Grindr's founder and CEO Joel Simkhai detailed the exact moment he came out as gay in an intimate conversation with his family.
"I said, 'Hey Dad, I've been dealing with this for five years now. It's taken me some time to process it and understand it. I don't expect you to understand right here, right now, it took me a long time too,' Simkhai recalled for the latest episode of The Huffington Post’s Talk To Me interview series. That coming out conversation, he noted, took place at New York's Grand Central Station.
For the series, Simkhai had a casual -- but serious -- chat with parents Beni and Orna and two brothers, Jonathan and Amir, both of whom also identify as gay. The conversation also touched on Simkhai's concerns for the global LGBT community.
Pointing to those living in Asia, Russia and the Middle East, Simkhai said, "Unfortunately, not everyone has supportive parents and not everyone has supportive families, and that makes it tough. That doesn't mean you should deny who you are or not be comfortable with who you are."
Simkhai, who was born in Israel but relocated to the U.S. with his family when he was 3, believes that being gay and an immigrant to the U.S. has allowed him to "think differently."
"I actually like when people tells me things aren't possible," he said. "I think part of that comes from being gay and being different than a lot of people and forcing me to think in a different way."
To those who judge him and his brothers for their sexuality, Simkhai has just two words: "Screw you."
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