I realize how fortunate I am to have been able to make a life and career out of skiing.
Gus Kenworthy
I would honestly say the biggest thing for cold weather is a good face moisturizer with SPF. Winters are harsh, wind chill's real, and, a lot of the time, it's a really dry climate, and so your lips will crack, your face will start to get dry, your nose will peel; it's easy to get sunburnt, windburnt.
For anyone who says 'Who cares if you're gay? It's 2018,' well, a lot of people care because a lot of people had the opportunity to be out, and there's been a lot of fear surrounding it. This is the first time we're seeing representation, and because of that, it is a big deal.
My family's dog, when I was growing up, was an adopted dog that I got in a shelter for my birthday. I've always felt really strongly about adopting animals and trying to save animals' lives.
I don't think you necessarily have to be crazy-fit for freeskiing. So much of the sport has to do with agility and nimbleness and flexibility and other things. It's a lot of muscle memory - it's more like dance, in a way - it's technique more than strength or endurance.
When you're able to love and appreciate and take pride with yourself, that makes everything easier. It makes it easier to train, it makes it easier to be in the gym, and it makes it easier for everyone else to accept and love you.
As a kid, I just felt like I didn't really have anyone to look up to that I felt like I could really relate to, someone that was out and gay and also competing in sports and finding success.
I've had knee trouble, and I worry about my shoulder, but I think my weakest link is my head. A helmet can only do so much, and I have seen the effects of brain injuries. That is a big fear. I think everyone's weakest link is their brain because it's their most fragile link.
Having an Olympic medal validates that you can be a successful freeskier... It's like a credential that sticks with you the rest of your life.
I was so stressed in the closet. In an interview, I was scared they were going to ask me about a crush, or the type of girl I liked, or whatever it was. And I was going to have to lie by omission. It was always in the back of my mind.
I look at photos of the Sochi Olympics - even though it sometimes seems like it was just yesterday - that photo doesn't even look like me. It looks like a child. I don't even recognize myself.
I've always been someone who's had to compartmentalize my life because I was in the closet, and I was in fear of outing myself. I always had so much going on in my mind and couldn't share it with anyone, so I actually feel like, now that I'm out, I have less to compartmentalize.
The thought of being the first openly gay male ever to compete in the Winter Olympics - I totally embrace that.
It shows more courage to leave the house as a trans person than Trump has ever had to show.
I'm so proud that now you can exist as a gay man and be an Olympian, and it can be beneficial rather than negative. So it's amazing. And I just think I feel so liberated now that I've been out of the closet for a while, and so I'm free in that I just get to be myself, speak freely, act freely, and I think that I am competing confidently.
Even if you're 'the gay guy,' if you're winning events, you're still winning events.
The chance of messing up and falling significantly increases when you're flipping through the air three times while spinning and trying to grab your skis.
When I was in the closet, I had so much pressure on my shoulders. When I came out, that was actually the first moment I felt relieved of those stresses. It really showed in my skiing.
I want to be the guy that's taking names, on the podium, and winning events.
I always have at least one book with me. I try and read a book a month.
All I can really say is to encourage anybody who's in the closet to come out, and congratulate anyone who has.
I would probably say Breckenridge has the best park out of any resort. They build the best jumps, they have fun rails, and the pipe is well kept, too.
I think it's so important to have visibility and to break down stereotypes and stigmas and everything that people are so attached to.
When you're able to be honest with yourself about who you are and finally can present your authentic true self to the world, you feel so much better about yourself, and it makes it easier for everyone else to feel better about you.
I love Kim Chi the drag queen from 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' but I'm not sure about the food.
Growing up, I always wanted kids, and that was one of the things that made it hard for me to accept being gay, but now I know it's totally an option to have kids.
I chose a public platform to come out. I wanted to have an impact with it.
Hopefully, it gets to a point where, down the line, people don't have to come out.
I have the LGBT audience behind me, and there's all these people that I want to make proud, and I want to do well aside from just myself.
Competitors, even friends that would say things that were so homophobic, and - I don't think that they realized necessarily the impact that it was having on me, because I was in the closet, and I think that that's what made me really scared to come out.
You don't want to be defined by one thing. But at the same point... When you are the first in something, that's gonna kinda be the title that sticks. And after Sochi, I was, like, the dog guy. Now I'm the gay guy, and it's fine by me.
I've been through stretches of my life where I've been super focused on what I'm eating, and then you're on the road, and you end up eating a lot of carbs and tacos.
Dating in the closet is torture. It's one of the most difficult things, especially if you are completely closeted.
I hope that any gay kids see me as beacon of light, not just in sport but in general.
You can be gay and be proud of that and not have to worry about being unsuccessful or unaccepted.
If everyone could see everyone else the way their mom saw them, it would be a much better place for all of us.
I'm putting in the time to make sure that my body is ready to compete at the top level.
Figure skating, especially the longer performances, are such a feat. It requires so much stamina and is so beautiful.
Jet lag is tough, to be honest. For me, it's much easier to force yourself to stay awake.
I didn't even ski halfpipe until I was 14 because the resort where I lived didn't have one. So it wasn't always my favorite event, but I grew into it.
I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it being found out, it was a distraction.
I don't listen to music when I ski - I find it distracting - but I will sing to myself before I go to just get my mind out of what I'm doing and relax a little bit.
I've gotten a lot of messages from kids struggling with their identity and sexuality, whether it's because they're in a religious family or a small town or a sport that's not very accepting. I've had a ton of outreach, and I've tried to get back to kids as best I could.
I always felt like I had something to prove, like I had to work twice as hard to make sure I got it. I knew I didn't want to be a good skier. I wanted to be the best.
I was insecure and ashamed. Unless you're gay, being gay has never been looked at as being cool. And I wanted to be cool.
More than I've wanted anything, I've wanted to do well at the X Games.
I don't really have a specific Olympic crush. There were a couple of guys during the Olympics in Sochi that were super fit. And during the summer games, any of the sports where people have their shirts off if they're diving or swimming or whatever, it's like eye candy.
The world that I would want to get into would be acting. In the beginning, I would do stuff as myself if I had the opportunity to host events - host, like, a talk show. Something like that, I think, would be super amazing.
I'm not one of those people who can eat whatever I want and never go to the gym. I have to work hard for any results I see.
I have felt so insecure about my body at times. I've been on every end of the spectrum. I felt like I was too skinny and wished I could be muscular. I've felt like I was chubby and wanted to be skinny. I think everybody suffers from body image issues. I might exude confidence sometimes, but I'm pretty insecure.
