Gareth Thomas Quotes

Gareth Thomas

Profession : Athlete

Birth : August 2, 1993

My old man works in the postal service, my mum in a hospital and my brother in a factory. They're my family and when I play rugby I'm representing them. But coming out was different. More than anyone, I feared for my father. I used to be a postman myself and so I know that working environment.

Gareth Thomas

I'm un-self-sufficient. I can't look after myself. I really can't.

Gareth Thomas

There are times in my life when I've wanted never to exist. There's times you don't want to go back to.

Gareth Thomas

When I started doing Twitter, I realised there were so many people following me who were going through the same thing I was going through.

Gareth Thomas

Some people say it's sad living in a hotel, but I'd rather be living in an hotel than living in an house on my own.

Gareth Thomas

If you can't give 100% to rugby then you can't do it justice.

Gareth Thomas

I am a rugby player and first and foremost I am a man.

Gareth Thomas

My sport was my comfort. The routine, the camaraderie, the team... everyone's around you. After rugby you're on your own.

Gareth Thomas

People say getting fit is 90% diet and 10% exercise, but that's bollocks. If you train hard you earn the right to a chocolate bar.

Gareth Thomas

Other sportsmen have confided in me that they're gay. The advice I give is that coming out is great for you as a person, but that you also have to remember you're a role model. As a sportsman you take the money and the glory, but you also take the responsibility that comes with it and make sure the stories that follow are positive.

Gareth Thomas

My father always pretends to hate Christmas. But when we were children he was the first one waking us up, saying: 'Do you think Father Christmas has been yet?'

Gareth Thomas

I was always driven by the idea that if people ever found out about who I was then the stature I created for myself within rugby would have to be as relevant as the fact I was gay. It was always the driving factor to be the strongest, the fastest, the most skilful.

Gareth Thomas

I was born and raised to play rugby. I have two parents who are hugely proud of my rugby achievements, but even they say that maybe it was just a platform to give me a voice to do something better, and rugby wasn't what I was all about. Something else was.

Gareth Thomas

I don't take any day for granted, I work hard, I'm motivated.

Gareth Thomas

I'm a sportsman, as good and strong as you, who just happens to be gay.

Gareth Thomas

I find it hard to believe that people can be jealous of other people's success.

Gareth Thomas

Someone said on social media that I was the son of Satan for being open about my sexuality. I told my mother, and she laughed and said, 'Well, what the hell does that make me?'

Gareth Thomas

I had a stroke in 2006. I thought: 'This is it.'

Gareth Thomas

I was never ever attracted to any of my rugby mates; I was really good at switching off my emotions and I wouldn't have even considered crossing that line.

Gareth Thomas

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.

Gareth Thomas