Beartooth vocalist Caleb Shomo has opened up in a new interview on the Disrespectfully podcast about his sexuality, his upbringing, and the challenges of coming out while working within the heavy music scene.
Shomo, who publicly came out earlier this year as “a proudly gay man,” discussed how growing up as the son of a preacher shaped his early understanding of sexuality in a restrictive religious environment. He described being raised in a setting where being gay was framed as something that could be “cured,” and reflected on how those beliefs carried into his teenage years.
He also spoke about his early involvement in the Christian music scene, describing it as a formative but deeply confusing period in his life. According to Shomo, exposure to intense evangelical environments at a young age created long-lasting internal conflict.
“Probably even more damaging than that upbringing was being involved in a music scene, in that really wild Christian era of the mid-late 2000s… I was 14 when I got into this scene… hanging out with a lot of older people, who are very evangelical devout Christians.”
He went on to recall a specific incident from Warped Tour, which he described as deeply unsettling.
“Literally being 16-years-old on a Warped Tour being outside of our bus while this group of people is trying to pray the gay out of one of our crew members… it was so f*ing traumatizing and terrifying.”**
Shomo also reflected on how strict cultural expectations around relationships and gender roles shaped his understanding of himself during adolescence, saying he struggled for years to recognize and process his identity.
He described early memories that, in hindsight, he now connects to his sexuality, including being mocked as a child for choosing a ring considered “for girls.”
“I just loved it and I loved the way it made me feel… I remember just getting ridiculed by the kids… I just freaked out and didn’t know what was going on and f*ing threw it out the window.”**
Shomo said that growing up in that environment led him to suppress parts of himself, which later contributed to mental health struggles.
“That feeling that I had… I just viewed and compartmentalized as self-hatred. It’s just this thing that’s evil in me and I f*ing pray about it.”**
He also spoke candidly about how substance use and suicidal ideation became coping mechanisms during that period, before eventually beginning therapy and working through his identity more directly.
Ultimately, Shomo said the turning point came when he stopped resisting what he had been feeling for years.
“No, I think the way that I feel about girls, I feel about guys… there’s something there that I’ve been running from for a long f*ing time. And I don’t think I want to run anymore.”
He added that after accepting it, everything began to make more sense in his life, and he began focusing on therapy, structure, and self-care as part of his process.
Reflecting on the lack of openly queer representation in heavy music, Shomo pointed to the difficulty of coming out in the scene.
“Within our music scene, you know to be gay in any public forum is very scary… I mean, we have Rob Halford, and that was in the ’90s.”
Shomo’s coming out earlier this year was first hinted at in Beartooth’s music video for “Free,” which sparked discussion online and led to significant attention around his personal life and public image.
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Who cares, your gay. Rob halford is gay, freddy mercury, kid from greta van fleet lol fuck man. Who cares
Jesse Drews agreed… tired of the shit.