Dear twelve-year-old Kit,

Meet Jason. 

Jason will be introduced to you towards the end of your cycling career. Oh, right – you’re going to become a professional cyclist. Dad will introduce you to the sport next year as a way to manage your ADHD diagnosis, and you’re actually going to get pretty good at it. You’ll travel the world, race for Team USA, win a few bike races, and make some lifelong friends along the way. 

Best part of all, you’ll do it without those pesky meds the doctors keep giving you. Pretty cool, right? Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end. You’ll have made a promise to yourself when you’re 18 and skipping college that the day you knew racing your bike wasn’t fun anymore, you’ll hang it up. That day will come when you’re 21. And when you announce you’ve crossed your last finish line on a bike, you’ll start looking for options on what to do next. 

A few of your sponsors will raise their hands asking if you’d like to work for them, and one of them will be Oakley. Yeah, you know those glasses on top of Dad’s dresser? Those guys. Anyway, Oakley will ask to take you to London for the 2012 Olympic Games to work in sports marketing for five weeks. Of course, you throw yourself at the opportunity, but you need to find a job to keep busy until the departure date later that Summer. 

Here’s where Jason comes in. Jason is a family friend who’ll be introduced to you right before you retire – he’s a lovely human who’s been DJ’ing and promoting clubs in LA since before you were born. Well, one day you’ll ask him if he has any clubs that could use some help – and he’ll give you a reply that will change your life. “I have a gay club that needs someone to work the guest list, want the job?” Next thing you know, you’ll be standing on a street corner in Hollywood, haggling with people on if they’re on “the list”, who they (don’t) know, watching drunk people fight with security, etc. 

It’s not as shiny of a moment as traveling the world on your bike, but it’s your moment. This club will also be the catalyst to your queer journey. It’ll be where you, in secret, first exchange numbers, flirt, and dance with a guy. 

More to come,
Twenty-seven-year-old Kit