family in Minnesota. His father was a World War II veteran-turned-dentist and his mother was schoolteacher, who quit her job to raise Mick and his three sisters before being hospitalized with Lupus when Mick was only six months old. During her hospitalization, Mick and his siblings were raised by thirty different housekeepers until a plump finnish woman, Susan, joined his family and continued to raise them for years, even after their mother was discharged from the hospital. Mick moved to Southern California immediately after graduating college, then worked as a competitive bodybuilder after meeting a former Mr. Olympia on the beach.

Dr. Joc James A. Anderson, PsyD was born in the Philippines but considers himself a native Californian after moving with his to Mission District, San Francisco at four years of age.[8][9][10] Joc and his family relocated to Southern California in his high school years, where he excelled in academics and was considered a star athlete in track and cross country. Anderson is Martin's longtime friend and a fellow Seventh-day adventist.

1980s-2017: Meeting Up

Reeves moved to San Francisco in the 1980s and befriended Lyons while city planning a baseball stadium in the SOMA neighborhood. Reeves then moved to Cathedral City to focus on making art while Lyons lived with his partner on a houseboat in Sausalito for 16 years before being unceremoniously dumped in 1996 and forced to borrow money from his parents.[6]

After heavy drinking, Lyons had outpatient therapy for bipolar disorder at Langlery Porter Psychiatric Hospital and chose to be abstinent for 10 years because he couldn't trust men, before reconnecting with Reeves in 2003 after losing his house from the Great Recession. Lyons then moved to a HUD-owned apartment and worked as a cleaner for Reeves, who was forced to file for bankruptcy until two gay men bought $16,000 worth of art from his Laguna Beach gallery.[11]

To help cover his bills, Reeves transformed his garage into a living space and rented out his three bedrooms on Craigslist. His first and only constant tenant was Peterson, who took the master bedroom with private bath after a sexual encounter with Reeves.[7][11][12] Martin moved across the street from them in 2015 while touring as a gospel singer and working as a florist.[7][11][13]

2016-2018: Formation

John Bates, a younger gay man who moved into a separate bedroom in November 2016, tried to liven up the household to no avail before getting into a relationship with Logo TV producer Ryan Yezak at a gay bar down the street the following February. Initially perplexed that Bates lived with "a bunch of old farts," Yezak grew to appreciate the group after initially meeting Reeves and Peterson, who were completely nude.[5]

While getting stoned, Reeves grew interested in a Gen-Z catchphrase used by the younger couple, prompting them to record the older group trying to decipher Gen-Z slang.[14][15] Upon noticing the organic comedy and chemistry between the three, Bates and Yezak officially rebadged them as the "Old Gays" and uploaded the video to YouTube, where it became an immediate hit.[5]

The group soon expanded once Martin discussed the video with Reeves and handed over his business card once Reeves explained that they were "looking for some diversity" after Yezak believed that the group was too white. But shortly after Martin officially joined the group, Peterson suffered a seizure of unknown origin and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital for a neurosurgical operation on his left eye, which had a giant bleeding gash from a shattered mirror.[5]

Peterson returned to Reeves' home after recovering in an assisted living facility, though his health continued to worsen to the point where he overdosed on gabapentin and was rushed back to the hospital. After another stint in assisted living, Peterson decided to move to a nearby motel until his 64th birthday, when he returned to Reeves' home and gradually became healthy again.[5]

Old Lesbians

During the time of Peterson's health crisis, Yezak worked on a series of videos with a group of similarly aged lesbians: Belita Edwards, Phyllis Rose-Child and Sable Boruff.[16] While the Old Lesbians weren't as viral as their male counterparts, the two groups did collaborate for a video[17] promoting and reacting to American Horror Story.

2018-Present: Online Success

The group became a viral sensation in March 2021, gaining millions of followers from daily TikTok videos filmed at Reeves' house.[6][18][19][20][21] Their popularity would later hit the mainstream with appearances on Drew Barrymore and The Today Show, collaborations with Netflix, T-Mobile and Rhianna's Savage X Fenty, and the 44th spot on Forbes' 2022 Top Creators list.[5]

The group was later expanded after Anderson, now a psychologist from nearby Rancho Mirage, first appeared in a video dancing to Shania Twain's Man! I Feel Like a Woman! alongside Twain, Lyons, Martin and Justin Fuko on June 30, 2023. Anderson officially joined the group the following August after filling in for Reeves, who had been hospitalized with a urinary tract infection.[22]

Personal lives

Reeves was diagnosed with HIV in 1987.[6] Peterson is also HIV-positive and was also diagnosed with chronic CIDP in the late 2010s, both being treated with five-hour immunoglobulin infusions every other week.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Italie, Leanne (2021-09-02). "Social media's 70-up 'grandfluencers' debunking aging myths". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  2. ^ Wakefield, Lily (2021-11-06). "Social media icons the Old Gays to star in their own docuseries". PinkNews.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  3. ^ "Old Gays on Facebook Watch". Facebook.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Viral stars the Old Gays on their newfound fame, coming out and the next LGBTQ generation". Today.com. 29 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Peterson, Mick; Lyons, Bill; Reeves, Robert; Martin, Jessay (28 November 2023). The Old Gays Guide to the Good Life: Lessons Learned About Love and Death, Sex and Sin, and Saving the Best for Last. Harper Wave. p. 256. ISBN 978-0063333604. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e Villarreal, Daniel (7 December 2022). ""The Old Gays" never thought they'd survive HIV, but now they're a viral sensation". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  7. ^ a b c Patterson, Denny (2023-01-10). "The Old Gays Discuss Social Media Fame and Winning the Hearts of Millions". OUT FRONT. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  8. ^ Anderson, Joc. "About". Anderson Consulting & Educational Services. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Old Gays on Coming Out, Hook-Up Stories, and More". YouTube (Podcast). Retirement House Podcast.
  10. ^ Anderson, Joc (July 8, 2011). The Author of Love: Understanding a Misunderstood God. WestBow Press. p. 384. ISBN 978-1449708047. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "Out100 Cover Stars: TikTok's Old Gays Prove Life Starts After 65". www.out.com. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  12. ^ Chapman, Rachel (16 June 2022). "The Old Gays Have The Wildest Pride Story (It Involves Edibles)". Elite Daily. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  13. ^ Dunbar, Randy. "The Old Gays prove there are second acts". Desert Magazine. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  14. ^ "Old Gays Try New Gay Slang". YouTube. Grindr. May 22, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  15. ^ Bollinger, Alex (September 16, 2019). "The old gays try Grindr for the first time & they're not shy. At all". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  16. ^ "Old Lesbians Try New Lesbian Slang". YouTube. Grindr. June 28, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  17. ^ "Old Gays & Old Lesbians React To American Horror Story". YouTube. Grindr. September 1, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  18. ^ Kacala, Alexander (November 5, 2021). "The 'Old Gays' are getting their own docuseries". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  19. ^ Ermac, Raffy (2021-06-16). "The Old Gays Sharing Their Coming Out Journeys Gives Us So Much Hope". Out.com. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  20. ^ Henderson, Taylor (2019-05-28). "Old Gays Reminiscing Over Past Lovers Will Warm Your Heart". Pride.com. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  21. ^ Kacala, Alexander (June 29, 2021). "How 4 gay seniors became social media stars for their humor and heart". Today.com. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  22. ^ Anderson, Joc (November 20, 2023). Do Everything in Love. The Book Publishing Solutions. p. 371. ISBN 978-1963017182. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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