Queer as Manchester tells the everyday story of queer life in the city — the nights out, the chosen family, the struggles, the laughs, and the moments that quietly shape you.

This is the chapter where I’m Still Breathing first lived — and that matters. Because beneath the music and the movement, this is also about mental health, about reaching out, about friends checking in on each other when things get heavy. About staying when it would be easier to disappear. About being seen.

There are hard moments here — because real life has them — but this is ultimately a story of survival, care, and community. Of finding your people. Of dancing through it anyway. Of Manchester being Manchester: tough, kind, loud, loving, and unapologetically queer.

If you’re listening and you’re struggling — you’re not alone.
And you don’t have to carry it on your own.


10, Afterlight

Connor Charles is a UK-based artist and producer creating emotionally driven music that blends cinematic soundscapes, euphoric electronic energy, and honest songwriting.

From intimate reflections to full-scale anthems, his work explores themes of hope, love, resilience, and new beginnings — music made to move you, whether on the dancefloor or in quieter moments.

Every release is part of a wider story, shaped by feeling first and genre second.

Powered by hope.
Soul, Love & Light.
This is the Hopefire Way.