Gus Kenworthy's career took off after he announced he was gay. Photo / Getty
Gus Kenworthy's career took off after he announced he was gay. Photo / Getty
Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy couldn't sleep the night before he told the world he was gay, but little did he know, that the brave decision to come out as the first openly gay action sports star would skyrocket his career.
Two years ago, the news quickly spread that an Olympicmedallist was coming out as Kenworthy braced for the worst, worried he would lose friends, fans, sponsors and opportunities.
"I remember like my fingers trembling when I went to post what I had written and post the link to the article and post the photo saying I was gay. And I was so scared," he recalled recently. "And it was like instant relief. All this weight off my shoulders."
As news broke, Kenworthy said his phone lit up with texts, phone calls and social media notifications, all in support of his brave announcement.
"I'm just like a wreck, crying because I felt so much love."
Kenworthy won silver in the slopestyle event at the 2014 Sochi Games as an unknown and even afterward, was recognised more for adopting stray dogs in Russia.
But this year, the 26-year-old will enter the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics not just as a podium regular, but as a champion of the LGBT community.
"I'm definitely like 'the gay skier' now," he said, "and that's fine. I knew I was stepping into that role when I did it."
"I am the gay skier, and I know that I took the step to come out publicly and decided to wear that badge proudly."
Surprised at how it all played out, Kenworthy said being gay seemed to make him a more attractive spokesman for sponsors and said "brands wanted to tell his story".
Tim Calkins, a branding and marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, said that "we're in a new time in terms of sponsorship" and what's important now, compared to the past, is that companies are "embracing athletes such as Kenworthy".
Gus Kenworthy won silver at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Photo / Getty
"Partly, he is a great athlete. But now he's also unique and differentiated. I think sponsors have said diversity is important and here we have an athlete who brings together three things: athletic achievement, an endearing personality and the ability to make a statement about diversity," Calkins said.
While top partnerships have certainly made Kenworthy's Olympic pursuit more lucrative, he's hoping the publicity could help others.
"In so many ways it was beneficial for me, but, it wasn't completely self-serving it actually helped other people, I feel proud of it and I do get a lot of people reaching out," he told BBC Sport.
Kenworthy said his life would have been very different if he'd seen an openly gay competitor winning Olympic medals as a young skier, and said it would have "given him so much hope and saved so much heartache".
Since making the announcement in 2015, Kenworthy skied his best season and won the slopestyle event at the Dew Tour and then half pipe at the Grand Prix in Mammoth Lakes, California.
He said he's clearly not the same skier or person he was as the 22-year-old closeted version of himself who competed in Sochi.
"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 a like a child," he said. "I don't even recognise myself."
While competing in the closet wasn't easy, new pressure will accompany him to this year's Winter Olympic Games as a leader to gay and lesbian fans, but still, he said he's not fearful that his sexuality may overshadow his athletic pursuits.
"Even if you're 'the gay guy' - if you're winning events, you're still winning events," he said.
