I'm the owner of Midwest Gay. Born in Iowa and raised in the Chicagoland area, I'm a proud Midwesterner and more specifically, a very proud Midwest Gay (/They). I grew up thinking I needed to escape the Midwest to find adventure and to find myself. During the pandemic, I flew home from South Korea and came out as queer to myself and my mom in my childhood bedroom in the Chicago suburbs. I started exploring my own backyard, the Midwest. One of my first queer explorations was to Saugatuck, Michigan, a small Midwestern town just a few hours outside of Chicago filled with thriving queer-owned businesses, queer people, a gay resort and even a gay campground. I thought to myself, the Midwest is v gay. Since then, Chappel Roan and gay pop have risen to fame and the Gay Midwest is (IMO) officially on the map.

I started this shop as an ode to my love for the Midwest and being queer. Today (4 years after coming out and beginning my queer exploration), I am a full-time queer travel creator and live in Chicago's gayborhood with my gay spouse and our 3 gay fur children.

I'm so happy you're here and queer (or an ALLY!). Thanks for shopping and supporting small queer-owned businesses!