Michael Ferrera was 10 when he first watched U.S. figure skating duo Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner cascade like currents across the ice, their arms forming delicate shapes in sync as they jumped, spun, and dominated national and world competitions in the late 1970’s. 

As a young closeted kid, Ferrera’s admiration for the skaters and the sport was a source of comfort: a place where he could see men embody the nuances of gender. “I saw this mixture of masculinity and grace and expression, and that they were fully themselves as men,” Ferrera told the Blade. 

Today, after decades of LGBTQ+ non profit work and leadership in Los Angeles, Ferrera is directing his passion for advocacy and queer affirmation towards that initial childhood love: sports. He leads Out Athlete Fund, an organization that supports and uplifts queer athletes, championing their visibility in public arenas. Recently, Out Athlete Fund announced its sponsorship of six U.S. athletes competing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which began today. 

Out Athlete Fund is also producing Pride House L.A./West Hollywood, their most ambitious undertaking yet. With over $1 million in funding support from L.A. County and the City of West Hollywood, the organization will take over West Hollywood Park for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. 

Pride House L.A./West Hollywood will be the first-ever U.S. LGBTQ+ hospitality house for the Olympic Games, joining a burgeoning fight for queer representation in professional sports. 

The first Pride House was created in 2010 during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, forming a foundation that Ferrera hopes to build upon. “We’re trying to lift the movement [and] create a through line,” Ferrera said, who is weaving stronger connective roots between the various Pride Houses that come before him, and the ones that will follow. 

The Los Angeles Blade and Washington Blade announced today that it will serve as the exclusive queer media sponsor for Pride House, and will cover the organization’s plans, interview queer athletes, and report on upcoming events.  

We sat down with Ferrera for the first of these exclusive interviews. In this conversation, Ferrera tells us about the growth of Out Athlete Fund, what people can expect from Pride House L.A./West Hollywood at the FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, as well as the importance of LGBTQ+ safety, representation, and celebration in professional sports.

How did your journey with Out Athlete Fund begin?

This [opportunity] with Out Athlete Fund came out of the pandemic. That was a tough time. L.A. Pride got shut down in 2020. For those of us in the nonprofit world, there weren’t new jobs. That became quite a journey, trying to consult and be creative about how to get through that time. 

And then, when [lockdown] was over, my friend Erik Braverman, who’s also on the board for Out Athlete Fund, came to me and said, “Michael, there’s this great thing going on. My friend Cyd Ziegler from OutSports and Les Johnson from Gay Games are involved. I think you should meet them, because they need somebody to run their nonprofit, and you have that experience.” 

He knew that I love sports. I was born into a Boston, New England family, and you don’t have any choice. So I met Cyd, [who] really is one of the preeminent voices in this world of out athletes, and it just seemed like a good fit. Honestly, the first two years, working with Out Athlete Fund, we didn’t have money to pay staff. Everybody was volunteering, including me. 

We’re really excited because we haven’t been doing this very long. Our first real event was last year. At the end of the summer, we [screened] A League of Their Own at the Autry Museum. [For today’s] Milan opening ceremony watch party, we have almost 600 RSVP’s. 

We’re focused on our visibility mission and raising money to support athletes. We have six at Milan. When we started the year, our goal was to sponsor two, so this is growing so fast. I’m just so excited. 

When it comes to the Winter Games in Milan, they’re happening under a government that is similar to ours in its anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes. How does that affect your mission of supporting athletes on world stages in places that aren’t accepting of their queerness? 

Our sponsorship of these athletes is much more than just writing them a check. It’s letting them know that they have a community behind them. That’s really what Pride House does. It’s bringing together fans and allies so that these athletes feel like they have a community. And the fans know that there are people like them who are excelling in these sports and don’t have the artificial ceilings that are placed upon them. 

Now I think there’s 44, at the moment, out athletes at Milan, and that’s a record for the Winter Olympics. That’s so important: that they know that they have the support of fans in their community, financially, emotionally, in a country that is right now pretty hostile to them, and to have Pride House there. 

So that’s what we’ve got to do. We have to stake a claim, right? And with Pride House L.A./West Hollywood, we want to do that here. We’ll be the first Olympics Pride House in the United States, and we want to grow that [and send the message]: We are here. Our athletes are here. We’ve got their backs. You should, too. I think that’s how we make slow change. 

What will be unique about Pride House L.A. and what will programming look like?

We want to [translate] the power of Los Angeles. We have the entertainment community here. We have a lot of business here, and it’s an exciting city, and it’s got a lot of flash. 

When we take over West Hollywood Park, we will have the whole park. We have 17 days, 12 hours a day to program things. We’ll have a concert stage. We’ve had meetings in the last couple of weeks about A-list celebrities who will come and do a tribute concert to athletes. And we’ll have a smaller stage too that’ll have community performances, meet and greets with athletes. [There will be] panel discussions inside an exhibition hall, where there’ll be a million TV screens so that people can watch every single competition that’s going on.  

