Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy comes out in ESPN Magazine cover story

(Image credit: Gus Kenworthy/Twitter)

published 22 October 2015

Now that Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy has neared his goal of becoming the world's best freeskier, he's making good on a promise to himself: "Tell everyone the truth." And in the cover story in latest issue of ESPN Magazine, Kenworthy delivers: "I guess I should start by saying, 'I'm gay.'"

Throwing himself into skiing, he admits, may have been a way to grapple with his sexuality.

For him, being the best was a form of atonement. Kenworthy knew he was gay as early as 5 years old and felt different from other boys. With his brothers, he shared a love for skiing and hockey, but their similarities seemed to end there. "I was insecure and ashamed," he says. "Unless you're gay, being gay has never been looked at as being cool. And I wanted to be cool." [ESPN]

In the action sports world, Kenworthy says, image is everything. ESPN reports that Kenworthy "takes in around 80 percent of his $500,000 to $1 million a year from sponsorships, which are based as much on image as they are contest wins." "The industry isn't the most embracing of someone who's different," Kenworthy said. " I'm nervous about that."