Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo has opened up about his devout Christian childhood which made it so difficult for him to accept he was gay.
The 33-year-old came out just a few weeks ago, telling fans: "This is something I’ve been unpacking and reckoning with in my life for quite some time now."
And in a new interview with Disrespectfully, he goes into detail on his upbringing in the church and how it made coming out incredibly challenging.
Explaining how his faith made him feel about being gay, he says: "It was a sickness. It's a sickness you can cure with prayer.
"I'm the son of a preacher who is the son of a preacher. To me, I have no self worth, no self love, no reason for being here other than serving other people and loving other people and following the playbook.
"So that’s a tough place to start, especially being gay."
He recalls being "terrified" when he realised he was gay and later witnessing a group of people trying to “pray the gay out of one of our crew members”.
He also remembers being ridiculed for wearing a ring at school, adding: "To me, that was this very strong feminine side that I have, but it’s just not the vibe in Ohio in the Christian world.
"And then, the older you get, conversations constantly reminding you how f***ing weird it is to be gay or to do anything remotely gay or feminine.
"So that feeling that I had, which I now understand was my sexuality, I just viewed and compartmentalised as just self-hatred."
The full interview can be viewed below.