[There will also be] big screens outside and on the concert stage. We’re going to have Paralympic sports exhibitions, a history museum about our athletes, where a lot of art will be involved. We’ll have a restaurant. We’ll have food trucks. We’ll have bars. Almost everything will be free of charge to the public. Competitions are expensive to go to — now, you can come watch with your community and have fun. 

We’re still figuring it all out, because our imaginations are the only things that limit what we can do in all those days and with all those hours: everything from a gay employee group having an afternoon together, to having the youth at the Laurel Foundation come for a camp day, to a seniors day.

I want my community to be up front. I want them to see Pride House reflect them, because if it doesn’t reflect them, it doesn’t reflect all the athletes that are potentially out there too. So that’s a big part of the job. It’s making sure this community has a voice and has the opportunity to contribute and help us make it the best it can be. 

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There’s so much community activation in the works. What can athletes expect at the hospitality house?

One of my proudest things that we’ve established for Pride House L.A./West Hollywood is that we’re going to have a dedicated athlete area. We’ll have shuttles that go between UCLA, where the Olympic athlete village will be, and this second athlete village. This is already sanctioned by the Athlete Relations Director for LA 28. 

[Queer athletes will] know that there’s a space that they can go to outside of the [general] athlete village, outside of the politics and the limitations that are there. They can come to this place that’s really for them, and they’ll have their own entrance. The dream of that is that if an athlete comes from Egypt or Iran or Russia — some place where they feel like they can’t be themselves, [where] laws are against them — they can come here and see what experiences they can have being in a place that’s safe and inclusive and celebratory.

That feels liberatory. Pride House can offer, even for a moment, a space where queer people can live openly as themselves when they might have to conceal themselves in the places they spend most of their time in.  

When I worked at the LA LGBT Center, we had a program with Chinese activists. [They] came to the Center and were able to go through all the departments, learn about the different kinds of services, how they were provided, how we raised money, how we worked within the community, and [try to figure out how] to tailor the knowledge that we were providing to the reality that they had. 

On the ground, they were getting called into the police station [for] trying to show LGBTQ+ films at a film festival. You couldn’t really say it was a film festival. You had to say it was an HIV/AIDS prevention thing, and they got found out. 

I became friends with these Chinese activists, and that’s when I say: having a conversation with another human being, [it’s] not [about] the borders and the politics. You’re just two humans facing different circumstances, [questioning]: How can we make it better for each other?

How do those borders show up in sports?

What I hope is that people understand: sports is one of the last bastions of historical hostility toward our community. There are a lot of stereotypes that people still speak about every day, just to keep those walls up and those ceilings up. If you can introduce us and start to normalize that, and have more visibility, and have more athletes feeling safe and supported, it has the power to change in an incredible way. So many people get exposed to these [larger] issues because they’re exposed to sports. 

It’s really powerful. Sports crosses lines: it crosses racial lines, cultural lines, national lines. The power of the Olympics is that athletes come from countries all over the world, and when you’re with somebody [in person], there’s no border there. There are the borders of maybe language or human borders, but there’s no ICE. There’s no hostility or laws or whatever coming between you. There’s just this incredible opportunity to speak to each other as two human beings and get to know each other without all of that stuff getting in the way.

In April, Out Athlete Fund plans to host a 25th annual anniversary screening of Greg Berlanti’s West Hollywood-centered film Broken Hearts Club. The organization will also host four days of festivities at Beaches Tropicana WeHo for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Blade will continue to provide exclusive updates on these events, as well as the six Winter Games athletes sponsored by the organization. 

Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

The Los Angeles Blade and Washington Blade on Friday announced a media partnership with the Out Athlete Fund, which will produce Pride House LA for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Pride House is the home for LGBTQ+ fans and athletes that will become a destination during the L.A. Summer Games in West Hollywood in partnership with the City of WeHo. This 17-day celebration for LGBTQ+ athletes and fans will include medal ceremonies for out athletes, interactive installations, speakers, concerts, and more.

The Los Angeles Blade will serve as the exclusive L.A.-area queer media sponsor for Pride House LA and the Washington Blade will support the efforts and amplify coverage of the 2028 Games.

The Blade will provide exclusive coverage of Pride House plans, including interviews with queer athletes and more. The parties will share content and social media posts raising awareness of the Blade and Out Athlete Fund. The Blade will have media credentials and VIP access for related events. 

“We are excited to partner with the Washington Blade, the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the United States and the Los Angeles Blade, already a strong supporter of Out Athlete Fund and Pride House LA/West Hollywood,” said Michael Ferrera, CEO of Pride House LA. “Our mission is about increasing the visibility of LGBTQ+ athletes and fans to challenge the historical hostility toward our community in the sports world. Visibility is what publications like the Washington and Los Angeles publications are all about. We know they will play a key part in our success.”

“LGBTQ visibility has never been more important and we are thrilled to work with Out Athlete Fund and Pride House LA to tell the stories of queer athletes and ensure the 2028 Summer Games are inclusive and affirming for everyone,” said Blade Editor Kevin Naff.

