Sean Torrington - a former project manager with international banking firm Goldman Sachs - and his husband Terry created SlayTV in an effort to give a creative media presence to LGBTIQ people of colour, who are rarely seen in mainstream productions within the United States.
A 2016 report by media monitoring group GLAAD found that around 71.5% of LGBTIQ people depicted on television and streaming platforms were white characters, something the 36 year-old was intent on changing.
Initially setting up a YouTube channel featuring stories centered on gay people of colour, the reception was so positive that Torrington recognised the potential expand to a larger, more specific platform.
"People would come up to us and be like 'Oh, where can we see more content like this? This is really revolutionary, this is great,'" Torrington said to NBC News. "I was like… 'We need one central location for queer [and] trans people of color television.'"
Having created an app that allowed people to gather YouTube content about LGBTIQ people into a single feed, the uptake was so strong that he and his husband created a streaming service, naming it SlayTV.
SlayTV features an array of different content, ranging from documentaries that give insight into the lives of gay and trans coloured men living in New York City through to Torringinton's own series that reflects on his coming of age as a gay African American man.
While an entertainment service, the co-founder expressed hope that the medium would give LGBTIQ youth the chance to feel represented in a way that he wasn't during his youth.
Sean (L) and Terry Torrington (R) Source: Instagram
"Growing up in the '90s, I didn't see anything that is a representation of black queer anything anywhere, so it's extremely important that I create a safe space for the young kids."
Anyone wishing to watch SlayTV can do so online here, while it is set to be made available on US-based television services from May 15.
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