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Southeast Michigan YouTubers Release Coming Out Story

Coming out is almost never easy. Couple that with heavily Christian, highly conservative parents, and it becomes nearly impossible. That's why twins Michael and Zach Zakar, 24, fully intended on keeping it a secret from their family forever.
"Now, it's weird because we're openly known for being gay, Arab twins," Zach said. "We never ever thought that that would be our market. We were going to tell our mom, like, on her death bed. Before she'd flat line, we'd be like, 'Mom, we suck dick!' That was the original plan."
But as with many of life's plans, things rarely go smoothly. Their mother directly asked them if they were gay, and at 18 they came out.
"She tried to de-gay us with holy grace as well," Zach said. "Within a week she tried two, pretty significantly fucked up things, and then we were like, 'OK, that was kind of weird.'"
And, in fact, the aftermath of their coming out was weird enough that it inspired the two models, app developers and YouTubers to write a book about it, called "Pray the Gay Away." The story is told through the eyes of both twins in various important points in their coming out process, from the first time they have a rendezvous with a man, to the moment their mother found out about their homosexuality and the aftermath of that. Before the book could truly take shape, however, it had small beginnings.
"It started out with sticky notes," Zach said. "Mom would say stuff, demeaning things."
"Originally, in our heads it started out as a film," Michael said.
Soon after coming out, the two brothers began attending film school to become directors, which they still intend to do.
"It started kind of as a hateful thing. We wrote it because we were angry that she reacted in such a demeaning way," Zach said. "Then, over time, the project, it really resulted in kind of a beautiful thing. We were growing with the book, it was growing with us."
Throughout the process, the twins realized that they were involved in a very relatable project not only to members of the LGBTQ community, but to members of the Southeast Michigan Arabic population.
"When we originally wrote it, we didn't expect it to hit a market, but we were thinking about it. We are one of the most highly concentrated Arabic people in the U.S., so I think a lot of people can relate," Michael said.
"Our book is primarily to shed a new light on the Arabic community, as well as to show people that things with our mother aren't perfect, but they get better in their own messed up way," Zach said.
Over the lengthy five-year process of the book's creation and release, the twins began to realize that the slow reparation of their relationship with their mother was a positive spin on something that frequently was very tragic. Zach said that '80s LGBTQ literature was where they drew much of the inspiration for their creative work.
"Back in the '80s it was very sad and almost suicidal. I understand where it was coming from, it was a very sad time," he said." I think our book is very fun, and (done) in almost a joking manner throughout the whole thing."
That humor is part of the Zakar brand, both evident in the twins' YouTube channel and and on the cover of their book, which features them and a drag queen dressed as a nun. Released barely over a month ago, the twins have already achieved a spot in the top 100 LGBT book list on. That early success is driving the Southeast Michigan duo to create more, and the two already have future projects lined up.
"Everyone has their own unique story. Fortunately for us, we just wrote ours down," Zach said with a laugh. "The book is done, but it's not finished. We're writing two more books about different things."
The twins said that they hope that the for people planning on coming out who read "Pray the Gay Away" take its overarching message with them.
"You cannot forget the bigger picture. It feels like life is caving in to a lot of people when it first happens. I think that's one of the scariest things. Because all I was worried about, was when you grow up, there's so much involved in the bigger picture," Michael said. "That's what I tell people, just realize there is light at the end of the tunnel even if it feels almost impossible."
"We're still learning who we are (too)," Zack said.
Follow the Zakar twins on Facebook at facebook.com/zakartwins/ or on Twitter @ZakarTwins. To purchase the book, visit zakartwins.com/new-page/.

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