Guelph-based Guise podcast dives deep into meaningful male friendships
Podcast started as way to keep 8 year friendship going
When Gerry Zegerius' best friend Nathan Shurr broke the news that he and his wife were making a cross-country move from Guelph to B.C., the two knew they needed to find a way to keep the friendship alive.
Zegerius and Shurr had been an important part of each others' lives for the past eight years and didn't want to lose touch.
So they used their last weeks in the same city to develop a podcast series about navigating male friendships, and peer into platonic relationships between men.
The result is the Guise Podcast.
"We're looking at the disguise and the mask that men wear when they're interacting with each other," Zegerius said.
"Guys are really reluctant to do that because it puts them in this grey area with sexuality – which makes everybody uncomfortable, even though it's 2016. But we're just trying to tackle that stuff head on," Zegerius said.
The pair has only released one episode so far, but the response has been profound, according to Zegerius, who said coworkers have even approached him, sometimes hesitantly, to talk about the series.
What's important, he said, is it's spurring those conversations.
"It's really rewarding to open up and just be very, very honest with your feelings with another guy in a platonic relationship. And if we can convince other people that's what they want to do – that's great."