I started by telling my small group of close swim friends and then let the word spread to the rest of the team. As much as I tried to hide my boyfriend during freshman year from my teammates, it was inevitable they were going to find out. My freshman year of college at Villanova, I told myself, “it's four years, just fake it” because now that I was a Division I swimmer I really thought I couldn’t be out. I was afraid of telling my teammates that I was gay because I feared they would look at me differently or my guy friends would distance themselves. At the same time swim practice meant lying to my coach and teammates - the people I called my family. I would consistently use training as an excuse to not date. I dated a few girls, but never anything too serious. Swimming was my outlet, my distraction and my excuse. On top of everything else I was a competitive swimmer, a sport known for being “more gay” because my uniform was a tiny piece of fabric just large enough to cover “my stuff” and I went to a private, Catholic high school. High school was four years of confusion, depression, anxiety and all other emotions you feel when you’re hiding who you are every day. I was always good at hiding my emotions and pushing my feelings deep inside, so I had no problem hiding that I was gay until high school. A difference that was hard to comprehend because I grew up being taught that men were essentially programmed to marry women and that is how the world works. I always knew there was something different about me from my friends.
Growing up in Trabuco Canyon, in Orange County, Calif., going to church on Sunday and having chapel twice a week at my elementary and middle school definitely was a challenge. He went there hoping to swim, but an injury cut short his career.īefore we tell you the story of how two gay swimmers helped each other come out, we want to share some background about each of us. Josh Velasquez attends the University of Arizona. We wanted to share our stories.Īxel Reed, will graduate this spring from Chapman University in Orange County, Calif., where he was a swimmer. We don’t know where each of us would be without the other.
We came out to each other via text, and our bond and friendship has only grown. Max Rhyser plays a young schoolteacher who comes from a conservative Jewish family and community, but Chaser sees him attend a New York City sex party to escape his restrictive community.We’re two swimmers and best friends, both in college, who happen to be gay. Homophobia manifests from many different insecurities, but in Triple Standard, one athlete’s prejudice is a symptom of his own struggle to come to terms with his sexuality. Ben lusts after his bad boy classmate Johnny, but when he’s offered a ride home one night, what seems like a dreaming coming true descends into heartbreak. It’s the age-old high school crush storyline.
Starring Broadchurch’s Chris Mason, Wonderkid focusses on a gay professional footballer who’s struggling with his sexuality in the high-pressured and masculine world of the Premiership League. But as is much the case in Tinseltown, he’s living a lie, and upon his return he attempts to rekindle a closeted relationship from his past. I AM SYD STONE (2014)ĭirected by Denis Theriault, this 10-minute visual follows a Hollywood hunk as he returns home. Gay Times have rounded up just five of the best gay short films out there that you can watch online. From tackling the homophobic world of football, to a teacher exploring the sex party scene in New York City, they are touching upon real life emotions that your local Odeon is probably little way off from showing anytime soon. While mainstream Hollywood continues to catch up when it comes to LGBTQ representation in blockbuster movies, there are plenty of directors out there highlighting issues within the gay community through slick visuals.įor now, some of the most compelling and hard-hitting LGBTQ cinema exists in short films.