Out Athlete Fund is a 501(c)3 designed to raise money to offset the training cost of out LGBTQ+ athletes in need of funding for training. The Washington Blade is the nation’s oldest LGBTQ+ news outlet; the Los Angeles Blade is its sister publication founded nine years ago.

More than 40 openly LGBTQ+ athletes are expected to compete in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that open on Friday.

Outsports.com notes eight Americans — including speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy and figure skater Amber Glenn — are among the 44 openly LGBTQ+ athletes who will compete in the games. The LGBTQ+ sports website also reports Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, is the first openly transgender athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics.

“I’ve always been physically capable. That was never a question,” Glenn told Outsports.com. “It was always a mental and competence problem. It was internal battles for so long: when to lean into my strengths and when to work on my weaknesses, when to finally let myself portray the way I am off the ice on the ice. That really started when I came out publicly.”

McDermott-Mostowy is among the six athletes who have benefitted from the Out Athlete Fund, a group that has paid for their Olympics-related training and travel. The other beneficiaries are freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, speed skater Brittany Bowe, snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick, alpine skier Breezy Johnson, and Paralympic Nordic skier Jake Adicoff.

Out Athlete Fund and Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood on Friday will host a free watch party for the opening ceremony.

“When athletes feel seen and accepted, they’re free to focus on their performance, not on hiding who they are,” Haley Caruso, vice president of the Out Athlete Fund’s board of directors, told the Los Angeles Blade.

Four Italian LGBTQ+ advocacy groups — Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano — have organized the games’ Pride House that will be located at the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan.

Pride House on its website notes it will “host a diverse calendar of events and activities curated by associations, activists, and cultural organizations that share the values of Pride” during the games. These include an opening ceremony party at which Checcoro, Milan’s first LGBTQ+ chorus, will perform.

ILGA World, which is partnering with Pride House, is the co-sponsor of a Feb. 21 event that will focus on LGBTQ+-inclusion in sports. Valentina Petrillo, a trans Paralympian, is among those will participate in a discussion that Simone Alliva, a journalist who writes for the Italian newspaper Domani, will moderate.

“The event explores inclusivity in sport — including amateur levels — with a focus on transgender people, highlighting the role of civil society, lived experiences, and the voices of athletes,” says Milano Pride on its website.

The games will take place against the backdrop of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s sporting events.

President Donald Trump last February issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S. A group of Republican lawmakers in response to the directive demanded the International Olympics Committee ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.

The IOC in 2021 adopted its “Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations” that includes the following provisions:

• 3.1 Eligibility criteria should be established and implemented fairly and in a manner that does not systematically exclude athletes from competition based upon their gender identity, physical appearance and/or sex variations.

• 3.2 Provided they meet eligibility criteria that are consistent with principle 4 (“Fairness”, athletes should be allowed to compete in the category that best aligns with their self-determined gender identity.

• 3.3 Criteria to determine disproportionate competitive advantage may, at times, require testing of an athlete’s performance and physical capacity. However, no athlete should be subject to targeted testing because of, or aimed at determining, their sex, gender identity and/or sex variations.

The 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Summer Olympics will occur in Los Angeles.

Out Athlete Fund, a local nonprofit uplifting LGBTQ+ visibility in sports, has taken another step forward in supporting its queer athletes. In the upcoming Winter Olympics and Paralympics beginning Feb. 6, six athletes will have their training and travel expenses covered by the organization. 

These athletes, which include speed skater and first-time Olympian Conor McDermott-Mostowy, freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, speed skater Brittany Bowe, snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick, Para Nordic skier Jake Adicoff, and alpine skier Breezy Johnson, form Out Athlete Fund’s first “Team OutAF.” In a previous interview with the Blade, McDermott-Mostowy explained that many professional athletes earn less than minimum wage, even as they commit themselves fully to the rigorous, all-consuming pressures of training for competition. 

On top of that, queer athletes face isolation in competitive spaces and social environments that discourage, discriminate against, and criminalize LGBTQ+ people for being out. Out Athlete Fund and Team OutAF are offering a necessary safe space for these athletes, ensuring that they receive necessary financial and emotional support.

“When athletes feel seen and accepted, they’re free to focus on their performance, not on hiding who they are,” Haley Caruso, Out Athlete Fund board vice-president and Team OutAF lead, wrote to the Blade. 

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LGBTQ+ rights are at stake globally, specifically in the home country of Team OutAF’s U.S. athletes and the place of their upcoming competition: Milan, Italy. As these athletes prepare to perform on the world stage, they are doing so in arenas that do not promote the free expression of this key part of their identities. “Increasing visibility at moments like this helps break stigma and sends a message to the next generation: you can be your authentic self and chase your dreams,” Caruso wrote. 

The launch of the inaugural Team OutAF is a “milestone” moment for Caruso and other Out Athlete Fund board members, who have seen the erosion of LGBTQ+ rights and are actively fighting against it in professional sports. In the last two years, adjacent organization Pride House L.A./West Hollywood has received support from the county and the City of West Hollywood to fund the construction of L.A.’s first LGBTQ+ hospitality house for this year’s World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. 

