Queer Content Creator Art Bezrukavenko Is Living his American Dream

Art Bezrukavenko is living his American dream. But the popular queer content creator with more than 2.5 million followers across all platforms didn't get there the easy way. He hails from Dobropillya, East Ukraine where war was breaking out just as he finished high school in 2013.

According to Artyom, "When the war started in 2014, I went to study in Poland. I brought my mom there as well. I knew I was from the war region and I knew it's never going to stop. A lot of people were delusional when they froze the conflict. But I was right there and I knew it's just going to come back later. I didn't want to be part of it and I didn't want my mom to be part of it. I got a student visa and found a way to bring her with me. It was much easier back then."

At the time he was in the closet and no doubt could not have predicted the impact his eventual coming out would have on the achievement of his dreams. He worked and studied for three years and thinks of that time as "good years of my life, not much was happening." He only had one date in that time and it did not go well. "It was a catfish guy. I was 18 and not very experienced. I think he kind of traumatized me. I did not go on anymore dates. I started going with my friends to straight clubs, getting drunk and having crushes on straight guys."

When it finally came time for him to come to the United States, he chose his destination based on Google research. "I picked a city that I liked. It was a random city, Ocean City, Maryland, because I found this YouTuber who was living there. I found how people look for jobs. I went on Google, looked at spots, found their emails, and sent them my resumes. That's how I got a job at the kite shop and then my visa to go to Ocean City."

After a few months he was on the move again. A bad couple of days in New York City sent him, with broken dreams, west to Chicago, Los Angeles and Austin in search of his dream. Over the next three years he waited tables, worked in offices and even gave stripping a shot, though he freely admits that "(he) was a terrible stripper." He made a coming out video on Christmas Day 2020 that changed everything. It went viral on TikTok, opening up a whole new world for the man who went on to become internet famous for his Gays of Our Days series, where he asks random gay (and sometimes straight) men on the street rather personal questions.

Recently EDGE had the chance to chat with the charming content creator with the sweetest Ukrainian accent. He happily talked about his journey and even answered many of the questions he usually asks others.

EDGE: How do you pronounce your name?

Artyom: Just call me Artyom. It's easier.

EDGE: I want to go back to the beginning, back to when you were in Ukraine. At what point did you know you were gay?

Artyom: When I was five years old I saw some men and I was like, "They're so hot." I had a Jean-Claude Van Damme poster on my wall. He's an actor, very old, maybe you know him? He was one of the hottest persons I've seen. It sounds weird but I definitely knew at five. I'd never seen a gay person. I never knew the word gay. I just knew that I like guys.

EDGE: When did you know the concept of being gay and that you were actually gay?

Artyom: I think the concept of it probably eight or nine years old because you can hear homophobia sometimes from people around you. When you hear homophobic comments and when people make jokes, not about me specifically, but you know it's not super good. I knew I liked guys, but I was hoping I was going to be bi. I loved a girl for five years, but I loved her with emotions. When it comes to jerking off, I was only doing it to guys.

EDGE: What is gay life like in Ukraine?

Artyom: I have no idea. I left Ukraine when I was 17. I've never lived in Ukraine in my adult life. When I lived there it was pretty homophobic and not super acceptable. I never really had gay people in my city. I never saw a gay person. We had a trans kid in our school and everyone was talking about them, joking and stuff like that. But I just knew I didn't want to live there since I was pretty young because I knew it's not super acceptable and I wouldn't be able to build something. I knew it wasn't safe there, you can get beat up. There's many stories when people get beat up when they meet with someone. They don't have Grindr. I don't know if they allow it now, but I tried to download it and it wasn't really working. I left when I was 17, so now 10 years later maybe it got better, maybe got worse. I have no idea.

EDGE: Did your family know you were gay at the time?

Artyom: No one knew. I told them when I was 23 or 24. Some friends probably assumed. There's one girl that I told when I was like 16 or 17, but I was very good at covering it up. I had a girlfriend who was older and cool.

EDGE: Is your family still in Ukraine?

Artyom: My father lives in Russia and my mom lives in Poland. When the war started in 2014 I went to study in Poland and I brought my mom there as well. I knew I was from the war region and I knew it's never going to stop. A lot of people were delusional when they froze the conflict. But I was right there and I knew it's just going to come back later. I didn't want to be part of it and I didn't want my mom to be part of it. I got a student visa and found a way to bring her with me. It was much easier back then.

EDGE: Were you afraid when leaving Ukraine?

Artyom: No, I was so happy. I was so over it. I was excited about adult life so much and I didn't have time to be afraid. I was very motivated to work, excited to get on my feet to start helping my mom. It was a little bit weird to change everything in the last moment. They took Crimea in March 2014 and in May I talked my mom into finding something better than staying in Ukraine.

EDGE: What made you eventually move to LA?

Artyom: I thought, I'm going to be an actor or something. I didn't really want to be an actor. I wanted to do social media, but I didn't see how to make money from it. I wasn't fluent in English and didn't grow up here. It's hard to do social media if you're not fluent in English and you don't know the American audience. I moved in with this girl who was getting pictures with all these celebrities, but I heard her talking about how she could not come up with $1,000 for rent. It was a very dark world and I'm listening to it thinking "This is not the American dream I came for." I wasn't really making money. I was working twice per week and trying to find a server job in Beverly Hills. It's easier to get an Oscar than a server position in Beverly Hills.

EDGE: So Austin was next?

Artyom: I moved to Austin, Texas and got a job doing phone sales from home, then as a waiter. I decided it was time to come out to my mother. I worked in Boys Town in Chicago. I was a stripper in a gay club. I went on many dates in Austin. It was time.

EDGE: What was her reaction?

Artyom: She wasn't surprised. She said, "Okay, I already know. You've been talking about gay people for three years."

EDGE: When did you start your online career?

Artyom: I started multiple TikTok accounts from 2018 to 2020 but they all failed. I didn't know what I was doing. I tried to be huge, to lip sync. It didn't work. On Thanksgiving Day, I posted my first video that got 5,000 views. I thought it was so much, but it wasn't. I thought, "This life is shit. I gotta start doing stuff." I knew there were not many guys on TikTok doing gay content and thought I would do it well. I took inspiration from them and started.

EDGE: How did you know you were getting some traction?

Artyom: Within the first months I had this idea of walking in front of the Bank of America shirtless. People were dancing in videos at gas stations. My friend and I weren't able to find a gas station to do it, so I found a Bank of America at night. It was cold. It was December. We had the gay flag. And I was like, I'm gonna lip sync and walk shirtless with the gay flag in front of Bank of America. And this video got me 3 million views within first two or three days. It got me 100,000 followers from one video. It was a good time to grow. Now it's impossible, you'll probably get 1,000 followers from a million views. It was a different time. Not a lot of people did gay content.