Brian Anderson is the first professional skateboarder to come out as gay. And he's no slouch in the sport, having won Thrasher’s Skater of the Year award and the World Cup of Skateboarding title in 1999.

 

“I never thought I would sit here and talk about being gay on camera, but I wanted to," the 40-year-old told VICE. "I think about how I felt when I was younger, totally scared—a lot of these kids don’t have hope. To hear what I went through and how everything got better for me and how I felt a lot happier and felt more free and didn’t have all this shame buried inside my body … to convey that message was really important to me.”

 

He and his friends he was able to stay in the closet for so long because he doesn't fit any stereotypes about being gay. Thrasher magazine referred to him as “this barbaric dude,” and his friends in the video call him  ”burly,” “intimidating”… “an ax murderer.”

 

He is still skating, and is sponsored by Spitfire wheels and Nike.