Magazine Features


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Igniting the Conversation

August 2017| Echo Magazine

Members of an HIV-awareness group share their experiences with the disease.

“Today, Brad Speck is a 42-years-old successful Phoenix realtor. He’s outgoing, articulate, and when he wraps you in a bear hug, you feel a real connection. In most conversations, he exudes a sense of joy and optimism about the world, and occasionally a hint of sly humor. But when our talk turns to the death of his oldest half-brother, Mark, he at first struggles to get his thoughts out, and then he begins to cry.”

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Combing through The Pübes

October 2016 | Echo Magazine

Phoenix’s original queercore comedic rockers dish on making music, aging and redheaded sluts.

“These days, The Pübes are in their prime. Members might now be pushing into their 40s, but still they’re clearly a band’s band. They’re seasoned performers who get onstage, melt your face and leave everyone talking about the show for days while they’re scrambling to find the next one. In maturing, they’ve also become adept recording artists.”

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Beyond the Finish Line

April 2016 | Echo Magazine

One cyclist from Phoenix joins thousands of others in a ride down the California coast supporting HIV/AIDS awareness.

“Rosales is gearing up to participate in the 2016 AIDS/LifeCycle, which takes place June 5 through June 11, with an average of 80 miles on each stage of the seven-day, 545-mile ride. Stops include Santa Cruz, Paso Robles, Lompoc and Ventura, Calif. He’s one of about 60 participating cyclists from Arizona, according to AIDS/LifeCycle staff, with thousands more coming from around the world.”

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A World Away

March 2015 | Echo Magazine

A delegation of LGBTQA activists stopped in Arizona only briefly, but I was able to follow the story via telephone and social media.

“Like castaways venturing out to bring back help, a delegation of representatives from Kyrgyz LGBTQA non-governmental organizations recently visited the United States on a fact-finding trip sponsored by the U.S. State Department. With stops in Portland, Ore.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Little Rock, Ark. and New York City, the delegation was tasked with learning how acceptance of the LGBTQA community evolved in the U.S., and then, hopefully, returning home in time to spark change.”

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Echo’s 2014 Man of the Year

Dec. 2014 | Echo Magazine

The winner of Echo Magazine’s 2014 Man of the Year award is an activist for HIV awareness — and HIV positive himself.

“It’s just after work on a Wednesday and people are starting to trickle in for happy hour, and Kloeckl and I are at a table in the dimly lit dining room. Kloeckl, 64, is bald and thin with piercing blue eyes. His body language suggests a reluctance to be at the center of attention. At times he fidgets, crossing his legs and uncrossing them, or toying with a flute of his Stella Artois.”

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Total Transformation

Sept. 2014 | Echo Magazine

A local transgender man talks about his identity and what it takes to be a competitive bodybuilder.

“Looking impossibly composed despite the 105-degree August heat, a guy wearing black gym shorts and a grey T-shirt draped across a yoke of shoulder muscles saunters through the front door of Hob Nobs Café & Spirits. He sets down a large jug of water next to my half-empty IPA.”

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Boxing Gyms Helping Kids

July 2012 | JAVA Magazine

Boxing gyms in central Phoenix’s high-crime neighborhoods give at-risk kids an alternative to gangbanging.

“He starts unloading kiddie-meal-sized jabs and right crosses at an 80-pound monolith suspended from the ceiling with a janky old chain. The kid’s build is slight; he’s maybe 10 or 11, a ways off from looking like a teenager. He punctuates the flurries with off-rhythm exclamation points that are brutal left hooks. Do not step to this kiddie kangaroo, y’all. Cartoon hands notwithstanding, he’ll straight own you.”
Read Pg. 13 ►   Read Pgs. 14 & 15 ►

Border Report

Oct. 2012 | JAVA Magazine

In his “Buzz” column, JAVA Editor Robert Sentinery says this piece, “…reminds us of Hemingway’s war stories with a heavy splash of gonzo journalism.”

“Considering the sources, it’s likely all that’s a festering pile of bullshit. Everyone loves a them-versus-America yarn. Even a squawking mouthpiece gets another term, given a pop tune to sing. After all, Nickelback went platinum several times over. So that’s why I’m here, basically: Dip across the border, wander off the beaten track, and then come home, safe, with nothing worse than a sunburn and diarrhea.”

Read Pg. 35 ►   Read Pgs. 36 & 37 ►

Fighting for Geronimo’s Remains

May 2010 | True West Magazine

People weighing in on the reloaction of Geronimo’s remains include Native American activists and Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general under President Lyndon Johnson.

“On the 100th anniversary of the Apache medicine man’s death in 2009, Harlyn Geronimo, of Mescalero, New Mexico, claiming to be a great-grandson, filed suit at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. He wants to repatriate Geronimo to that rugged landscape of rolling hills and Ponderosa we now call the Gila Wilderness, just west of Silver City.”

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The Road to Mangas

March 2009 | True West Magazine

Is a headless Apache chieftain buried just off U.S. 60? The trip is just as interesting as the answer.

“Outside Quemado, 15 miles off U.S. 60, the ghost town of Mangas is little more than a few crumbling adobe buildings, dust and endless sky. This is private land, owned by the cattle operation, Mangas Ranch. People who wander in out of the dust simply aren’t welcome.”

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