Brian Anderson Becomes First Pro Skateboarder to Come Out as Gay

Brian Anderson just made skateboarding history! The athlete, who won Thrasher's Skater of the Year award and the World Cup of Skateboarding title in 1999, sat down with VICE Sports to talk about his experience as a gay skater in the hyper-masculine industry.

"I never thought I would sit here and talk about being gay on camera, but I wanted to. I think about how I felt when I was younger, totally scared--a lot of these kids don't have hope...To hear what I went through and how everything got better for me and how I felt a lot happier and felt more free and didn't have all this shame buried inside my body...to convey that message was really important to me."

Watch Anderson's story below: