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The Skater in the rye

Living one’s life in hiding is something nobody should go through,but unfortunately many people — more specifically, LGBT community members – do for the vast majority of their lives.

Why? Many of these individuals fear discrimination from less accepting communities they may have to interact with.

40-year-old professional skateboarder Brian Anderson recently came out as a gay man in an interview with Vice Sports on Sept. 29, and it’s not only surprising, because of the lack of openly-gay athletes in the sports world, but it’s also inspiring.

“Hearing f-ggot all the time made me think at a young age that it was really dangerous to talk about it, you know?” Anderson said in an interview with Vice Sports about the difficulties of coming out.

It may be draining for many skaters to come out, especially because the skate-culture can be viewed as a rather homophobic one where anti-gay actions and slurs have been normalized. Being openly gay may not seem like an astute option for many skaters who question their sexuality.

According to an article titled “Homophobia in skateboarding,” by Drew Wolfson Bell for The McGill Daily, expressing homophobia in the skateboarding community is standard.

“If you go to any skate park, you will hear kids of all ages yelling homophobic remarks at their friends,” Wolfson Bell said. “It has become so ingrained in skateboarding vernacular that it is not uncommon to be reading an interview [with a professional skateboarder] and see several homophobic remarks.”

These hateful insults end up having an impact on closeted skaters, just like they did on Anderson.

“I was pretty freaked out, you know what I mean? I was really scared, and people would have perceived it a lot differently, I think, had I said this 15 years ago,” Anderson said in the interview with Vice Sports.

It’s not Anderson’s fault though. The skateboarding community is one where outspoken skaters carelessly speak their mind — even if that includes saying rather hurtful remarks. Anderson didn’t feel safe to come out, so he chose to wait for the right opportunity — which is admirable in and of itself, but sad that it took so many years to reach.

For instance, Forrest Edwards – who is sponsored by notorious skate brands Krew and Supra — was filmed saying homophobic comments such as, “my go-to tricks aren’t that gay” toward other skaters during skateboarding contest, “Slap’s One In A Million.”

The patience Anderson had toward hearing so many offensive remarks throughout the years is admirable. The skateboarding world may have been insulting him indirectly and consistently, but it didn’t make him lash out against anyone.

I’m convinced many of Anderson’s skateboarding buddies who might’ve said an indirect discriminatory slur around the skater are probably regretting the fact that they did. I’m also sure they’ll think twice before carelessly stating offensive comments.

His coming out will help the skateboarding community head in a more progressive and tolerant direction when it comes to the LGBT skateboarders.

Some might wonder how Anderson made it through the years without raising any questions about his sexuality as a result of his lack of relationships with women.

“I figured out how to balance it to where nobody questioned it,” Anderson explains in the Vice Sports mini-documentary titled, “Brian Anderson on being a gay professional skateboarder,” “And I was a big, tough skateboarder—of course they’re not gonna question that. Nobody thought anything.”

Skateboarding can be viewed as a dangerous sport, one where risky tricks and flips are consistently attempted. It’s not uncommon for a skater to break a bone or two, throughout their career — it’s a price that comes with the sport.

Looking back at Anderson’s successful career — it’s thrilling to realize that a gay man was performing so many daredevilish tricks. This isn’t to say that LGBT community members are normally incapable of landing these tricks, but rather that Anderson has been serving as an exceptional — although incognito — gay role model for so many budding skaters out there.

Anderson’s coming out, although late, is going to help a plethora of skaters struggling to accept their sexuality become more open to the idea. The skateboarding culture may have its homophobic members; however, Anderson is paving the way to end homophobia in the culture and make skateboarding a welcoming sport for all.

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