These major developments and financial backings illustrate the growing impact and ethos behind Out Athlete Fund and Pride House L.A./West Hollywood: LGBTQ+ athletes are important and deserving of major platforms that celebrate and invest in them. “Being able to create something that gives back to my own community feels incredibly special,” Caruso wrote. “[Team OutAF] isn’t just about sport; it’s about belonging, pride and visibility.” 

On Feb. 6, Pride House L.A./West Hollywood and Out Athlete Fund will host a free watch party for the Winter Games’ opening ceremony. More information about this event, as well as ways to donate, support and follow along with Team OutAF’s athletes can be found on the Pride House L.A./West Hollywood and Out Athlete Fund Instagram pages.

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Kristie Song is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

Hot off the heels of West Hollywood’s $1 million commitment to Pride House LA/West Hollywood, powered by the Out Athlete Fund, the County of Los Angeles has made a contribution of $181,200 for the development and production of events during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, as well as other events throughout Los Angeles.

Pride House LA/West Hollywood will serve as the safe space and destination, transforming West Hollywood Park and the surrounding areas, set up to welcome LGBTQ+ fans, coaches, media, and athletes to the county. Pride House will present a series of events, including a highlight of the history of queer folk in sports, entertainment, and educational opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community, and outreach to allies celebrating the community.

Pride House LA/West Hollywood CEO Michael Ferrera shares, “Having support for Pride House from Los Angeles County Supervisor Lyndsey Horvath and people from across the County is a huge step toward delivering truly special experiences for the LGBTQ+ community at these
major sporting events here in Los Angeles.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath remarked, “I am proud to support Pride House Los Angeles/West Hollywood as we prepare for the 2028 Games and work to ensure LGBTQ+ athletes are seen, supported, and celebrated at every level of sport. By expanding visibility, inclusion, and belonging, Pride House is strengthening both athletes and the broader sports community. Through its programming and community engagement leading up to 2028, we are helping build a lasting legacy of opportunity, representation, and support that extends well beyond the Games.”

The Out Athlete Fund is a non-profit organization committed to supporting out LGBTQ+ athletes on their journey to the Olympics and other national and international competitions. To donate and become a Founding Team Member, visit https://www.pridehouselaweho.org/donate.

Pride House LA/West Hollywood will take place in West Hollywood during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, June 11-14, and in West Hollywood Park, as well as select locations around Los Angeles County during the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, July 14-30, 2028.

The Los Angeles Blade serves as a proud media partner of Pride House/LA West Hollywood.

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Conor McDermott-Mostowy spends close to 40 hours every week on the ice, often training multiple times a day as he gears up to participate in a series of competitions to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics. McDermott-Mostowy is on the national long-track speed skating team, and has competed in world championships for the sport since 2017. Most recently, he won silver and bronze medals at the 2025 U.S. Long Track speed skating Championships in Utah.

Soon, he’ll be heading to Canada, the Netherlands, and Norway to compete in the upcoming World Cup circuit before the U.S. Olympic Trials in January. Mcdermott-Mostowy has prepared his whole life for this moment — to hopefully compete in his first-ever Olympics — but his journey is rife with intense financial and emotional pressures, especially as one of the few openly queer athletes in his league. 

“I’m currently the only out man on the World Cup circuit,” McDermott-Mostowy told the Blade. “Especially coming from Salt Lake, which is certainly not the mecca for queer culture…and being in sport…it can be pretty isolating at times.” 

McDermott-Mostowy stopped by West Hollywood on Saturday for a fundraising event at the City’s Nike Training Studio. Organized by Out Athlete Fund, a nonprofit focused on uplifting LGBTQ+ visibility in sports and raising funds for out athletes, as well as Pride House LA/West Hollywood, the official hospitality house for LGBTQ+ athletes at the 2028 Summer Olympics, the event aimed to garner community support and donations to help support McDermott-Mostowy and other queer athletes as they prepare for career-defining competitions.

The event also demystified the belief that professional athletes are lavishly compensated. As McDermott-Mostowy explained in an earlier Blade interview, “the reality is that Olympic sports are not accessible or sustainable for most people…Many world-class and Olympic-caliber athletes earn less than minimum wage while dedicating more than full-time hours to their sport. The nature of training makes it nearly impossible to take on additional work, meaning athletes are often forced to rely on family, fundraising, or personal debt to continue competing.” 

The current political climate also presents other challenges for openly queer athletes. Cyd Ziegler, the co-founder of LGBTQ+ sports news publication Outsports and board member for both Pride House LA/West Hollywood and Out Athlete Fund, recently wrote that “these upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics are in Italy, where another right-wing government is cracking down on the gay community. I don’t have to tell anyone in the LGBTQ community what is going on right here in the United States. That makes supporting Conor, and other out LGBTQ athletes with the potential to compete at these Olympics, that much more poignant.”

McDermott-Mostowy confirmed at Saturday’s event that there has been a “significant pullback” in financial and sponsorship support for queer athletes, creating strain on how he will afford all the components vital to his Olympic journey: the training, travel, gear, nutrition — just to name a few. 

