Love myself I do. Not everything, but I love the good as well as the bad. I love my crazy lifestyle, and I love my hard discipline. I love my freedom of speech and the way my eyes get dark when I'm tired. I love that I have learned to trust people with my heart, even if it will get broken. I am proud of everything that I am and will become.
— Johnny Weir
I'm going to skate exactly the way I want to, create programs that I like, and everything will fall into place where it is supposed to.
I never ever wanted to change my sport... Figure skating was my outlet, it was my breath, it was how I could live and transmit everything I was feeling and everything I had worked for and given up and all these sacrifices I'd made throughout the years. It was how I could make them all worth it.
The gymnastic events are really what I tune into the Summer Olympics for.
I love the Olympic Games. The Olympics are an event that few can fathom but all can enjoy, and that's why athletes work our whole lives to put on the greatest show on Earth.
Ice shows give us the opportunity to forget ourselves and just perform. They are amazing opportunities to be in front of audience to try out new material, to show new costuming. It's an incredible opportunity to do what we do without the stress of worrying about what a judge is going to say.
To me, skating should look effortless even when you're doing the hardest of elements.
I totally understand that I am a little outrageous in some ways... I'm a little un-P.C., but I really wish I had the chance to perform for the American fans.
So many people in the gay community have always asked me to come out, say it like it is, and help our cause. But for me... I think my biggest statement I could give to the world is to be strong being myself... you have to make something of yourself, and that's what makes us strong.
If I wanted to be any woman in the world, it would not be Bethenny Frankel.
I will be 60 or 70 years old still rocking my Chanel blazer with my hair all coiffed.
I've always had a loud mouth, and for that I've gotten a lot of attention. I did falter in some big competitions in my career, but being counted out and not being seen as a threat is something I'm used to.
I'm very inspired by the artfulness and soulfulness of the Russian people.
I think being in the public eye can only help me launch into the world of fashion.
I'm a huge fur fan; it's no secret to anyone anymore.
I'm not commercial, I'm not for Special K cereal and I'm not a Wheaties boy; I'm a little bit more avant-garde, a little bit more out there.
I would love to be a spokes model for Karl Lagerfeld or Balenciaga or something like that.
I'm different, and I have to be a warrior to be that way. But I have had some success; I hope I have touched the lives of some wonderful people, all by being what I see as myself but some others people see as different.
I love skating and sparkling and flying around the ice, and people clap for you. It's an amazing feeling.
Statistically, I'd say there are about as many gay figure skaters as there are gay football players. The majority are straight. There are just those few exceptions, and those are the ones who have gotten picked on and followed over the years.
Michael Phelps is a sporting god among men. It is hard to say if anyone will ever match his accomplishments, but it has been an honor to see him become a legend. He makes me proud of the American sports institution and proud of the sports that get mass attention only every four years.
No mother wants to hear her son say he's gay. Those two words rip the picture of a daughter-in-law and grandchildren into pieces. I felt sorry for my mom and wanted her to know everything was going to be all right. But then she said, 'I don't really care, Johnny, as long as I know that you are going to be happy.'
I am often criticized for spending too much time off the ice, but if you were in my shoes, you'd see how necessary it is.
I'd love to learn how to foxtrot and cha cha. Believe it or not, I have terrible dancing skills. I can do everything on the ice, but as soon as you put me on the ground, I'm that person that falls down walking off a curb.
I've never been invited to do 'Stars on Ice' before, which is the only figure skating tour in the U.S., and it's disappointing that I can't perform for my American fans... all because I'm not 'family friendly' enough.
Now the fact that people are saying, 'Oh my God, he's finally come out' - I was never in.
I grew my beard out a little bit just to show that, indeed, I am a man.
I have been a figure skater for so long that when I stopped that competitive day-to-day grind, I didn't know what to do with myself. I don't know how the world works outside of being barked at by a Ukrainian woman and watching my weight.
I have always thought that being a good American is appreciating the world, not just your own country.
I'm going to be a happy housewife. I'm going to be washing boxers and cooking and doing all those sorts of housewife duties. I just want to be happy and proud of every single day.
I want to create things while I have time on Earth, and the art of costume and culture has always inspired me.
I hate summer, to be honest. I hate dressing. I hate the heat. I hate sweaty people getting aggressively close to you when you're walking down the street.
You only live once. Life is a show.
I definitely don't think of myself as an actual male model. I'm far too short and my legs are far too muscular.
If just one person, one child who is made to feel isolated, looks at me and sees that it is okay to be your own person and walk down your own path, then everything I have ever gone through will be worth it.
Whether I moved people to throw punches or cry, I did that through my art and what I do. I would never take that experience away to race against a speedometer. Or play on a team.
It's of very little importance to me that I was born gay. It doesn't make me a better athlete, it doesn't make me a stronger person, it doesn't really do anything to enhance my life. It's just something I was born with, the same as green eyes.
The booing and the drama help make the Olympics interesting, but at what cost? When will people finally get tired of it and start watching the X-Games or competitive tire rolling instead?
I'm not ashamed to be me. More than anyone else I know, I love my life and accept myself. What's wrong with being unique? I am proud of everything that I am and will become.
Being in the public eye is part of what I do, and taking on a multitude of different projects - television, radio, fashion, writing or deep-sea diving - is a blessing. It is also how I pay my bills and fund my own skating, as I don't have a sponsor or financial help from my federation.
Anytime you get men in glitter, it's a flamboyant occasion!
Of course I was bullied and of course I was called names - my last name is Weir. That's very, very close to 'weird,' or 'queer' and any of those words. But I've never been anyone to cry over spilled milk or be upset because kids don't like me, or people don't like me... It makes my skin stronger and thicker. And why cry? Your mascara runs.
I've lived my whole life exactly the way I've wanted to. Being gay, being white, being male, it doesn't matter to me. They're all things I'm born with.
I hope that more children have the same opportunities as me, with the same parents as me, that let me be an individual, who gave me freedom, and taught me to believe in myself before anyone else would believe in me.
Finding someone to share your life with is one of the most important things a human can do and was preached to me by my mother.
It's easier for me to go to Russia and train with top coaches and choreographers there than go to Colorado Springs and train with 14 of my competitors.
Music is fun, but I'm an ice skater. I may sing songs and do shows, make movies and other things... that's all well and good and I enjoy it, and I would never trade any of those for anything. But figure skating is who I am.
In figure skating, your body can only last for so long. I can't be 50 and trying to skate but I can be 50 and be in fashion, so I have to look to my future and what I want to achieve.
I have a whole fur closet. I'm not afraid of PETA.
I'm not really one to go out in public in dresses too often. I definitely mix it up between masculine and feminine all the time, but wearing a dress goes a little bit too far.
