Since coming out last fall, Olympic swimmer Mark Foster says “the response has been amazing.”
The 47-year-old athlete-turned-TV-presenter was recently at the Stonewall Equality Dinner in London, where he connected with Gay Star News.
“I’ve come to events like this celebrating the community before, but in the shadows. It’s much easier now,” he says.
“I wouldn’t have spoken to you a year ago. And you probably wouldn’t have spoken to me! I would come in and go out. I was good at swerving stuff. It’s nice not having to do that. It’s nice wherever I go to not worry what I say and do.”
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Related: Olympic swimmer and TV personality comes out
Foster came out as gay last fall in an interview with Winq, after keeping his sexuality a secret for over three decades.
It always seemed to me that I had this secret undercurrent that was my secret life. So what I showed people on the surface was Mark the swimmer, Mark the bloke, and beneath the surface was this other story. And so now I want to be a bit more authentic…
When I was on the team I was Mark the Swimmer, I didn’t want [my sexuality] to get in the way of that. I stood on the block and it’s like, right, you’ve got to be a pillar here, and I think I just got used to not showing my competitors any weakness.
Related: Freshly out TV star gets real about his cruising past
Since then, Foster says, life has been so much easier. Not only does he no longer have to stay “in the shadows,” as he puts it, but he’s been having more luck in the dating department.
“I’ve had a text message from someone who wants to talk,” he tells Gay Star News. “My thing is–and it sounds stupid; I’m 47, I’m a middle aged man!–people have got to do it in their own time.”
He continues, “I suppose being in the public eye and standing on a block and being very vulnerable, from a very early age I got used to hiding stuff, and it became a secret. The secret got bigger.”
“For me, [coming out] was about joining the community in a very public way. And hopefully helping people come to terms with their sexuality or struggling with being themselves.”
Scroll down for some shots from Mark’s Instagram page…
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be43HUonejA/?hl=en&taken-by=markfosterswim
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbKaS1unNIq/?hl=en&taken-by=markfosterswim
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdpVHiAHQ5R/?hl=en&taken-by=markfosterswim
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be-9N3ln3IX/?hl=en&taken-by=markfosterswim
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQhiyoYjs3a/?hl=en&taken-by=markfosterswim
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcUC8XfnQG5/?hl=en&taken-by=markfosterswim
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbeT4OrH3J1/?hl=en&taken-by=markfosterswim
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcNuDe8H-zX/?hl=en&taken-by=markfosterswim
h/t: Gay Star News
NateOcean
Who?
Oh, I get it; he’s selling swimwear.
DarkZephyr
Selling underwear? What are you talking about?
Daniel-Reader
Hopefully he can find a fella who is also tall to date so he can look him in the eye and kiss him while standing without hurting his neck.
barkomatic
I’m sure he’s got a lot of guys interested in him. Anyway, can someone explain the trend of taking a photo with your mouth open? (second to the last photo). I’ve seen that so much on social media and it appears the desire is to convey a sense of excitement or amazement but it always comes off fake.
Tête Carrée
Don’t be stupid…he’s looking for a date.