Beyond raising funds, Saturday’s event served as a moment of reprieve and queer gathering for McDermott-Mostowy. West Hollywood city officials including mayor Chelsea Byers arrived to present a certificate of recognition to the athlete, and former competitive figure skaters Randy Gardner, Tai Babilonia and Bobby Beauchamp offered warm words to McDermott-Mostowy, ushering in a new generation of queer excellence at the Winter games.

Currently, McDermott-Mostowy is preparing for the World Cup in Salt Lake City from November 14-16, the first of four World Cups that will lead him to Hamar, Norway in December. As of Nov. 3rd, Out Athlete Fund has raised $16,000 to support McDermott-Mostowy in his road to the Olympics, as confirmed by Pride House LA/West Hollywood board vice president and Out Athlete Fund marketing co-lead Haley Caruso.

As the countdown to the next Winter Olympic Games begins in Milan, Pride House LA is shining a well-deserved spotlight on queer athletes who are breaking boundaries both on and off the field. Among them is Team USA speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy – a fierce competitor and proud member of the queer community. With blistering speed on the ice and a steadfast commitment to equity in sports, Conor is doing so much more than winning medals – he’s redefining what it means to represent one’s country while representing one’s community.

This weekend, McDermott-Mostowy took one step closer to the 2026 Winter Olympics by winning the silver and bronze medals at the US Championships in speedskating.

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The athlete will make a Los Angeles appearance this coming weekend at the Nike Training Studio in West Hollywood (8714 Santa Monica Blvd) on Saturday, November 1st, from 5 to 7 pm. The event is being presented by Out Athlete Fund/Pride House LA in the organization’s efforts to raise funds to support Conor and other out athletes as they pursue their Olympic dreams in Milan 2026 and beyond.

We had the opportunity to chat with the star athlete to talk about resilience, representation, and the legacy he hopes to leave one day.

Huge congrats, Conor! Winning a World Cup gold is no small feat. Do you feel like this win proved something to the world – or more importantly, to yourself?

Winning gold with my team last year was definitely a major goal achieved. That said, the event we won isn’t yet an Olympic event. The races that have had the most profound impact on me actually happened two years ago.

The first was the team pursuit in Obihiro, Japan. I’d always been more of an alternate for that event, since it’s typically raced by skaters who compete in both the 1500m and 5000m. But I’d been itching for the opportunity to race it at the World Cup level. I finally got that chance when a teammate had to pull out at the last minute due to a back issue. We led the race through six of eight laps, ultimately finishing third. While it was a little disappointing to fall out of the lead, I was proud to prove that I could contribute meaningfully and help the team medal.

The second race was later that year in Salt Lake City, my home ice. After competing in Japan, I came down with a lung infection that affected my performance at the next few World Cups. Fortunately, I had time to recover before the North American World Cups and World Championships. At the Salt Lake City World Cup, I was balancing competition with completing my undergraduate degree. I didn’t know what to expect, but I ended up finishing fifth in the 1000m—my highest individual finish ever—and posted a time of 1:06.91. That’s a very significant time in speedskating; only three other Americans have gone under 1:07 in that event, all of whom became world champions. That result felt like a turning point, showing me that an Olympic or World Championship medal wasn’t just a dream—it was within reach.

This PrideHouse LA event is a huge moment. What does that support from the queer community mean to you?

It’s incredibly meaningful. Being queer in Olympic sport can be very isolating, both inside and outside the sport. I barely have time to socialize outside of skating, and relocating to Salt Lake City doesn’t exactly help when it comes to queer community. So having that kind of solidarity and support from the wider LGBTQ+ community really means a lot.

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Do you remember the moment you realized skating could take you all the way to the Olympics?

There hasn’t been one single moment. It’s been a series of them. Over the years, I’ve had many races that shattered the limits I thought I had and inspired me to reach higher. That Salt Lake City race was one of them. It made me realize I shouldn’t just aim for the Olympics. I should aim for medals.

Another key moment came in 2018 at my last Junior World Cup, when my teammate and I finished 2nd and 3rd in the mass start. That event is similar to short track but held on a long track. It was my first full year focusing on long track after previously dabbling in it, and we had no expectation of medaling. But after we did, I realized I might actually have a future in this discipline—and that I could be competitive on the world stage. It was a pivotal realization, especially as I was trying to decide whether to continue skating or pursue a traditional college experience.

What initially drew you to speedskating? How did you get into the sport—and what’s kept you motivated?

I grew up on skates. I started at age two and became a strong skater early on. But I never had any interest in hockey or figure skating. One winter, I was skating with my family on the C&O Canal in Washington, D.C., when a guy skated past us on these wild-looking speed skates. I was immediately intrigued. My parents found a local club, which happened to be run by three-time Olympian Nathaniel Mills, and I was hooked.

What’s kept me going is simple: I love it. This isn’t a sport you get rich in. I’ve only earned more than $20,000 a year twice in my career, and you can’t use it to pay for college either. The motivation has to come from within—the pursuit of excellence, the dream of going to the Olympics, and pure love for the sport.

