Muscle Talk

In the July 1989 issue of IronMan magazine, Bob Paris came out to Lonnie Teper, making him the first openly gay bodybuilder. When Lonnie asked if he was fearful of the repercussions of coming out, his reply was,

“I want the issue to be open. I want people to realize I am a gay, married man, and I guess there will be people out there who won’t like my physique anymore because I’m gay. That makes me laugh. What does my gayness have to do with my physique?”

It was the first time in the fitness industry that the subject of homosexuality had been addressed, and it occurred in a mainstream bodybuilding magazine/news source. Depending on whom you talk to, Paris was, in fact, penalized for his decision to come out. "I lost about 80 percent of my business. Literally had doors closed in my face... There were a number of times where my life was threatened. Some death threats came by phone, by mail." It’s even been said that he was forced to retire from the fitness industry in 1991 because he couldn’t find work. You would think that Paris’ case was an anomaly in the 80’s because that was an era when Americans were introduced to the HIV/AIDS crisis, and homophobia was rampant. But  homophobia in sports didn’t end in the 80’s.

In 2007, Rene Portland resigned after being the Penn State women’s basketball coach for 27 years because of a lawsuit filed by a former player whom Rene let go due to her sexual orientation. Portland had three rules for her girls that applied to her teams for almost 3 decades, “No drinking. No drugs. No lesbians.” Rene bragged about her no-lesbians policy, as evidenced in a 1986 Chicago Sun-Times article where she says, "I will not have it in my program. I bring it up, and the kids are so relieved, and the parents are so relieved." This incident happened in the last decade!

Jason Collins, an NBA center, came out in the Spring 2013 edition of Sports Illustrated. After he announced he was gay, he became the first active male athlete from any of the four major North American professional team sports (NFL, MLB, NHL, NFL) to publicly do so – Because for years he feared for his career. Sadly, he only played for one season after coming out. Just last year, Michael Sam became the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL, but sports analysts claim that he wasn’t signed to a team even after a productive pre-season because no team wanted a gay player, or the media attention that went along with it.

For decades and decades, there has been an anti-gay bias in sports. Think about how many bodybuilding fans know the story of “The IFBB Pro and the grapefruit.” Or try doing a Google search for “Bodybuilding + gay4pay” in forum threads. The bigotry and homophobia knows no bounds. Male bodybuilders who have had to do ‘personal sessions’ just to make ends meet, have been labeled as athletes who will never win an Olympia title. The media often refers to professional sports as one of the last bastions of homophobia. But with all that said, though Bob Paris has long since retired and moved to BC with his husband, there are still openly gay athletes and models in our industry! Athletes who are out and proud.  Things are changing in fitness in terms of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) acceptance. Athletes who were once in the closet can finally be themselves.

In the past, there was a stigma, and athletes tried to protect themselves, and the “norms” of the sport, but that’s not the case in 2015. We are happy to support athletes like Janae Marie Kroc (born Matt Kroczaleski), who is a SUPERB, record-breaking, professional powerlifter and former competitive bodybuilder. In 2015, it shouldn’t matter to anyone else who you love; what should matter is the type of person you are, and the type of legacy you leave on the world.

THAT’S what the fitness industry will remember you by.