An Awakening, and The Oxfam Dance #16

In this episode of Telling Tinder Tales, hosts Chris O’Neill and Thomasin Lockwood welcome two brilliant guests, Aram from East London and Austin from Lincoln, for a journey through love, loss, and late-night absurdity in the world of dating.

💔 Aram shares a deeply personal and poignant story from the pre-Tinder era of Yahoo Messenger in Iran — a blind date that turns into a disappearing act, and the unexpected self-discovery that followed. From navigating oppressive cultural norms to exploring early stirrings of sexuality, her tale is as heartfelt as it is eye-opening.

🦌 Austin, meanwhile, brings the laughs with a chaotic night out in a goth nightclub while dressed as Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer. He introduces us to the "Oxfam Dance", a brutal yet hilarious phenomenon that people with disabilities face on nights out. His story of being hit on, ghosted, kissed, and stared at by a fiancé—all in one night—is nothing short of wild.

✨ Themes in this episode include:

• Online dating before Tinder
• Queer awakening and cultural identity
• Disability and dating experiences
• Nightlife chaos and emotional resilience
• Funny, awkward, and very real modern dating fails

Whether you're swiping, ghosting, dancing awkwardly in a mascot costume, or accidentally calling your high school crush—this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now for an honest, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking glimpse into real people's dating lives. If you love modern love stories told with heart and humour, you won’t want to miss this one.

👉 Follow us on Instagram and TikTok: @tellingtindertales 📬 Got a tale to tell? Email: [email protected] 🌟 Like the show? Leave a 5-star review—and maybe even get a phone number.