My Life. My Blog.

The only thing more shocking than the truth
are the lies people tell to cover it up.

I am a strong believer in owning and embracing everything that has happened to you. Your experiences are your own, and you should be able to mold them into stories that belong to you. I think there is real strength in owning something horrible that has happened, in going from hiding a shameful secret to being able to say, “This is my truth. I got through it, and I’m okay.” I don’t think I’m quite there yet in terms of declaration, but at the end of the day, you are allowed to own the hurt you’ve experienced. You’re allowed to take back what you feel like people have taken away from you. I’ve decided I will not let this ruin me.

If that resonates, check out my blog, where I rant about whatever pops into my head—from TV shows to deep thoughts, personal stories (which may not be as funny as when I tell them, but still a good read), my art, and my memoir Stripped, a wild ride through a year and a half of my life.

Welcome to my page… The Straight T!

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Grab Stripped: A Memoir for $24.95 — shipping included (U.S. only).

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In his debut full-length memoir, Stripped, Erik Mario Austin unravels his chaotic return to Los Angeles, where what begins as a simple swipe on a dating app in search of love, sex, and connection spirals into a nightmare he never saw coming. Labeled an addict on the run from rehab after a staged intervention, Erik’s life rapidly collapses as rumors spread, loyalties fracture, and those who claim to be helping push him closer to destruction.

A raw, twisting memoir that reads like fiction, Stripped chronicles Erik’s dramatic fall into homelessness as he spirals through some of Los Angeles’s most dangerous neighborhoods. Pulled into a modern-day Dickensian underworld, he becomes ensnared in a ruthless network of homeless con artists who survive by seducing, stealing, and scheming beneath the city’s glittering façade. In their desperate hunt for drugs and shelter, they prey on the wealthy and surrender their stolen rewards to a manipulative kingpin, a twisted modern-day Fagin who keeps them loyal with just enough to survive. Forced deep into the city’s underbelly, Erik learns that trust is a currency no one can afford and that every choice comes with a price that may not be paid in money.

Told with the urgency of a psychological thriller and the intimacy of a whispered confession, Stripped is part porn, part dark comedy and entirely unflinching. With sharp humor, fearless honesty, and theatrical flair, Austin tears the mask off society’s prettiest lies and exposes what happens when survival becomes the only script left to follow. At its core, Stripped is a raw and revealing story of queer identity, addiction, betrayal, and the art of surviving your own destruction—when life goes off-script and you’re forced to improvise.

Sometimes, survival is the greatest performance of all.

Lord

Not in the greatest mood today because the Oliver! schedule is currently held together with Scotch tape, prayer, and passive aggression. Kristina suddenly has another appointment even though music was originally on her placeholder, and somehow Korey and I are now trying to rework an entire evening while 50-plus people are showing up tonight expecting organized theater. Adorable. Also I drove all the way to Atascadero in the rain to pick up scripts, which if you know me at all

6 hours ago

Uggg

Today was chaos from beginning to end. I drove all the way to San Luis Obispo waiting for scripts that were supposed to be dropped off in Atascadero, which is somehow always farther away than you remember. I sat around all morning thinking they were coming and eventually realized absolutely nobody was showing up. Thankfully Larry came through and printed emergency copies because at that point we were basically producing Oliver! through prayer and office supplies. Then I got t

2 days ago

Broke

I am officially exhausted by being broke. Like aggressively broke. Like “let’s split a soda because capitalism is cruel” broke. Today Sheila took me to see The Devil Wears Ratatouille, which sounds like a fake movie Kirk would produce in Stars Hollow for twelve dollars and a panini. She bought popcorn and we split a drink that was half Cherry Pepsi and half Diet Coke, which honestly tasted way better than it had any right to. The movie itself was fine. Like airplane entertain

3 days ago

Memorial Day

Well today was Memorial Day and somehow it felt like we traveled across the state of California fourteen times for absolutely no reason. We took drinks to Sheila’s daughter Isabella, who’s house-sitting, and drove all the way to her apartment, which was actually really cute. We were finally about to leave for the beach when suddenly Isabella didn’t feel well, and instead of just saying “okay maybe another time,” we somehow ended up driving all the way back to the valley first

4 days ago

Merch

Going into Sound of Music merchandise madness today because the manager is panicking that she’s missing an entire week of inventory, except today is closing day so now everything has to be packed up at the end too. Both shows are sold out, which is amazing except it also means I probably won’t get to actually watch the show at all, which kind of sucks because by closing you finally get sentimental and start acting like the Von Trapps are your actual relatives. So today’s agen

5 days ago

More Driving

Drove all the way back to LA tonight after kid rehearsal and watching a production of Bringing It On performed by children who were approximately the age of small woodland creatures. Now listen, it was cute. Very cute. Adorable even. But there are certain lines in that show where you suddenly remember, “Oh right, these characters are supposed to be in high school,” and meanwhile little Madison on stage still believes in the Tooth Fairy. Some of them genuinely looked like they

6 days ago

A DAY

Yesterday was a DAY. I spent hours calling the cast, sending emails, organizing everything, and yes… dealing with some parents. Listen, theater is competitive. Sometimes you don’t make the cast. Sometimes you get a smaller role than you hoped for. That’s life. Be disappointed for a minute if you need to, but then either move forward or be grateful for the opportunity you WERE given. PERIOD. There were enough talented people to cast this show several times over, and every deci

7 days ago

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