Podcast Summary
Podcast: Dumb Blonde
Episode: TBT: Leo Skepi Is Your Authentic Guru
Host: Bunnie XO
Guest: Leo Skepi
Release Date: December 4, 2025
Overview
This episode of Dumb Blonde features a raw, hilarious, and deeply honest conversation between Bunnie XO and social media star/podcast host Leo Skepi. Known for his poetic authenticity, Leo shares candid stories about overcoming trauma, confronting his sexuality, surviving familial dysfunction, the highs and lows of his “sugar baby” and party phases, and how he rose above darkness to become an empowering voice and #1-charting LGBTQ+ educator and life coach. The episode is full of vulnerable moments, dark humor, and lessons of self-acceptance and resilience.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Intro & New Friend Vibes
- Bunnie introduces Leo with wild strip-club MC energy, immediately setting a playful, bold tone (03:54).
- Chemistry is instant: Bunnie gushes over Leo’s TikTok presence, his “poetic” words, and how meeting him in person cements her fandom (05:50).
2. Identity, Authenticity & Podcast Success
- Leo’s Background: Born in Pensacola, Florida, raised in a strict Albanian household where “mob loyalty” values ran deep (08:34–10:18).
- Early feelings of misfit status—bullied for being “fat and ugly,” not fitting classic gay/straight stereotypes, constantly “a contradiction” (11:40–13:52).
- “I’m the first gay person to chart number one in education [category]” – Leo, visibly proud (06:18–06:24).
- Started Aware and Aggravated podcast from his dad’s closet—a pun he fully embraces with a laugh (06:28).
- Therapy as Healing: Bunnie and Leo bond over their podcasts being forms of self-therapy, helping both themselves and their audiences process trauma (07:01–07:53).
- Leo: “I always speak to my younger self in my podcast… my messages are very harsh and direct… I baby you when it's necessary, then I tell you get off your ass and quit.” (07:37).
3. Coming Out, Albanian Culture & Sexuality
- Growing up in a culture where being gay is the “worst possible disgrace.” Leo internalizes shame and denial well into high school and early adulthood (10:18–13:52).
- Struggled with accepting sexuality, first attracted to boys in middle school, but “would just shut it down in my head” (10:54–11:13).
- “I wish I wasn’t gay, but I’m just a faggot. I can’t help it… I like men, but I don’t like little sissy men. I like tough men.” – Leo, reclaiming the language once weaponized against him (11:37–11:44).
- Bunnie dives into labels, her own fluidity: “Everybody wants a label…just be who you are, love who you love” (11:31).
- Family divorce was traumatic and ongoing—a “loyalty tug-of-war” between parents (14:05–15:12).
4. Trauma, Abuse & Survival
- Leo details extreme abuse: an ex-con stepdad who choked him, put a gun to his head, attacked him while he slept, and tried to “prepare him for life” through violence (21:15–22:15).
- "He was showing me how bad the world was... violence like a superhero. When I was on his good side, I felt safe. If he was mad at me, I was fucked." (24:29–25:13)
- "He wanted to prepare me for how dark the world could be—but he was the only one who could hurt me. When he died, I was fucking terrified." (25:13)
- Leo lost his stepdad in a violent motorcycle accident. Despite all, Leo confesses to a strange love and trauma bond with him (23:31–23:56).
- Bunnie shares her experience with domestic violence; they both discuss flipping trauma into resilience (24:00–24:29).
5. Sugar Baby, Escorting and Sex Work
- At 17, Leo begins escorting due to financial need. First encounter involved a wealthy older woman; later pivoted to sugar daddy arrangements (25:41–29:26).
- “I would never fuck anyone for money that I wouldn’t fuck for free.” (25:59)
- “I started seeing sugar daddies—men for money. But when I met this guy, feelings quickly arose…it wasn’t a sugar daddy dynamic — it was a relationship.” (34:03–35:03)
- Honest about reclaiming power through transactional sex, paralleling Bunnie’s own past in Vegas (31:14–31:59).
- Major revelations around healing through regaining control in adult situations after a childhood of powerlessness (31:14–32:58).
6. Relationship Trauma, Court Battles, and Family Coming Out
- First real relationship with a man (a sugar daddy) ends disastrously: betrayal, lies about HIV status, public defamation, expensive legal drama (51:01–57:25).
- “He never once told me to use a condom, never told me to get on PrEP… he was 42, risking a 21-year-old’s life.” (51:42–51:56)
- Leo’s sister was his only confidante; coming out to his mother was fraught with misunderstanding and guilt (44:39–49:06).
- “I thought it was better to look like an escort than to be gay.” (46:57)
- His mom was ultimately supportive—her disappointment concerned ethics, not sexuality. “If you’re doing it for a couple bags…be doing it for a house!” (47:41)
- Dad was supportive on a practical level (“He had my back and was gonna help me, but…‘you got money out of it, you got yours, now be done with it.’” 69:30).
