Three days after his 18th birthday, Billy Rediess walked down the country road, leaving behind an unsupportive home and entering an unaccepting world for a young gay man.
Rediess, the owner of Miters Touch, the man who redesigned OFM founder Phil Price’s closet, and the genius behind the tagline, “Closets so nice you won’t want to come out,” spoke with OFM.
Toting his trademark rainbow suspenders, he talked to us about growing up in the Stonewall era of gay liberation, the importance of creating love in community, and the fabulous closets he designs.
Born in 1956, Billy grew up in Fort Morgan (a small town about 80 miles northeast of Denver) where fitting in was not an option for him. His evangelical upbringing left him struggling with his identity, and his father further rejected him. At home, his father’s frustration over his “differentness” boiled over into physical and emotional abuse.
The bruising and welts he would get from his father were often severe. He described abuse as being an unfortunate norm at the time, and intervention was not an option. After a particularly egregious incident, he left his home for good and stayed on his brother’s couch while finishing his final year of high school.
At school, Rediess found himself “unpopular and unliked” in a day and age where being gay simply was not tolerated. He says, “Everything in a small town school system led me alone down a path of loneliness and led me to withdraw within myself.”
As a result of an unloving home life and isolation among his peers, he struggled to keep his grades up and foster the self-love he needed in order to accept himself. After his brother found his Playgirl magazine, Billy was confronted about his sexuality, which he vehemently denied—to his brother and himself.
Despite the adversity, he graduated with his class of 1974 and began working for a contractor. This contractor sensed Billy’s “differentness,” something he could not yet accept himself, and encouraged Billy to move to Denver.
When he arrived in Denver, he finally could begin the exploration and acceptance of his identity. Though the gay liberation movement had begun to take hold in the 1970s, queer folks and establishments were still facing heavy persecution all over the country. And Billy was no stranger to this persecution.
He also told us Phil Price and Julian Rush, the late founder of Colorado Aids Foundation, were men that inspired him. On Julian Rush, he says, “What an impact that man made … think of where we would be if somebody had not stood up.”
Reidess himself stood up and was openly himself despite rampant homophobia at the time, especially in the construction industry. He recounted a time he was backed into a linen closet by a man who held a nail gun to his head—“It seemed to me he had come on to me … and I blew it off, and I felt he got anxious I was going to rat him out, and it turned.” Luckily, Rediess escaped the close call, but he still often thinks about how close he’d been to a much worse outcome.
Amidst the discrimination, which was unfortunately common at the time, he found safety in communities that he proudly bolsters as familiy. Being an openly gay business owner during the AIDS crisis, he was met with resistance and, more importantly, support that has fostered a life-long community. Miters Touch was founded in 1980 and has flourished for over the last 40 years. Billy’s role as a business owner allowed him to build communities in and outside of the LGBTQ+ community.
He emphasized his desire for creating unity among everyone. “In living in the world that I live in, I don’t want it to be separate communities. I don’t want it to be a straight community and a gay community … I want us all to be a community.”
After receiving an award from the Junior Symphony, Rediess found himself proud to be a member of the Denver community and finally proud to be himself. He tells us, “Your community is where you are accepted and where you are embraced and where you are loved and where you are told over and over and over that you’re loved.”
And he finds himself in a position to offer love often—He has contributed his time to multiple nonprofits, including the Junior Symphony Guild, American Heart Society, AIDS Walk, and many more.
He tells us that his goal in business and in his personal life is to be honest and create meaningful connections. Material wealth is not something that Billy prioritizes—He prioritizes connection with people foremost. “What we’ll take with us is those memories and the friendships we’ve made along the way and how they impact their health and our hearts and how we’ve impacted them.”
Between his community outreach and redesigning closets, his journey ties together the hardships faced by our LGBTQ+ elders and the acceptance that these folks fought for. Rediess is part of a generation that must not be forgotten. His work and that of countless others ensured queer folks the space to exist.
He says, “Even I’m from a different time. And if I don’t stay current, then I’ll never fit in this world. And I want to fit in this world and, honest to goodness, I want to make a difference.”
With the world constantly changing (progressing and regressing) people in the LGBTQ+ community may not always see eye to eye, but coming to the table with accountability and open arms helps ensure our safety and acceptance. We all should try to find a place in this world and make a difference for our communities and ourselves.
Holding ourselves accountable and sharing space with folks from all walks of life continues progress and equality. Fostering a path of acceptance allows us to truly honor those that sacrificed so much for all of our rights.
Whether you are still in the closet or out of the closet or just in need of closet repairs, you can schedule an appointment with Miters Touch at 303-595-9464 or their website Miterstouch.com. Photo by Ivy Owens
