Chemstories is a podcast series created by gay, bisexual, and queer men, as well as trans and non-binary people who are sharing their experiences related to chemsex*.
Chemstories is more than a podcast — it’s the result of a collaborative investigation into the lived realities of chemsex. Together, we set out to explore one central question: Why is it important for people with lived experience of PnP/chemsex to tell their stories in their own words? Because too often, people with lived experience have been silenced, stigmatized, or spoken about rather than with. Through Chemstories, they take back that space — to speak for themselves, and to be heard.
For Chemstories, we worked for over a year with our editorial board made up of individuals with firsthand experience of chemsex. Three members of the board even became hosts for group discussions in their respective cities—Bradley in Toronto, Éric in Montréal, and Andrew in Halifax—whom you will meet in the upcoming episodes. From the very beginning, it was essential that this podcast be truly by and for the community.
To help you navigate the podcast, each discussion series is organized into “flights.” Flights begin with the airport code of the city where we recorded—YYZ for Toronto, YUL for Montréal, and YHZ for Halifax—and are titled after core values or principles related to chemsex, reflecting the theme and the participants’ experiences. Each flight is further divided into shorter segments to enhance your listening experience.
The views expressed in this podcast reflect personal experiences and opinions. Chemstories addresses themes that may be sensitive for some listeners.
Principal Investigator
Olivier Ferlatte
Research Coordinator
Patrice St-Amour
Research Assistant
Maxi Gaudette
Editorial board
Jordan Bond-Gorr, Bradley Hampton-Wallis, Éric Noël, Andre Patry, T4llge3k, Andrew Thomas
Co-investigators
Maxime Blanchette, Jorge Flores-Aranda, Katherine Frohlich, Mathieu Goyette, Daniel Grace, Phillip Joy, Eric Mykhalovskiy and Travis Salway
Knowledge users
Alexandre Dumont-Blais (Rézo), Marianne Palardy (Association des intervenants en dépendance du QC) et Ben Klassen (Community-Based Research Centre)
Illustration
Oh Mon Doux
Theme music
Tristan Alantar
Chemstory has been approved by the Université de Montréal ethics committee (CERSES-20-157-D) and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The testimonials expressed in this podcast reflect individual experiences and personal opinions. Your own experiences and opinions may differ from those depicted.
The Chemsory project is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
* « Chemsex » is a contraction of the words « chemical » and « sex ». Chemsex is the use of illicit drugs with the intention of having sex with these communities. It is also known as Party ‘n’ Play (PnP).
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