Texas native Nathan Manske, creator of the “I’m from Driftwood” web series chronicling LGBT people’s coming out stories, is kicking off a four-month tour with the goal of bringing the series to all 50 states.
Manske, who grew up in Driftwood, a tiny Hill County town outside of Austin, now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. He says the inspiration for the series came from a photo of Harvey Milk carrying a sign in the San Francisco Gay Pride march that read, “I’m From Woodmere, N.Y.”
A few days after seeing “Milk,” Manske was laid off from his job as a copywriter, giving him plenty of free time to create the series, which he says is designed to “help gay youth not feel so alone.”
“If the idea I’m trying to promote is that gay people are everywhere, what better way to prove that than to actually go everywhere,” Manske says in the above video.
“I’m from Driftwood” has already featured several Texans, and it looks like Manske’s co-producers, including Marquise Lee of Dallas, are all from the Lone Star State. Based on the map in the video, Manske plans to bring the tour to Dallas and at least four other locations in Texas, including his hometown.
“With your help whether it’s $5 or it’s $5,000, by the end of the road trip, there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that gay people are indeed everywhere,” he says.
The project will only be funded if at least $15,000 is pledged by July 26. To support the tour, go here.
