KARAMO BROWN WAS ONE OF THE FIRST OUT GAY MEN ON REALITY TV IN THE US BUT SPENT THE NEXT 10 YEARS OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT. NOW HE’S BACK IN THE QUEER EYE REBOOT — AND IS KEEN TO PASS ON THE LESSONS HE’S LEARNT FROM AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE

WORDS: MATT CAIN PHOTOGRAPHY: ELIAS TAHAN STYLING: JOSEPH KOCHARIAN

Karamo wears top by Tiger of Sweden, trousers by Gucci at MR PORTER, trainers by Lacoste

Karamo Brown is a man who’s lived. He may be charming and might come across as younger than his 39 years, but he also possesses a wisdom that’s the result of some challenging experiences.

In his early twenties he became the first out gay African American on reality TV when he appeared on MTV’s The Real World. Shortly after that he became addicted to drink and drugs, found out that he had a nine-yearold son, and stepped away from fame to concentrate on fatherhood. He spent the next 10 years working as a social worker and also adopted his son’s half-brother.

Now his sons are 21 and 18, Karamo (pronounced with the stress on the second syllable), is back on our screens in the Netflix reboot of early Noughties hit Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The new series is as much frothy fun as the original but has a greater emotional depth and it’s when drawing on his own experience to offer life coaching to the subjects that Karamo comes into his own. Before the series was released, Attitude caught up with him at home in Los Angeles.

You’re the culture expert in the Queer Eye reboot; are you excited about it?

Beyond excited; I was a big fan of the original.

For it to come back is just amazing, but it’s not the same show. Where gays were then is not where gay men are now so we’re not just having fun and being campy, we’re also talking about our different identities. So for me — I’m a black man, I believe in God, I’m religious, I’m a father — all those things come into play when I’m dealing with a guy and helping him to be better.

One of the changes is that the show has moved from New York to Atlanta. Is this because most straight people in New York now have a queer eye of their own?

That’s exactly the logic behind it, because most men in major metropolitan cities can access stores or people who can inspire them, or they can see fashion or grooming on the street that can give them a push in the right direction. But America’s Deep South is one of those places where people get stuck in a time warp, where their fashion, the way that they think about life, the way that they groom themselves, the way that they’re eating food, doesn’t change.