GRiZ comes out publicly as gay and discusses early struggles in touching op-ed

Detroit DJ and producer GRiZ has published a new op-ed on Huffington Post publicly announcing for the first time that he identifies as gay.

The telling gives intimate details of his early conflicts coping with his identity as a homosexual teen and how with time he has learned to proudly stand in the spotlight as a member of the LGBT community.

The written commentary is a heartbreaking disclosure charting the DJ's bold attempts to battle his sexuality through hiding, lying and the use of prescription medication.

He reveals that most of his formative years were spent in pain: "The most difficult thing about keeping secrets that no one knows, is that they drive you crazy and make you think, feel, and do crazy, sometimes harmful, shit. I hated the fact that I was gay. I resented myself for it".

GRiZ goes on to explain that much of this turmoil was rooted in his surroundings and exposed culture before closing with an inspiring message to young people who may be experiencing similar conflict:

"If at this point you are telling yourself this sounds even mildly familiar, and you have so perfectly and with great pain kept your secret to yourself, I have one thing to tell you. It gets better...It won’t always be easy, but the battle is worth it. Never ever give up on yourself. It might not be cool to love Britney Spears, study AP physics or play saxophone but, it’s totally cool to be gay."

Hats off to GRiZ, #ShowLoveSpreadLove.

Read the full op-ed 'My Name is GRiZ and...' here

Sydney is Mixmag's US Digital Content Editor. Follow her on Twitter here