Steve Peterson has branding in his blood; at the pinnacle of his corporate career, he worked on the Martha Stewart collection at Macy’s in New York City. So, when the born-and-raised Midwesterner turned 50, he thought about how he could capitalize on the occasion … to do good. As a gay man, he identified strongly with Matthew Shepard, the 22-year-old member of the LGBTQ+ community who was killed in a hate crime in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998. Peterson’s birthday party turned into a fundraiser for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, branded Skate Against Hate with a double-starburst logo, designed by a graphic designer friend. It was the genesis of what would become Bursting Through, a local media company dedicated to collecting and distributing stories of ally-ship and queer-straight relationships. Peterson talked to Desert Companion about his mission, approach, and surprising NPR connection. Here’s an excerpt, edited for length and clarity.
In your telling of Bursting Through’s history, the story of Matthew Shepard is pivotal. Why?
I left New York in 2016 and landed in San Francisco in fall of 2016, and I started teaching at the Academy of Art University. That November is when the presidential election happened with the unexpected result of (former President Donald) Trump being elected. That changed a lot of dynamics for me and how I looked at the world. I talk about Bursting Through as the great gift that Trump gave me, because one thing that was happening in my personal journey was, I was looking for more of a purpose, and I still had this creative itch to scratch. My 50th birthday was approaching, and I come from a big Midwestern family. And my mother insisted that I do something like my three older siblings had. And I thought, I want to do a benefit for Matthew Shepard Foundation, because his story has always been close to my heart. … You know, for all intents and purposes, I am Matthew Shepard. Any gay young man in rural anywhere was deeply affected by (his murder), because it was a strict hate crime.
How did the idea of allies come into it?
The second thing that happened was, a lot of my straight friends started telling me these incredible, powerful stories about how a queer loved one had shaped their view of love. A guy that I grew up with in my small town — and we weren't particularly close — came forward, and he and his wife were the first ones to contribute to Skate Against Hate. He told me how he had really believed that everyone who was non-heterosexual should burn in hell until he was in his late-20s, early-30s, and how, through personal experience, that had changed. That was such a powerful story that later, when we started Bursting Through, it was one of the first stories I wrote. What I discovered through these stories was that love and compassion and connection were everywhere. And I knew that they had to be told somehow.
What brought you to Las Vegas?
About a year after (the fundraiser), I got a job offer here in Las Vegas. And when I landed here, I loved Vegas immediately, because it felt very familiar to me as a Midwesterner. You know, when you're not on the Strip, the neighborhoods and the communities are very friendly that way. Unfortunately, for the first time in my life, the job didn't really connect with me. But part of the reason it didn't is, I knew I had something else in me. … I knew it was time for me to turn away from corporate America and turn to purpose-driven work. And I did that through creating Bursting Through.
Is it accurate to describe it as an oral history project?
It's really a storytelling movement about social change, social justice for the queer community and its allies. It's about a deeper understanding of our relationships. Because every bursting through story is told through both perspectives — the queer and straight perspective — and everybody has an equal voice. I've had the honor of talking to parents who have raised queer kids who now are high school or college aged and not only reflecting on that, but also what they learned and how they grew as a family. Particularly in the current climate, that’s so important.
So, every conversation involves a queer person and straight person?
Yeah.
And it’s basically their breakthrough moment — the moment of breaking down the barrier between them.
Yeah, totally. … Those are those moments where empathy and connection and love come bursting through. And (they may be) just these subtle moments that we live every day, but when we sit down and talk … we crystallize them and verbalize them, and it changes how we move forward.
Can you give me an example of that moment from one of your conversations?
One mother shared with me that it was a difficult journey for her with a name change, because she had given her child a family name that was very special to her. And she — right or wrong — took it as a bit of rejection (when the child dropped that name). That's just somebody sharing their fair and honest feelings, and that's a reasonable thing to talk about.
As a longtime staffer at an NPR member station, I couldn't help but hear a little Story Corps in the conversations you have on you website. Am I onto something there?
Yeah, you know, full disclosure: Because I have a brand-building background, I developed Bursting Through as a lifestyle brand with a storytelling element, knowing that the storytelling was the key. But also, not knowing that the storytelling was something I was going to have to learn in a different way, because I had spent my career storytelling through visual images and not through words. So, that was going to require some learning on my end. And I did tons of research. As an NPR geek, and a lover of NPR, yeah, my first stop was NPR. I already listened to a lot of NPR shows, and the interviewers that I had the most respect for, I borrowed from, and I combined them into the bursting through formula. So, yeah, Story Corps was a huge piece of that.
Why did you decide to go the for-profit route, rather than the nonprofit, with Bursting Through?
Bursting Through is an LLC for a lot of different reasons. At the end of the day, it’s a media company; I have a magazine, Connections. There'll be podcasts. There are so many different avenues of media where the stories can just keep growing and being pushed out. So, I did it very intentionally, looking at myself as an entrepreneur who does purpose-driven work. … We live in a media-driven world, and I believe that all companies, big and small, do have a social responsibility. We all have a social responsibility. And that doesn't end with the nonprofits.
Entrepreneurs identify needs that aren’t being met and launch companies or products to meet them. What’s the need that’s not being met here?
I wrote a story about this (earlier this year) in Connections digital magazine. We've always lived in bubbles in this society to a degree, and some of that is about safety. Some of that's just cultural. There's a lot of different reasons for it. But we've gotten to the point where these bubbles are not only bigger, but also, they're further apart. And I had identified that, over here, there's this big bubble that's the queer community, the LGBTQIA+ community and all these awesome organizations that do work for the community — Pride organizations, the Center — that provide safety and services. But it's become unintentionally insular. And then, you’ve got the allies over here. This is the big reason Bursting Through exists: 7 percent of the adult population in the United States self-identify as LGBTQIA+ and 55 percent of the adult population in the United States, self-identify as LGBTQIA+ supporters, or allies. So, that's a pretty big percentage. And yet, 2021 and ’22 saw more anti-queer legislation in this country than in any year in the history of this nation. And now, 2023 is probably going to break that record. So, where's the disconnect? The disconnect is we're not talking in any meaningful way, together. We're talking in separate places.
It sounds like you’ve got a somewhat political purpose?
In the sense of giving people information, yeah, giving allies information. You don't know what you don't know. Allies want to support the community, but they really don't know how to in any meaningful way, because they don't get the news that the queer community gets and, and they have their own things to focus on and to pay attention to. So, Bursting Through creates a place for allies to go, that gives them information an easy way. For instance, the soundbite that these two years saw more anti-queer legislation — that’s been shocking to a lot of people when I share that with them. Many people don’t know how much power their money has, and that's where easy activism comes in.
What's your ultimate goal for the company?
Sustainable equality for the queer community — the key word being “sustainable.” … When we change minds, and change hearts, and change attitudes through the power of storytelling, we begin to change society and how we behave every day. Another goal is that the Bursting Through icon, this dual … Ultimately, I would just like to make it easier for all of us to support the community.
