“I feel like a strong-ass man when I go out there and compete. And when it’s just you and the camera, you better not have anything to hide.” ~Adam Rippon
“I couldn’t have done this [shoot] while I was in the closet,” Rippon, who came out publicly in 2015, told ESPN. “I think that, with my experience of coming out, I felt so liberated in so many ways.”
He went from the Olympic medal stand to the winner’s circle of “Dancing With The Stars” to now one of the 16 dropping trou for ESPN’s Annual Body Issue, Adam Rippon is quite a man.
“I don’t want to say I’ll never be in this shape again, but I’ll never be in this shape. I’ll be in another shape,” he said. “This is a milestone of all the work it took me to get to the point to be an Olympic medal-winning figure skater.”
Adam, who came out on the cover of ESPN in October 2015, won our hearts when he and fellow out Olympian Gus Kenworthy refused to meet with Vice-President Pence during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
“I feel that Mike Pence doesn’t stand for anything that I was taught when I grew up, and I think that it’s important if you’re given the platform to speak up for those who don’t have a voice,” Adam stated.
Adam, long may you reign!
Bravo Adam!
Simply beautiful!