Joel and Brandon take StoryCorps’ One Small Step

Joel and Brandon take StoryCorps’ One Small Step

... and realize how the Pulse nightclub shooting changed them both

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Brandon Martin

Bio: Brandon Martin, 38, is a performer at a local theme park.

Martin was born in Brooklyn. His parents emigrated from Grenada, but they actually met in New York City.

He said he loved growing up in New York City because of how multicultural it was.

“Coming from a Caribbean background, I feel American, but then I don’t,” Martin said. ”I guess I sometimes feel like I’m seeing things from the outside-ish.”

Martin said he first came out to his parents in high school, and then fully after college.

“They accepted me, and I don’t take that for granted,” Martin said. “I feel very fortunate. Because that’s not everyone’s experience.”

Joel Hunter

Bio: Joel Hunter is a 76-year-old pastor of Community Benefit at Action Church, which has multiple locations.

He said he’s led a “Forrest Gump” life, being a man of “below average ability, but getting ‘photoshopped’ into moments of history.”

Hunter rose to notoriety as the pastor of Northland Church in Longwood, which was one of the largest churches in Central Florida. He went on to become former Pres. Barack Obama’s spiritual adviser, and served on the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

“I grew up in a small town where nobody moved,” Hunter said. “We lived all our lives together. I left for college, never went back. But that was the life I was used to.”