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Tag: Gareth Thomas

All the latest breaking news on the former rugby champ Gareth Thomas. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Gareth Thomas.

  • GARETH THOMAS: ‘What Tom Has Done Is Very Significant’

    Gareth Thomas: Tom Daley will inspire young gay people, Ex-rugby international hopes many take inspiration from Olympian’s honesty and future success.

     Writing in his blog at Sportlobster openly gay former rugby star Gareth Thomas shares his thoughts of Olympian, Tom Daley’s ‘coming out’ video.
    “Hopefully this will give other kids and adults the strength to be honest and take a lot of inspiration from his story,” says ex-Wales rugby international, Gareth Thomas, who announced he is gay in 2009, becoming one of the first openly homosexual male athletes in any major sports team.
    “I don’t think someone coming out is enough – I think it’s his story after coming out that will inspire others. If he goes to Rio and wins the gold medal and has a fantastic life after that it will show other athletes that being honest and open is a good thing to do. Hopefully he can re-focus now and concentrate on his sport and show that being a gay athlete doesn’t define who you are.
    “Tom now needs to be true to who he is and not be who anyone else wants him to be. He has a big responsibility as he is now potentially responsible for many people having the confidence to come out publically about their sexuality. His announcement will change people’s lives and make lives better. He is now a role model who has influence over thousands, maybe even millions of people so that’s a huge amount of responsibility, which I’m sure he’ll take seriously once he realises just how much influence he has.
    “I came out to my family and close friends, and then two years later I came out in a newspaper. Often people ask me why I felt I had to come out, as it’s not an issue for them. We’re now in an age dominated by social media and so many people are interested in celebrities and their lifestyles outside of what they do for a living, that you have to come out publicly if you want to walk down the street hand in hand or go to a pub and drink without people talking and spreading vicious rumours. I came out in a public way because I wanted to live my life in a way that I wanted to and not be judged by people.
    “I thought it was very personal the way Tom made the announcement – you’re watching on YouTube and it’s almost like he’s talking to you. I thought it was a very humbling and genuine way of doing it and I take my hat off to him. People might look at the life he is living and think it’s fantastic but he’s been through a lot. You could see in his eyes that all he really wants is to be Tom Daley the diver and not have lots of people questioning him for his sexuality.
    “What Tom has done is very significant in other ways, because he’s so young and he’s fairly near the start of his career – it’s a great positive message to the world. For him to do it at such a young age is not only testament to him but to society. When I was playing it just wouldn’t have been possible to come out at his age in the rugby world. It was very much a different place then and I wouldn’t have found the acceptance that I found when I eventually did do it.
    “Tom is a great diver and this is just a declaration of who he is sexually, not a declaration of who he is as a person. I’ve watched him in the Olympics and, like most of the nation, felt like I was standing on the edge of every diving board with him. I know he’s a hugely successful young lad with a great life ahead of him. I just hope that this announcement makes his life even better.
    “I was never under pressure to come out and I didn’t do it because I wanted to be some kind of flag-bearer, it was just a position that I was put in. The more people that come out as being gay, the better the world is.
    “The world is constantly changing and people get educated every single day. When I first started playing rugby, being openly gay and progressing at the sport wasn’t possible. Now it’s been proven that it can be done, not just in rugby but across all sports.”
    Work has begun on the movie of Gareth Thomas’ life story, with Oscar-nominated Mickey Rourke, who owns the rights to the film, playing his part.
    Read Gareth Thomas’ Sportlobster blog: https://sportlobster.com/news/20567/congratulations-tom-daley-why-your-announcement-is-great-for-sport.html

  • Channel 5 To Broadcast Gareth Thomas’s My Secret Past

    Channel 5 is set to broadcast documentary about Gareth Thomas, who goes back to his roots to discover what effect his refusal to admit that he was gay had on his supporters, team-mates and family.

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  • INTERVIEW | Gareth Thomas

    INTERVIEW | Gareth Thomas

    Lewis Fellows gets a Quickie with rugby superman Gareth Thomas. They talk about Coming Out, Mickey Rourke and his brand new fitness DVD.

    Gareth Thomas

     

    TGUK – Gareth! You’ve been incredibly busy recently! What’s been dominating your schedule lately?

    GT – Yes it’s been very hectic – first of all I’ve been filming, producing then promoting my fitness DVD which will be hitting the shops shortly. I’ve often been asked how I keep in shape and I thought what a good way to answer if I did a DVD. It’s a very varied DVD which we shot in many places and I am really proud of the production. As a bonus my foundation gets a royalty on every sale!

     

    TGUK – Obviously, you’re a big name in both the sporting world and indeed in gay culture. How did coming out affect your career and of course your life. You coming out was headline news for weeks, and I’m sure you knew that this would be the case?

    GT – Yes I always knew that it would be a big deal in the press, especially after my long rugby career, but I never expected where it would lead. It had a massive impact on me, but at the end of the day I thought that if I coming out would help one person who may be going through what I was going through, then it would be worth it. I wanted to come out for many reasons but an important one is that I wanted to inspire people within sport and break down some barriers. There have been some massive highs and lows but it’s mainly been positive.

     

    TGUK – You came out privately to your wife and your family. How did they react?

    GT – My family were amazing – once it was taken in, my dad, who is a very tough man, sat me down at home with the family; he opened a bottle of champagne and said “this is a toast to the rest of your life son”. It was overwhelming, and my family as a whole have been superb.

    TGUK – As is the case with many newly “out” gay men and women, did you feel as if a weight had been lifted, or were there any feelings of regret?

    GT – As you can imagine there were loads of emotions going on! But yes the main one was that an enormous weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

    Gareth Thomas

    TGUK – So, you have a new fitness DVD coming out… It looks BRILLIANT and is packed with celebrity guests. What was it like working with them?

    GT – Superb! My good mates Nicola McLean and Kirk Norcross were excellent, as was Mickey Rourke, who gives us a world exclusive 15 minute interview which is on the extras. It was so good to catch up with them all. And my instructor was great – she really beasted me!

    TGUK – Unlike many of the others, this is set in various locations like Hollywood, London and Malibu Beach. What was the filming like?

    GT – We had a whale of a time – we filmed below the Hollywood sign and even did a scene in Mickey’s mansion in Beverly Hills 90210! We also filmed at the sugar hut and various places in Wales. We wanted to give the DVD a bit of variety and filming in all the different locations certainly did that.

    TGUK – Are you seeing anyone? If not…I’m always available… *cough – cough*

    GT – (Laughs) That would be telling… And thanks for the offer!

    TGUK – Word on the street is a biopic about you is being made, with names like Tom Hardy and Mickey Rourke attached. Can you give us any details?

    GT – Yes I certainly can – the film is undergoing the final contractual bits and pieces and we hope to start filming in the middle of 2013. Mickey is moving to Wales early next year to train and get fit for the filming. So I’ll be spending 4 months showing Mickey the sights!

    TGUK – Other than the upcoming film, what plans do you have for the future?

    GT – Well I can’t say too much but watch this space come January – I may well be doing something very exciting that will mean you may be seeing a hell of a lot more of me!