What’s been your toughest race to date, and what did it teach you?

That would be the team pursuit in Japan. I wasn’t expecting to race it and had already competed in a full weekend of events before getting the call. Team pursuit is arguably the toughest event in speedskating. Stepping up without being mentally or physically prepared was a challenge, but I did it. It showed me I could push through, even under extreme circumstances.

You’ve made headlines not just for your speed, but for your openness. What was it like coming out publicly in the world of elite sport?

By the time I was publicly identified as gay, I had already been out to anyone who asked. So “coming out” doesn’t feel like the right term. It wasn’t a big declaration. I had the benefit of growing up seeing openly gay athletes and being part of a supportive community. I never felt the need to hide who I was.

Eventually, as I started achieving more on the ice, people began noticing me and the content I posted, and they put two and two together. When I was asked to speak publicly about being an openly gay athlete in speedskating, I didn’t hesitate.

What have been the biggest challenges in your career – physically, mentally, or otherwise?

Honestly, my entire career has been about overcoming challenges. The two biggest obstacles have been illness and finances.

I’ve dealt with asthma, a norovirus that derailed my chances in 2022, and a fatigue condition last season that affected my performance. These setbacks take a toll. Not just physically, but mentally. When you invest everything into your sport, being forced to pause or scale back is a huge emotional hurdle.

Financially, speedskating is a tough path. Even as a consistent top-20 skater in the world, I’ve only broken $20k twice in a year, and we’re paid for just nine months, even though we train year-round. I’ve leaned on friends and family for support many times just to make ends meet.

Have you ever been told – explicitly or implicitly – that being openly gay could hurt your chances with sponsors or coaches?

Never with coaches. In our sport, selections are based on the clock, not someone’s opinion. My coaches have always been great.

But when it comes to sponsorships, especially over the past year, I’ve noticed a shift. As anti-DEI sentiment grows, brands are backing away from anything that could be seen as “controversial.” Being openly gay seems to fall into that category now. Since most of our income comes from sponsorships, that retreat is deeply felt.

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As someone proudly representing Team USA, how do you navigate the emotional complexity of competing for a country where LGBTQ+ rights are still under threat in many states?

This is something I’ve thought a lot about recently. I’ve ultimately come to the conclusion that visibility is more important than ever. We’re at a moment when LGBTQ+ rights, protections, and services are being rolled back in many places. The only way to push back against that is to be loud, present, and unapologetically ourselves.

It’s easy to marginalize people you don’t see or hear from. Hiding who I am or stepping out of the spotlight would only give power to those who want to define me—and my community—on their terms. Yes, there’s a dissonance in representing a country that is actively working to limit the rights of people like me and those I care about. But I also believe in representing the version of America we aspire to be. These attacks on the LGBTQ+ community aren’t new. We’ve endured before, and we’ve always found ways to thrive. But none of those rights were won by staying quiet—and we can’t afford to be passive now.

What would you say to political leaders who use “protecting women’s sports” as a cover for banning trans athletes and rolling back queer rights?

I’m not a woman, so I don’t pretend to fully understand the complexities of trans women competing in women’s sports, especially at the elite level. It’s a nuanced conversation. But right now, that conversation is being approached with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

What I can’t wrap my head around is this: the same people arguing that post-pubescent trans women shouldn’t compete are also the ones preventing trans youth from accessing gender-affirming healthcare, like hormone blockers – treatments that would eliminate the very advantages they claim to be concerned about. You can’t claim fairness as your motive while actively eliminating the tools that would create it. That’s not legislating in good faith. It’s weaponizing a complex issue to justify discrimination.

What’s one piece of advice you wish you’d gotten when you first started speedskating?

Dream bigger.

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Looking ahead, what legacy do you hope to leave for future generations of athletes?

Right now, I’m focused on improving the lives and opportunities of the skaters who will come after me. I serve as an athlete representative on the board of US Speedskating, and my goal is to help the sport grow and thrive well beyond my time on the ice.

The reality is that Olympic sports are not accessible or sustainable for most people. That’s not okay. In recent Olympic cycles, athlete compensation has continued to drop, even as the cost of living has gone up. Many world-class and Olympic-caliber athletes earn less than minimum wage while dedicating more than full-time hours to their sport. The nature of training makes it nearly impossible to take on additional work, meaning athletes are often forced to rely on family, fundraising, or personal debt to continue competing.

Even after I retire, I plan to stay involved in speedskating and the Olympic movement more broadly. Because the truth is, being an Olympian is becoming a privilege for the wealthy—something that requires not just talent and dedication, but also a trust fund or willingness to go into serious debt. That is not what the Olympics should be. If we don’t fight to change this, we risk turning one of the greatest stages in sport into a pay-to-play system. And not enough people are sounding the alarm.

An Evening with Conor McDermott-Mostowy

Nov 01, 2025, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM / Nike Training Studio West Hollywood, 8714 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069, USA

Los Angeles Blade is a proud media partner of PrideHouse LA.

On July 5, 2025, Dodger Stadium transformed into a vibrant cultural celebration as hololive production returned for its second Hololive Night in collaboration with the Los Angeles Dodgers. More than just a baseball game, the event became a joyful convergence of fandom, self-expression, and community, drawing fans from across the globe.

Over two hours before the first pitch, fans packed the dedicated hololive queue, eager to collect exclusive Dodgers x hololive trading cards featuring Ninomae Ina’nis, IRyS, and Koseki Bijou. Some fans braved the summer heat for hours, while others traveled from as far as Japan for the event. Dodger Stadium became a colorful showcase of anime-inspired fashion, VTuber cosplay, and unmistakable fan pride.

For Tama, a bisexual streamer, the connection to hololive is personal. “I don’t know if I qualify as a VTuber, but I have a little PNG,” she shared with a laugh. Fully decked out in Ina’nis gear—wig, plushie, and merch—Tama has been a dedicated fan since Ina’s debut in 2020. “It’s because she’s an artist and also because she’s really calm and funny. She streams on YouTube, so I kind of just connect with her a lot. She’s relatable, comforting, and inspiring.”

Tama was especially excited to attend her first-ever baseball game and see Motoaki Tanigo—known affectionately to fans as “Yagoo,” the CEO of COVER Corporation—throw the ceremonial first pitch. “He is the most involved CEO you’ve ever seen in a company,” she said.

Yagoo’s leadership has become part of hololive’s charm. Fans admire how visible and engaged he is, and the company’s approach to events like Hololive Night shows that the fan experience is a priority. This year’s collaboration marked a milestone as the first-ever VTuber livestream both to and from Dodger Stadium. Hololive talents not only cheered on the Dodgers but also led the crowd in a sing-along of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and hosted post-game activities on the field, including an interactive dance segment called “WHO’S got the MOVES?!?!”

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Fans explored hololive-themed photo ops, enjoyed special stadium snacks in event-exclusive packaging, and had better access to merchandise this year thanks to improved in-stadium sales. Last year, many fans missed most of the game due to long lines at a single merch tent. This time, the experience felt smoother and more celebratory.

Owen, a bi-curious fan who is exploring his gender, shared why VTubers resonate so deeply with him. “I like a lot of feminine things—clothing, colors, jewelry, accessories—a lot of stuff that they don’t give male characters in games. You can’t be a feminine male character in games a lot. It’s really nice to get to just pick the female characters because it feels like me even more than the male characters.”

Owen has been a hololive fan since 2020 and attended last year’s Dodgers event as well. “I like being a fan of stuff. I like music, gaming, stuff like that.” He feels especially connected to Ina’nis through her music. “She has a collaboration with a producer I really like, Camellia. One of the things that drew me to her originally was from her debut stream. She mentioned being a fan of Camellia. That was cool to me because he’s a sort of niche producer and it was cool to see someone like Ina be into him.”

For many fans like Owen and Tama, VTubing isn’t just entertainment, it’s a safe space to explore identity and express emotions without judgment. “People can see it as a mask, but I almost view it as being able to be your true self because you don’t have to have your appearance be the first thing that people see,” one fan explained.

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When I asked Yagoo why VTubing has become such a meaningful and emotionally safe space, he reflected that this was something he realized early on. “The ability to step away from physical labels—things like appearance, race, gender—and to let someone’s creativity stand on its own, whether as an artist or as a performer, is what makes VTubers such a powerful tool.”
He shared that hololive’s global community includes LGBT fans who find a deep connection through female characters. “In the initial stages of the business, the idea that it would be a great way for people to express their true selves—their preferences and identities—became clear pretty quickly.”

As hololive continues to grow, especially in the U.S. and cities like Los Angeles, Yagoo said the company is exploring new ways to reach broader audiences. “Originally, we started by focusing on anime fans and VTubers were quickly embraced by that community. Now, we are trying to create more opportunities through gaming and music as an entry point for people to engage with VTubers.”

The possibilities are exciting. Fans have already built vibrant, diverse communities, and there is potential for hololive to grow even further—through partnerships with Pride events, collaborations with queer creators, and deeper connections with LGBTQ+ fans who already see themselves reflected in this world.

As Ina’nis playfully joked during the event, “Just think: all of our fans outside their houses! In the real world! In Dodger Stadium! You did it! You went outside and touched grass!”

For many, Hololive Night was about more than the game. It was about showing up, being seen, and finding joy together, in real life, and across the virtual worlds we continue to build.

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A lot happened at last weekend’s high school state track and field championship meet in
Clovis, Calif. Parents of cisgender student-athletes booed the one and only transgender
girl competing. Police and security officers showed up in large numbers to keep
protestors apart and safeguard the competitors. Police made an arrest outside the
stadium after a demonstrator brandishing a transgender pride flag allegedly assaulted a
man described as a conservative activist and caused damage to his vehicle.

The trans student — 16-year-old AB Hernandez — finished a winner. But she wasn’t “the” winner.

