It’s a Monday evening in the RiNo Art District; it’s the night of the Colorado D.I.V.A. Awards. The doors of Reelworks are still closed, and Isaiah Anthony Sexton paces back and forth in the lounge area of Tracks Nightclub. He starts practicing his vocal exercises in a basic white T-shirt and black shorts because tonight he is performing a song live for the audience.
Isaiah Anthony Sexton’s road to success has not been an easy journey. He’s come from a troubled youth and was self-placed into conversion therapy during a time when he didn’t like himself. Too many LGBTQ+ youth see themselves in a negative light and assume their dreams are not worth the fight. Isaiah’s story is important because it shows that with determination and surrounding yourself with the right people, nothing can hold you back, and your past is not a box you’re stuck in.
Isaiah starts to sing the lyrics of “Dancing in the Sky” by Dani and Lizzy, which he is set to sing during the memorial portion of the award show. “There’s so much emotion right now.” This is not Isaiah’s first live performance, but he says he still gets nervous before each show, regardless of how big or small. You can find Isaiah behind the bar at Tracks Nightclub or serving tables at Recess Beer Garden, but his passion is the stage.
There are tables and chairs surrounding the stage. Lights beam down onto Isaiah, making him visible to even the guests in the back. To the left is a drag queen interviewing people as they walk in. Isaiah taps the mic and starts to sing. All eyes focus on the stage.
Isaiah changes into a suit with his body exposed underneath, and his mother, Christina, waits to see her son to give critiques on his look. I’ve met Christina before this; she’s at the majority of Isaiah’s shows with her cell phone out, ready to record the entirety of the performance like most proud mothers. “I’m proud of him,” she says as we follow Isaiah back inside. Although divorced, both of his parents always show up to support their son.
Isaiah has been singing since he was four years old. He would sing for Christmas plays, funerals, and wherever else they would allow him to. His big break came when he was asked to promote an idol competition for Charlie’s Denver. He ended up winning the competition, but it was winning best live vocals at the 2024 D.I.V.A. Awards that opened up many more doors for the singer.
Isaiah Anthony Sexton, 32, starts to describe his experience and why he chose to attend a conversion therapy camp at 18 years old. Just as most LGBTQ+ youth, Isaiah felt wrong for being attracted to men; he grew up in the Church and believed he was wrong for what he was feeling. Surrounded by a family that supported him regardless of being gay, he took it a step further and talked to his pastor in 2012 about conversion therapy. He tells of a time when he said “faggot” referring to himself. His father heard him and told him to never talk down about himself or the community.
Even still, in September 2012, Isaiah was on a plane headed to Dry Ridge, Kentucky, to Pure Life Missions conversion therapy camp. He tells of walking into a room full of 100 males who were there for the same reason: to be purified and live a life based on the Bible and without sin. They would start off in a room with 16 bunk beds, and when they progressed more with the program, they would graduate to rooms with fewer bunks.
One of the first things they make them do is shave their heads and beards, they had to earn the right to have hair again. “I would go to pray, and they didn’t like how I raised my hands. They would tell me to raise them like a man,” Isaiah recalls. To them, gay men said their “S” too femininely, and they would make the males say “Mississippi” to practice. If a lisp was heard, they would be told to say it like a man.
They had weekly meetings with a counselor and one weekly phone call. There were Bible service throughout the week to remind them of the wrongs of homosexuality. If they acted out, they would lose the phone call, or even the right to talk at all.
He stayed at Pure Life Missions from September 2012 to September 2013. “(I was) Sitting at a service and saw guys, grown men, crying and raising their hands, and thought to myself, is any of this real?” Isaiah now puts his efforts and focus into singing and getting his name out for more gigs. You can hear his story through his song and how he sings with such passion and purpose. The days of hating himself for being gay are long over; he’s a proud and active member of the LGBTQ+ community.
While reading his journal that details his time throughout conversion therapy, it is painfully clear that he felt he was not enough unless he lived through the ideas of Jesus. The ridicule and torment Isaiah put himself through believing he was not good enough was painful to read.
Isaiah Anthony Sexton is proof that we can rise above, even if the challenge is our own inner voice. You just need to find what drives you to keep going and learn to love yourself even when it seems challenging.
Find your purpose, find your voice, and keep pushing. If Isaiah had given up, the community would have lost a valuable voice. We all have a purpose; find yours, and keep going.
Photo courtesy of the author
