Maverick Newman told his parents first.
Not every gay teenager’s cup of tea, he says, especially one who was only just coming to terms with his sexuality himself.
Generally speaking, close friends are usually the “safer bet.”
They’re likely to be more accepting and they're less likely to "disown" you when the news is out and the dust settles.
Not that Maverick held such fears when coming out to his parents.
He doesn't know why telling his folks came first, he just knew his brothers, Nic and Josh, would have to wait.
“I said something along the lines of, ‘I think I'm attracted to boys,’ so I wasn't even too sure of it myself,” he said. He was 17.
“They were really supportive, as I knew they would be.
“It took another six months before I felt comfortable enough to not hide it from everyone else, like my grandma.”
Maverick wanted to be the one who told his brothers first. It was his thing and told mum, Angela, that but the message may not have got across.
Being the caring mum she is and with her youngest's interests at heart, she let the news slip to her eldest two.
“I was like ‘What! How could you?!’” Mav laughed, his rainbow coloured Sydney Swans scarf draped around his neck and over both shoulders.
“I was quite dramatic.”
Mav and Nic Newman at the SCG in the lead up to Saturday night's Pride Game.
Nic was the one he'd wanted to tell the most, but the one he'd been most nervy to tell. Mav thought his relationship with Nic, the oldest of the three siblings and furthest down “the macho line,” would be strained.
Not that it was an emotional relationship to begin with but Mav had always looked up to his “very intelligent” and driven older brother, so keeping their bond intact was important to him.
“Nic was the last immediate family member that got told … I procrastinated with him more than I did with Josh,” Mav said.
“Never once did I fear anyone would disown me or I was going to be displaced or that I'd get abused, I was fearful that I'd get treated differently and my relationship with them would be different.
“With Nic, being a real blokey bloke, I was fearful that me being gay might weird him out a little bit.”
Nic’s reaction … well, there wasn't one. He shrugged, not because the news didn't mean anything to him but because nothing was going to change.
Maverick was still the same younger brother he'd shared many kick-to-kicks with in the backyard, and that's what mattered. Full stop.
“I couldn't have cared less, to be completely honest,” Nic said.
“It doesn't matter what sexuality he is, he's still my brother. I was never going to treat him any differently."
An incredible weight had lifted off Mav’s shoulders.
It was what Nic didn't do, rather than did do, which reaffirmed to Mav everything would be fine.
“Since then we've never had a conversation about it (with Nic), whereas I've had a conversation with everyone else I told,” Mav added.
“I kind of love that Nic said ‘I don't care’ and we've never had to speak about it again.
“I mean he's asked me about my boyfriend - he's the only one who's actually met my boyfriend ironically - but there's never been a conversation that's needed to be had and that is pretty awesome.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily better than say Josh wanting to know a bit more about who I was and what it means to be gay, I love that because it’s taking an interest.
“Nic and I just didn’t need to talk it out.”
Nic, 24, Josh, 22, and Mav, 19, had a childhood typical of a family with three boys with only five years between them.
There were arguments which turned into disagreements which turned into tiffs which turned into tears, with mum being the mediator.
But there wasn't a time when they weren't there for each other or prepared to give as much brotherly love and guidance as the other needed.
Nic’s path to the AFL was one of those times. The boys were there every step of the way, from when Nic was overlooked in the 2012 National Draft, throughout Nic’s two seasons with the Frankston Dolphins in the VFL, the second of which he'd go on to win the Fothergill-Round Medal as the VFL’s most promising young talent, to when the defender was drafted to the Sydney Swans.
“We’d have our fair share of blues but we’d always have affection, love and support for each other and still have, probably even more, now we’ve grown up and matured,” Nic said.
“We’ve always been supportive of each other’s paths, especially with me trying to be drafted, likewise with Josh and his footy.
“And the same goes for Mav and his passion for acting and the theatre.”
Nic’s father, Brett, was also a talented footballer who played U/19s for Fitzroy as a junior before spending many years at Springvale in the VFA.
Footy was in the blood, but wasn't the be all and end all. Nic didn't feel any extra pressure to ‘make it’ nor would there be any inner demons if he didn't.
His family, which includes stepfather Scott (Angela and Brett separated when Nic was 14), just wanted him to be happy and enjoy his footy.
“Ultimately, the dream was to play at the highest level,” Nic added.
“But, at the same time, I never felt pressured and the family have always been really supportive of me in that regard.
“They’re just as passionate about footy as me so all they’d want is to see me play, and it didn’t matter if that was in Mornington at local level, Frankston in the VFL or in Sydney at AFL level.”
Following the 2014 National Draft, Nic had entered a world that Mav was so far removed from personally and one, admittedly, he'd never been a fan of.
Mav, who studies Musical Theatre at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, played footy until U/14s before hanging up the boots to chase his passion for theatre.
He's never felt comfortable going to the footy, which saddens him given it's a massive part of his brothers’ lives.
He's seen Nic and Josh play VFL a few times (Josh plays for Williamstown) and he’s watched Nic play at the top level three times already.
Nic’s debut was the first while Sydney’s Round 4 clash with West Coast in Perth earlier this year was the second. Saturday night's Pride Game against the Saints was the third.
He’s there for Nic and enjoys watching his brother take centre stage, but he’s still uncomfortable in the stands.
He took his boyfriend, Luke, along to the game at Subiaco Oval.
They noticed plenty of straight couples holding hands, enjoying each other's company, with nothing to hide.
Mav and Luke enjoyed each other's company, sure, but their hands remained by their sides, confined to their jean pockets, for fear of turning heads for the wrong reasons and raising eyebrows.
Mav can see good in the Pride Game and the outcomes such a game can spawn, but knows there's still a long way to go.
He’s been open in declaring it “bittersweet”, saying while it’s a step in the right direction, he's looking forward to the day where there's no need for a Pride Game, where there's no need for a dedicated day on the AFL calendar with the headline: ‘Everyone is welcome.’
“Shouldn't everyone feel welcome, any game, any time?” he asked rhetorically, his new scarf now snug around his neck.