7. Partying, Drugs, and Consequences
- Post-breakup, Leo self-medicates with drugs/partying: “I tried coke, molly, and got shitfaced drunk all at once… loved coke. I had a gold acrylic pinky nail.” (63:00–63:39)
- Escalates into dealing (“I was the Molly man; everybody knew I had the good coke”) to survive while his nursing license is under review (64:29–65:19).
- Reflects on the dark reality of drug use and selling, specifically among medical professionals—“Doctors abuse drugs more than anybody I know.” (66:24)
- “I lived reckless. I didn’t care if I died… now I’m happy, and I’m scared to lose it.” (65:53–66:01)
8. Redemption, Social Media, and Building an Empire
- Leo pivots to sharing his story on TikTok and starts Aware and Aggravated to counteract the slander from his ex (“The only way to change people’s perception is to show them who I am.”) (73:12)
- “I made my podcast and all the things I was going through I was, like, sharing how I dealt with it because, like, therapists couldn’t help me. No one knew what to do to help me.” (74:11)
- TikTok blows up (2 million followers in a month; 100k on YouTube); the value of his “real shit” self-help is finally recognized (77:27–78:09).
- Launched the Positive Focus app—pushes genuinely useful affirmations/perspectives (“I made it because I couldn’t find it.” 77:04)
9. What’s Next: Growth, Agency, and New Projects
- Signs with top agency UTA: “I just signed with UTA two days ago. They’re about to take over. Now I have a team of people who can make things happen.” (80:01)
- Planning live events, new podcast segments with celebrity guests, and launching a “damage control” vitamin line to help party people manage their health (82:06–83:24).
- “I have too much to lose now, or I would still be in the game [of dealing].” (72:50)
- Goal: use hard-earned wisdom, authenticity, and humor to empower others to heal and succeed—on their own terms.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- [06:18] Leo: “I’m the first gay person to chart number one in education…Like, my nipples are so hard.”
- [07:37] Leo: “I always speak to my younger self in my podcast…my messages are very harsh and direct and harsh truths.”
- [11:37] Leo: “I wish I wasn’t gay, but I’m just a faggot. I can’t help it…I like tough men.”
- [24:29] Leo: “He was showing me how bad the world was…violence like a superhero…On his good side I felt safe. If he was mad, I was fucked.”
- [46:57] Leo: “I thought it was better to look like an escort than to be gay.”
- [51:42] Leo: “He never once told me to use a condom…he was 42, risking a 21-year-old’s life.”
- [74:11] Leo: “I made my podcast and all the things I was going through, I was sharing how I dealt with it, because therapists couldn’t help me. No one knew what to do to help me.”
- [80:01] Leo: “Now I have a team of people who can make it happen. I don’t have to be the one making all these businesses and doing all this. I’m sick of it…I did everything.”
- [83:25] Bunnie: “Even though you have some really dark situations that have happened…you chose to spread light. No matter how macho you are, you’re still just a loving human.”
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 03:54 – Opening banter/strip club intro, establishing playful tone
- 06:18–07:53 – Leo’s podcast origin & therapeutic power of podcasting
- 08:34–10:18 – Albanian roots, strict upbringing, early feelings of misfit status
- 11:37–13:52 – Wrestling with sexuality, refusal to accept labels
- 21:15–25:13 – Abuse by stepdad; trauma, love, and survivor’s mentality
- 25:41–29:26 – Entry into sex work, first sugar baby experiences
- 34:03–35:03 – Realization of deeper feelings for a sugar daddy
- 44:39–49:06 – Coming out to family; surprising reactions
- 51:01–57:25 – Relationship betrayal, HIV scare & trauma
- 63:00–66:01 – Drug phase (“the Molly man”), self-medicating after trauma
- 73:12–78:09 – Rising from slander, TikTok/social media growth, positive focus app
- 80:01–83:24 – Signing with UTA, future plans (live shows, vitamin line, guest podcasts)
Tone/Langauge
- Unapologetically frank, often vulgar, deeply empathetic. Dark humor, survivor’s grit, “tough love” wisdom, plus moments of tenderness and pride.
Useful for:
- Anyone struggling with trauma, identity, or self-acceptance
- Listeners seeking honest discussion about LGBTQ+ experience and healing
- Fans of true-crime-meets-comedy storytelling with real heart
Find Leo:
- TikTok: Leo Skepi
- Instagram: @theleoskepi
- Podcast: Aware and Aggravated (YouTube/Apple/Spotify)
“I always speak to my younger self in my podcast. My messages are very harsh and direct—but that heals me, and it heals others.” – Leo Skepi [07:37]
