Young, out, and on the air.

Gay student Brad lets it all hang out, spending a school year before the cameras on reality show American High 

Unlike many gay teenagers, recent high school graduate Brad has nothing to hide--especially since he just spent his senior year with a camera crew recording practically his every move. Brad, 18, is one of a group of Highland Park, Ill., high school students featured on American High, a more-real Real World, which began airing on Fox beginning August 2. The documentary follows their conflicts--both at home and school--yet unlike other reality-based programs, nothing is staged, and some footage is shot by the students, who were given cameras.

Lack of privacy may intimidate some, but not Brad, who confesses that his apprehension dissipated after watching The War Room, the Oscar-nominated doc produced by American High creator R.J. Cutler, a film Brad deems "full of integrity." (Cutler returns the compliment, saying Brad was chosen for being "incredibly articulate about being a teenager right now.") Brad wanted to go public because, he says, "I had a lot to say and realized this was a great outlet."

Brad doesn't come out on-camera: He realized he was gay during his freshman year, and two years later he admitted it to others during what he now sardonically dubs "the 48-hour period." After missing a week of school, he told his family and his best friend, Robbie, the school's star jock, on a Friday night. Brad recalls, "By Monday, everyone at school knew." While he endured some scornful glances, he says, "everyone I cared about gave me the love and respect I wanted and thought I wouldn't get. The people that didn't, didn't really matter to me anyway." A popular student, he even attended the senior prom during his junior year as the date of a male senior.

Brad admits that the camera crew, while mostly unobtrusive, took some get. ting used to. "They'd film me doing things you'd think no one would want to see, like brushing my teeth." On the rare occasion he became uncomfortable, Brad says, "I'd yell, `Cut!' and tell the crew to leave, and they did." His family was equally comfortable with the camera. Brad believes "they realized [my story] could help others, and it became fun for them."

In one episode the photogenic Brad laments his lack of gay friends. That's certain to change when he departs for New York later this summer to study at NYU with a major in either fashion or graphic design. While the possibility of becoming a role model for other gay teens seems to daunt him, he does hope to "change some prejudices." For Brad, the oddest part of this experience has been the realization that "this is my life and it's going to be entertainment for strangers."

Kinser also writes for the Spanish film magazine Dirigido.

Find the official American High Web site as well as more pictures of Brad at www.advocate.com