Episode 56: Billy McWilliams
What began for Billy McWilliams as a simple move to follow family, ended halfway across the world in a small southwest Montana town. Since his relocation with twin brother Robert decades ago, Billy has worn many hats, the most fitting of which as the owner of Erotique, an adult boutique in downtown Bozeman. Meager beginnings in the late ’80s as the store manager ignited Billy’s passion for sexual health, empowerment and advocacy. Through a range of applications and arenas – from providing HIV outreach and awareness during the height of the AIDS epidemic to inviting MSU’s incoming freshman (and their blushing parents) to embrace their sexual identities and independence – Billy has become a warm example to an ever-evolving Bozeman demographic of what is possible when inclusivity and compassion drive action. And now, he’s set his sights on a bit wider circle of influence through the Great American Orgasm. Billy’s newest altruistic venture is a simple answer to Trump-era divisiveness and COVID-induced tension: a wave of pint-sized vibrators sweeping the nation and providing a whole lot of sexual healing.
Photos by Ben Johnson