Umang Sheth is a pioneering voice in India’s LGBTQIA+ movement, with over 25 years of work dedicated to inclusion, mental health, and queer storytelling. In 1998, he founded Gay Bombay, the country’s first social support group for the LGBTQIA+ community—creating a safe space at a time when such spaces were almost unheard of.
As an LGBT storyteller, Umang gives voice to deeply personal and often unheard narratives, bringing visibility and dignity to queer lives. In 2017, he founded The Hugging Club of India, a community offering sustained emotional and mental health support to LGBTQIA+ individuals, allies and others.
In 2021, he launched Mr. n Mr., India’s first matchmaking platform for gay men, designed to foster meaningful and emotionally stable partnerships.
Umang’s leadership and work have sensitised people and empowered thousands to live authentically. As a storyteller and keynote presenter, his talks are honest, moving, and transformative—leaving audiences more aware, more empathetic, and more human. His incredible commitment to bringing real value to the community is rare and inspiring.
