Gamal Turawa on how being authentic is the key

In today’s podcast, Lauren talks to Gamal Turawa, who prefers to be known as G.G has a fascinating background and story; one that resonates with many others.  Born in the early 1960s, his early life was traumatic. He went on to be a policeman, and he was in fact, the first openly gay, black policeman. He had a film made about his life, which won him a BAFTA, and was also a consultant on the drama Mr Loverman, aired on BBC last year, and he has won two more BAFTA’s this year. Overall, now G thinks of himself as a storyteller. He runs workshops, does keynote presentations and uses his own story to enable people to unlock their own. He feels that stories connect to us and unlock something deeper within us.G also talks about coming out as a gay man, and how hard it was to even accept it himself. Then he had to face the reaction of other people around him. But the biggest thing was self-acceptance which gave him the courage to get on stage and talk to the huge audience at the Gay Pride rally in London.He shares his emotional story of his identity, after being fostered from a young age by a white family. He felt ‘white’ and when he was suddenly moved away from the cocoon of where he’d grown up to a London suburb, and a mainly ‘black’ area, he had to come to terms with what his identity was.Working as a policeman he faced a lot of bullying due to the colour of his skin, which nearly pushed him over the edge. He eventually found help from a counsellor, who asked him ‘who defines you?’ G had never realised he could define himself until that point.His story is a rollercoaster of emotions and in the end, wonderful when you hear about all the things he has done and how he now helps others.To contact G:Website: https://purplefrog-connections.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purpleconnectionltdLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gamal-turawa/If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe