BMX pro Corey Walsh comes out as gay with defiant message of hope: ‘Today is the day where I say f**k it’
Corey Walsh is now one of few openly LGBT+ BMX pros. (Instagram/ walshcorey)
Canadian BMX pro Corey Walsh has come out as gay, making him one of the only openly LGBT+ riders in the industry.
Walsh, 26, is the 10th best BMX rider in the world, according to the Boardr BMX Global Ranking, and competed at the Vans BMX Pro Cup World Championships in 2019.
On Monday (29 March), he opened up about his sexuality for the first time on Instagram.
“If you were to tell me a year ago that today was going to be the day where I said f**k it and let the world in on my personal life I would have told you that’s never going to happen,” he wrote.
“But thanks to the support of my family, friends, and sponsors I can finally accept the fact that I am gay and be open about it.”
Walsh said that in a “perfect world” he would not have to come out, but said: “The reality is there are a lot of people still struggling with the same situations and I just wanted to let people know that they are not alone.
“I feel like the world is shifting into a more understanding place and now is the time to open up the conversation within our communities every chance we get. So here we are.”
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He continued: “I understand the privilege I’ve had with my situation and the reality is a lot of members of the LGTBQ community don’t always get positive experiences.
“So I ask you if you can take anything positive from my situation please be open minded to anyone struggling with their own journeys. And to anyone out there dealing with the bad days it does get better. Just take it one day at a time.”
“Also, a huge thank you to anyone else who has previously opened up to tell their story,” he added.
“The only reason I have gotten to this point is because of you. Holy s**t that feels good, I’m stoked.”
In a piece for the international BMX magazine Dig, his best friend Kris Fox detailed the slow process of Walsh building up the courage to publicly come out.
Fox wrote: “The most valuable lesson I’ve learned is this: everything is the same now with an added bonus.
“We’re still traveling and riding in the same ways with the same goals, but now we have the real Corey Walsh with us.”
