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In 1989 Bob Paris, one of the world’s greatest athletes in the sport of bodybuilding, came out as an openly gay man. At the time of his public acknowledgement of his sexuality, 70% of Americans believed that homosexuality was a sin, as reported by The Los Angeles Times. Bob faced a tremendous fall-out in his sport and ignited controversy in schools, churches and small communities around the country as he moved around to speak about the issue and further the conversation which would eventually lead to the gay athletes of today having an opportunity to do the same. His pioneering decision changed the face of what being gay meant and looked like in America. We sat down with him (and his very friendly dog, Cole) at his home in British Columbia, Canada to speak about his groundbreaking decision to live openly, and the reverberations that are still felt today.
