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Selling Out! – Ep 9: Scrums, Serpents & Showing Up | Byron Todd & Sam Johnson / Selling Out!

Selling Out!

Friday, 17 July 2026 - 1 hour 3 minutes

Selling Out! is the podcast for LGBTQIA+ founders, leaders and creatives. Real conversations about building a life and a career on your own terms — straight jackets not included. 🏳️‍🌈Episode 9 is a warm one — and a bit of a love letter to the power of just showing up.Byron Todd (he/him,) spent years believing, as many of us were quietly told, that gay men don't do sport. He proved that wrong via a paper round, a school dining hall, a dating agency, the Millennium Dome, and eventually the King's Cross Steelers — the world's first gay rugby club — where he went from nervous newcomer to team captain to co-founder of something entirely his own. In 2014 he moved to Brighton and did what any sensible person would do: started a rugby club. The Brighton and Hove Sea Serpents just celebrated their 10th anniversary and are now one of the most loved teams in the city.Sam Johnson (he/him,) grew up in a Midlands village so remote the bus only came if you rang ahead. He survived Burger King, The Simple Life on a Subway manager's laptop, and a chance conversation with a stranger on a bridge that launched a seven-year PR career. A stint in beauty and hairdressing PR followed — during which he was regularly mistaken for a woman, largely because nobody expects a six-foot-five man named Sam to be on the other end of the phone. He joined the Sea Serpents less than a year ago and has already won forward of the match, dick of the day (twice), and a seat on the board.Two men who found in rugby what a lot of us spend years looking for: a room where nobody judges you for who you are, only for which position you might play.This episode gets into the real cost of being told sport isn't for you, the quiet heroism of building something from nothing, and why a team that welcomes trans women to touch rugby and fundraises to get lower-income players to Lisbon is doing something that goes well beyond the game."I was in the car park texting my friend: I don't think I can do it. I can't get out of the car. Then the messages just stop. Two hours later: oh my God, I loved it."🎙️ Sponsored by Legends Brighton — legendsresortbrighton.com — and Mortgage Medics — mortgage-medics.comVideo & Audio by Always Cinematic — alwayscinematic.comPowered by GoSucceed®Keywords / Tags:LGBTQIA+, queer sport, inclusive rugby, rugby, Brighton, Brighton and Hove Sea Serpents, King's Cross Steelers, trans inclusion, community, coming out, PR, sport and identity, Selling Out, GoSucceedSeason: 1 | Episode: 9Selling Out! is the podcast for LGBTQIA+ founders, leaders and creatives. Real conversations about building a business your way, hosted by Gary Salters and Jonny Monroe.New episodes drop on the first and third Friday of every month. Follow us and never miss a story.Selling Out! is the podcast for LGBTQIA+ founders, leaders and creatives. Real conversations about building a business your way, hosted by Gary Salters and Jonny Monroe.New episodes drop on the first and third Friday of every month. Follow us and never miss a story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.