Young Man Comes Out as Gay to His Dad in a Letter. 8 Years Later, the Voicemail He Received in Response Went Viral (Exclusive)

• An Indiana man went viral on TikTok in November 2024 after sharing a video of a voicemail he received from his father eight years ago after sending him a letter revealing he was gay
• Brandon Puszkiewicz tells PEOPLE that his relationship with his dad Matt has done “a 180” since 2016
• Puszkiewicz says his video has even inspired at least one person to follow in his footsteps

Brandon Puszkiewicz, of Indiana, was 23 years old when came out to his father Matt in Nov. 2016. To share the big news, Brandon, now 31, wrote a letter that he mailed to his dad, who later left an emotional voicemail vowing to love his son.

Eight years later, in November 2024, Brandon shared his dad’s voicemail in a video that has since gone viral on TikTok. It has even inspired some people to follow in his footsteps.

Brandon, a programs manager for the Indiana chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, exclusively tells PEOPLE he was not expecting his video to gain so much traction, but is thrilled to see the positive impact it has made on others’ lives.

“At the end of the day, you have to do what you have to do to live your truth and most authentic life,” Brandon says.

Brandon had just graduated college and moved to Indianapolis for grad school when he decided to write a letter to his father about being gay.

“I didn’t care what his reaction was going to be, it’s just I needed to get something off my chest,” Brandon tells PEOPLE.

“It wasn’t even his validation that I was looking for,” he adds, sharing that it was just his way of saying, “I’m telling you and inviting you into this part of my life.”

After several days, the letter finally arrived. Brandon’s younger sister, who was home at the time, said their dad took the letter out to the garage to read and got “really quiet.”

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A short time later, Brandon got a call from Matt while he was in a lecture, so he couldn’t answer — and he decided to wait until he got home to listen to the voicemail his father ended up leaving.

“Yo, what’s up buddy? I got your letter today,” Matt, now 55, said in the message. “You little sucker, got me all f—–g choked up and crying over here. You know how to write a letter.”

After asking his son to call him back, Matt delivered some words of reassurance. “We’re all good man,” he said. “No worries. Love you.”

Brandon was “emotional” after listening to the voicemail. “It was everything that I could have ever wanted to hear from my dad,” he tells PEOPLE.

Matt was emotional as well. “Everything’s good. We have nothing to worry about,” he said during a phone call shortly after Brandon listened to the voicemail.

Since then, Brandon says their relationship has made “a 180,” and that Matt is the “most loving and supporting and kind dad.”

Their connection was “normal,” but Brandon admits they weren’t “very close” because his dad was the family’s breadwinner.

“It didn’t feel like we had a lot in common when I was a kid so there wasn’t a lot of one-on-one time we spent with each other,” he explains. “As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that was due largely in part [to] my own defenses and walls I put up to protect myself if/when I came out to my dad.”

“That was something I definitely feel like I missed from him as a kid. But I’m really grateful for that now,” Brandon tells PEOPLE, “especially that we have so much more time in our lives to have and grow this relationship.”

In November, Brandon felt inspired to post his father’s voicemail on TikTok to mark National Coming Out Day. He had thought about posting that voicemail for years, but feared it would come off as “boastful” to those who “don’t have that opportunity or didn’t have that experience.”

But Brandon was extra “sentimental and emotional” that day, and opted to take the chance. Little did he realize his video would be viewed more than 1 million times on TikTok and liked by more than 138,500 users.

The response, Brandon tells PEOPLE, “was incredible.” He received several comments and messages from users thanking him for sharing the post.

“It just gave people an opportunity to be so vulnerable and to talk about something that they may not have been able to talk about,” he explains.

One person was even inspired to do the same. Shortly after seeing Brandon’s video, they sent him a message on TikTok informing him that they were inspired to write their own letter to their mom.

A few weeks later, the user wrote back and told Brandon that his mother’s reaction to the letter was “fantastic.” He then thanked Brandon for the inspiration.

“One video could do that for somebody? It’s just incredible,” Brandton tells PEOPLE.

Brandon’s video even drew attention from singer Noah Kahan, whose song “Maine” played acoustically in the background of the clip. “How beautiful, love to you both,” the artist said in the comment section.

“That blew me away,” Brandon says, adding, “It’s the thing that makes me smile the most.”

Brandon hopes his video continues to inspire those who might find themselves in a situation similar to the one he faced in 2016.

He also hopes this can “be a teaching moment” for parents about “having these very open and authentic conversations” with their kids, especially those who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Just be on that human level with your kid and just listen to them when they come to you to talk to you about something that’s bothering them,” he explains. “Whether it’s sexual orientation or gender expression, or maybe it’s their mental health, or whatever is going on in their life.”