On this episode of U.S. of Gay, we chat with our GED Magzine cover boy, Lio Botello. Born and raised in Fort Worth, he remains a Texas boy through and through. In Dallas, he and his now ex-business partner started an at-home bakery business together and late one night, while binging HBO’s Big Little Lies, he received an invitation in his DMs to appear on a favorite new show of his, Netflix’s Sugar Rush. Lio and his business partner wowed the judges winning two of the three rounds in the competition but coming up just shy of winning the grand prize. This is where Lio’s famous fruity pebble tacos were born. While not winning the $10,000 grand he and his teammate would win the hearts of fans all over the world, with Sugar Rush releasing in 138 countries the love started to pour in, and a special invitation from Kelly Clarkson to appear on her show. Lio is now on his own, as the Krafty Kween, serving his sweet treats to all.

We chat with Lio about coming out in a conservative environment, gaining confidence in the face of adversity, the joy of baking, being the underdog, being visible to our LGBTQ youth, the pressures of social media, filming Sugar Rush, and more…with host Alexander Rodriguez.