By Sophia Racy, Communications Intern
Sergey grew up in Belarus witnessing a particular kind of contradiction: Artists like Elton John and Freddy Mercury were beloved, and their queerness was idolized. But when it came to real people, such as classmates or neighbors, the reaction was something else entirely.
Sergey was consistently treated differently even before he fully understood his identity. He experienced bullying at school throughout his childhood — isolation and mockery tied to his name and perceived femininity. By the time he understood what the bullying meant, it had already shaped him.
“It starts very early,” Sergey recalled. “I felt very bullied and isolated from society.”
Music became his way through during those difficult years. “It always was kind of a way to escape,” he said. Sergey started to see music as a possible path out of Belarus and toward a life where he could live more openly. He began pouring himself into recording sessions and music videos, performing as a straight artist because that was all the industry had room for.
He had already made peace with a kind of personal concealment. He assumed his personal life would always exist behind closed doors, invisible to the world. “I learned how to hide from society for many, many years,” he said.
What changed was politics, not opportunity.
Following Belarus’ disputed presidential election in 2020, widespread protests erupted across the country. Sergey participated in demonstrations and released music that spoke out about the topic. Soon afterward, his website was blocked inside Belarus.
“I knew that next day they were probably going to come for me,” he said. “A couple of my friends were already in jail.”
Fearing persecution, Sergey chose to leave Belarus after receiving a marketing position in Ukraine. But just weeks after arriving, the 2022 Russian invasion began, forcing him to flee once again.
After coming to the United States and spending nearly a month in detention, Sergey was granted asylum in the United States in 2024. Like many asylum seekers, Sergey imagined that receiving legal protection would be the end of his struggle. Instead, it led to the beginning of a different challenge: rebuilding his life from scratch.
“It feels like when you achieve your legal status in the States, everything will be fine,” he said. “But actually, everything is going to be the same. You just have this document.”
Today, Sergey works in marketing and continues pursuing creative projects. While he appreciates the freedom he has found in the United States, adapting to a new culture has not always been easy. After spending decades learning how to hide parts of himself, openness did not come automatically. Building friendships, navigating a new language, and finding community have all taken time.
“You already have your own behavior, your habits, to hide,” he explained.
Even after four years in the United States, Sergey says he is still learning what it means to feel fully at home.
Yet music remains one of the ways he continues building that home.
Today, music continues to carry Sergey’s story through DJing. Last year, he created a Belarusian-language set and sent it to the first ever Belarusian camp at Burning Man Music Festival. They played it, bringing a piece of his homeland to audiences thousands of miles away. Sergey uses music to remain connected to the country he left behind while creating space for himself in the new country he calls home.
Asylum gave Sergey safety. Rebuilding a life has required something harder to name. But he keeps making music, keeps carrying Belarus with him into new spaces, and keeps reaching towards a future he is still learning to imagine.
Three years ago, during one of the hardest periods of his life, Sergey wrote a song he couldn’t afford to record. He finally made a demo of it recently, and shared it quietly without much fanfare.
“I hope that one day it can become the kind of song that helps someone else feel a little less alone.”
Listen to Sergey’s Burning Man set here: From Dictatorship to the Dancefloor
