Top gareth Quotes Collection
Discover a curated collection of gareth quotes. Find inspiration, motivation, and wisdom from the best quotes in this category.
It is the toughest, most macho of male sports, and with that comes an image. In many ways, it is barbaric, and I could never have come out without first establishing myself and earning respect as a player. Rugby was my passion, my whole life, and I wasn't prepared to risk losing everything I loved.Collection: Gareth
When I was 16 or 17 I knew I was gay, but knowing and accepting are two very different things.Collection: Gareth
I became a master of disguise and could play the straight man down to a tee, sometimes over-compensating by getting into fights or being overly aggressive because I didn't want the real me to be found out. So I created this alter ego, knowing full well that I was living in my little fantasy bubble, my shell.Collection: Gareth
If I keep getting letters or if I keep getting messages from people who are still taking strength from my story, who are still finding it difficult and struggling, then you know what, then I'll keep doing what I do.Collection: Gareth
When the Wales squad met up for the 2005 autumn internationals, I was already concerned that we were slipping into bad habits. And, yes, the role of head coach Mike Ruddock was, in my opinion, becoming a problem that would eventually need to be addressed if nothing changed.Collection: Gareth
Finding a release mechanism after the pressure of a Test-match week can take over, and the next game can seem as though it might as well be six months away.Collection: Gareth
Sometimes, players find it impossible to see the bigger picture after games for the simple reason that we are the ones who have actually played.Collection: Gareth
I wish Mike Ruddock nothing but the very best in whatever he does in the future. I will always remember him as the guy who had the confidence to make me captain of Wales.Collection: Gareth
After giving up rugby, I wanted to keep busy.Collection: Gareth
I know it's not easy for people to get to a gym.Collection: Gareth
As a professional sportsman, working out has always been an important part of my life.Collection: Gareth
Playing rugby has been my whole life and for me, keeping fit was part of my job. But when I gave up my career, I was determined to keep motivated, and that isn't always easy when you have lost the competitive edge to it.Collection: Gareth
When I came out I hoped it would empower others - and it has.Collection: Gareth
Every gay man will tell you that 'coming out' is like a weight lifted from your shoulders and beng able to walk down the street knowing that there is nothing for me to hide has been a liberating experience.Collection: Gareth
Gay men are accepted in films, music and politics because people came out and broke the mould and stereotype in those industries. What I am trying to do is break the trend in rugby and sport in general and show any aspiring sportsman, regardless of his age, that the mould has been broken.Collection: Gareth
People tend to be consumed by sport when the big events come up.Collection: Gareth
The sports are almost different cultures so saying I prefer one to the other is wrong. Rugby union is guided by a lot of rules, league by the players.Collection: Gareth
You could say I'm the pioneer in the way I have changed some people's perception of not only sports people but of gay men in general. It's also important that people also realise that as much as a pioneer I'm also just a normal person. I'm normal but I've done something that's pretty powerful as well.Collection: Gareth
When you lie you live in fear as well.Collection: Gareth
Times change so fast.Collection: Gareth
I like to think I'm a bit of a son of the country, I've played for the country so many times I feel proud to be Welsh. It's accepted me for what I am and what I do.Collection: Gareth
If I'm in the position to help someone else I'd love to be able to.Collection: Gareth
I became the master of playing the straight bat - I would go to bars with the boys, I would always be the one to start a fight, to be outrageous and drink the most. I even went to the extreme of marrying the perfect woman for me.Collection: Gareth
I don't try and coax people to come out because it needs to be right for them as an individual but when I speak to some people I realise that the power and influence that famous sportspeople have is amazing and to show such a positive message can change the world.Collection: Gareth
I hated being Gareth Thomas. I hated the man I looked at in the mirror.Collection: Gareth
I've been through 20 years of torment battling with my sexuality.Collection: Gareth
If I hadn't had the rugby field to get rid of my aggression I would have been locked up a long time ago.Collection: Gareth
It's only when you leave the rugby bubble that you understand that negative criticism is not personal, it's reality because we don't always get everything right.Collection: Gareth
I loved playing rugby so much. I would have played rugby every day if I could have. I loved being a player so much, I don't know if I could sit on the side, with the passion I have and try and influence without being on there.Collection: Gareth
Everything I ever did in my life when I was younger revolved around wanting to play for Wales, and then you get that cap... it's hard to describe.Collection: Gareth
I've been through the first cap, the 50th, and the 100th, and I defy any player who has ever gone past all those milestones to look at each of them and say that first cap isn't the one that makes him tingle the most.Collection: Gareth
I can remember lacing up my boots ahead of my first cap against Japan in the 1995 World Cup in South Africa. I remember the changing room, the smell of the place, every last detail of how I warmed up, walking out onto the pitch, thinking how proud my parents would be. I was doing all I ever wanted to do.Collection: Gareth
People can be really famous in Wales for rugby, but outside of Wales nobody really has a clue who you are or what you've done.Collection: Gareth
Growing up I wasn't aware of a single gay person in our town. The only people who were gay that you had any idea of were Kenny Everett and people like him on TV. I thought, that's not what I am.Collection: Gareth
I'm not a stereotypical gay man but I am a gay man as much as anyone else.Collection: Gareth
Part of a sportsman's job is taking banter from the crowd.Collection: Gareth
I've always wanted to go to Chicago.Collection: Gareth
You've got to be a right grouch to hate holidays, but one thing I do hate is the old towel on the sun bed trick. It kills me that people get up at five in the morning and go down to the swimming pool and reserve their sun bed with a towel.Collection: Gareth
I've had toiletries explode in my bag and go all over my clothes a few times but I wouldn't let something like that ruin a holiday for me.Collection: Gareth