Pro Skateboarder Brian Anderson Comes Out [VIDEO]

Quite frankly, I was only dimly aware that professional skateboarding exists, but judging by all of this afternoon’s emails from JMG readers, this guy is a big deal in the sport. Hypebeast reports:

Retired skateboarder Brian Anderson, who infamously won both Thrasher‘s prestigious Skater of the Year award and a World Cup of Skateboarding title back in 1999, has come out as gay. The former Toy Machine and Girl pro and the founder of 3D Skateboarders is the subject of a Vice Sports documentary hosted and directed by skate filmographer Giovani Reda, who asked B.A. about his experience as a homosexual man in the skateboarding community and why he took his time before coming out publicly.

According to Anderson, he had previously spoken to friends and colleagues, including Bianca Chandon founder Alex Olson and Thrasher editor Jake Phelps about his lifestyle in private, but had been too shook to address the issue publicly until he had retired and withdrawn from the community’s spotlight.

In peak Phelper form, the editor apparently responded to the news with the following: “Gay like what? Who cares—what does that matter—fuck your sexual crisis! Who cares?” This is mean as no slight towards Phelps, but people should care about BA’s brave decision to come out and here’s why: Skateboarding—like most sports—is a hyper-masculine space.

(Tipped by multiple JMG readers.)