In an interview for GLAAD’s video series, GLAAD: All Access, Olympic champion diver Greg Louganis talks with host Claire Pires about the homophobia he experienced, living with HIV, and how he has found a new passion working with Olympic hopefuls.
Louganis has won four Olympic gold medals, and no one to date has ever beaten his diving records. But behind the scenes, he was bullied growing up and on his Olympic team for being gay. Even though he had won four Olympic gold medals, he did not receive any endorsement deals, and he struggled financially because of that reality. In 1995, however, he published the book, “Breaking the Surface,” in which he came out as a gay man living with HIV, making him one of the first athletes to publicly come out and launching him into a new career as an HIV and AIDS advocate.
The documentary, Back on Board: Greg Louganis, (HBO at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday, Aug. 4) traces his story from a difficult childhood, through his Olympic conquests, to a transformative post-Olympic life, outlining the discrimination and other obstacles he has faced throughout his remarkable journey.
Watch the GLAAD video above.
