Carlo Brescia He/him

Carlo identifies as a gay man and was born in 1975 in Luton and Dunstable hospital and grew up in Leighton Buzzard. He was raised in an Italian Catholic community and feared coming out for the shame it would bring to his family. He came out aged 23 to his gay boss during a work Christmas party whilst working as a hairdresser. His mother was supportive and his father eventually accepted it. His first involvement with the LGBTQ+ community in Milton Keynes was going to gay nights at pubs like The Cricketers and The Swan & Crown. He remembered the opening of Pink Punters  (which started as a membership club) and its evolution from a large room with a lower room connected by rickety stairs to a log fire, fancy toilets, computer screens and a dancefloor and a DJ area. He was half of the first drag act at Pink Punters, Hot & Cold, with his friend Brett. He did impersonations (e.g. Cher, Britney Spears) and found drag was liberating. He was 13 when Section 28 was enacted and believes a more inclusive education would have helped him accept himself earlier. The HIV/AIDS campaigns of the 1980s and 90s created fear and further discouraged him from coming out.  He misses the unity and community that exclusive LGBTQ+ venues had provided. He attended Milton Keynes Pride for the first time recently. His most cherished memory was meeting his husband in 2000.