Tue. August 18, 2026
CHICAGO, ILL. -
By Michael Oboza, Special to GoPride.com
During my final year as a volunteer photojournalist, I made it my intention to help recognize everyday legends across our LGBTQ community. Among those trailblazers is Tony—a mixed-race, openly bisexual creator, founder and producer of Genius Strokes Productions, adult entertainment performer, former athlete, and former stripper. Thank you, Tony, for your time, wisdom, legacy, and intersectional visibility that is not up for debate.
For Tony Genius, exploring his identity was merely the beginning of understanding his life's journey.
"I came out when I was about 18 years old, so my experience before that was pretty limited, as I was a late bloomer when it came to dating," Tony shared.
"I definitely had my secret friends that I would hang with and do more side stuff with, making out and other stuff. I did feel a sense of shame in the activities that I was engaging in, just because my friends were straight and I knew they wouldn't understand that I was interested in men as well as women. But it didn't really affect my social life or my family life. I was free to be myself, and that didn't raise any alarms to anyone that I may be exploring this new side of sexuality."
Finding allies and self-understanding proved vital throughout his ongoing discovery.
"After coming out, my life really didn’t change much," Tony explained.
"I dated one man while I was out and had many relations with men and women. I still was interested in having a female partner and dreamed of having kids one day. So even though I was openly bisexual, I still lived a mostly heteronormative lifestyle. I was dating women and having fun with men. I’ve never seen men as my future love interests. I always pictured myself with a woman, and that definitely confused the guys that I had casual and sexual encounters with, who drew a different conclusion on what our relationship could have been or become."
Navigating bisexuality also meant confronting misunderstandings from both mainstream culture and queer spaces.
"I did struggle with the lack of understanding of my bisexuality from both sides—'not being gay enough for gay culture, and not being straight enough for the bros,'" he said.
"It definitely was a learning experience on how to balance that lifestyle so that I could find more open-minded individuals who accepted me no matter how I presented."
For Tony, protecting your peace, joy, and mental health is where genuine wisdom begins.
"To be yourself, to live out your truth, and let the world come to you in the understanding of who you are," Tony emphasized. "For so many, they feel like they have to go into the world thinking they have to do what will please society, and that you must fit into a certain box of the LGBTQIA spectrum. But if gender and sexuality are fluid, then we should be able to flow through them without question, without resistance. Give the world your true authentic self. It is the best way to honor your own freedom and protect your mental health."
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