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Aaron Kampfe and partner David Heinzen, as photographed for the book on male couples, Men Together. The history of OutWest begins not in 1995 when the company was founded, but in 1987, the year I met my partner David. At the time we were college students in Boston who happened to meet through friends.

Admittedly, we were an unlikely match. I was a "cowboy" from Montana who liked backpacking in the mountains, vicious games of ice hockey, backcountry skiing, and horseback riding. I sought the city as a refuge from my rural roots, and as a place where I could come out.

To me, David appeared to be the sophisticated urbanite. At dinner he could appreciate a wine list, choose the right type of oyster, and critique French onion soup - "Too much sage, not enough brandy." In college he studied cello performance, and worked the Boston classical music scene.