As CBS News reported, “Hernandez took home first place medals in both high jump and
triple jump and she placed second in the long jump event. Following a rule change by
the California Interscholastic Federation, a co-winner was named in each of the three
events in which Hernandez placed.”

You didn’t misread that. Hernandez shared the podium with “co-winners.”

As the Blade reported last week, the CIF introduced a new “pilot entry process” that for
the first time, allowed judges to score trans athletes separately from cisgender
competitors, so there were three winners in every event: a cisgender male winner, a
cisgender female winner and a trans student-athlete winner.

The new policy was announced hours after President Donald Trump threatened to pull
“large scale federal funding” from the state if officials allowed trans athletes to compete
according to their gender identity.

Despite the policy change, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on social
media it was investigating State Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Superintendent of
Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the Jurupa Unified School District, and the CIF for
potential violations of Title IX, as the Blade reported.

So what happens now? As KXTV reported, President Trump issued another threat to
pull funding on Monday in a post to his Truth Social account, not naming Hernandez but
labeling her “a biological male” and using his favorite derogatory nickname for
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“A Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals, WINNING BIG, despite the
fact that they were warned by me not to do so. As Governor Gavin Newscum fully
understands, large scale fines will be imposed!!!”

Now, the pundits are weighing-in. Sara Pequeño wrote in USA Today how she was
encouraged to see Hernandez share the 2nd place podium with Brooke White and “put
their arms around each other.”

“They’re setting an example for how all of us should treat our trans neighbors, i.e.,
treating them like human beings, not enemies,” she wrote.

As Pequeño noted, Save Women’s Sports, an anti-trans advocacy group, could only
identify five trans students in the entire United States who were competing on girls’
teams from kindergarten through grade 12 in 2023. “That group’s entire existence is to
hate trans athletes, and they found very little to hate,” she wrote.

According to the president of the NCAA, there are fewer than 10 student-athletes
who publicly identify as transgender out of the more than 500,000 competing at the
collegiate level.

Pequeño was not alone in finding joy in the rules change that brought cisgender and
transgender girls together on a podium, each of them a “co-winner.” So did self-
proclaimed “trans advocate” Cyd Zeigler.

He’s one of the co-founders of the LGBTQ+ sports site Outsports, who in 2023
infamously came close to endorsing Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for
president, only to offer his regrets, following a backlash from readers. Zeigler penned an
op-ed Wednesday originally titled “California trans athlete policy is something everyone
can embrace.”

“Everyone?” Not this sports editor.

He called the new CIF policy “the best possible path in 2025 to trans participation in
sports.”

In celebrating this change, Zeigler also trashed “goal-post-moving trans advocates” and
policies in California and Connecticut that allow “a trans girl to run in boys track meets
and, without a medical transition, later compete in girls meets,” meaning high school
competitions. “That’s bad policy,” declared Zeigler without evidence.

That policy in Connecticut has stood since 2011 and is enshrined in state law, and so far
has withstood legal challenges once again being heard in federal court.

Outsports at some point changed the headline of his screed to “New California trans
athlete policy is something we can embrace” and apparently made another significant
choice: Despite quoting the outlet’s one and only remaining transgender contributor,
Karleigh Webb, who opposes the rules change, Zeigler did not mention her by name.
Why?

In an article published before the championship, Webb wrote: “If AB Hernandez wins,
why should she have to share the spoils with someone else if’s not a tie? That’s what
professional transphobes like Jennifer Sey and Riley Gaines try to sell. Awarding a
duplicate medal gives their nonsense credence to the detriment of the sport and the
athletes.”
Webb is right. Zeigler and the CIF and Gov. Newsom are wrong. You either win, or you
lose, or if you prefer, you come in second, third, whatever. But “co-winners?”

That’s a crock.

Imagine if the Dodgers and Yankees shared the World Series trophy. Why shouldn’t the
49ers also win the Super Bowl alongside the Chiefs? Maybe Kamala Harris should be
declared a “co-winner” of last November’s election?

Personally, I’m glad to see Hernandez embraced by her cisgender peers. I’m relieved to
know that crowds cheering these amazing girls last weekend drowned out the hecklers
who showed up to boo a child. I’m encouraged that even if she had to share the win,
Hernandez was given her rightful place among the teens competing and proved she
was not only worthy of competing but did not win in every event.

So, she’s hardly “unbeatable.” Most trans athletes actually lose, as Zeigler wrote almost
six years ago, back before he started echoing anti-trans inclusion activists Martina Navratilova, Renee Richards and Nancy Hogshead-Makar.

If he really thinks the CIF “co-winners” rule is going to silence anti-trans forces, I think
he’s going to be very surprised by Riley Gaines and her crowd.

While it’s easy for Zeigler to concede public opinion has shifted, he should know
better than to blame those who pushed for inclusion, when it’s clear that conservative
voices in media and politicians, like his, are the ones responsible for influencing that
move to reject trans women’s right to compete in women’s sports. It’s a pendulum swing
that in time will undoubtedly swing back, once the science proves that trans women and
girls don’t always win. In fact, researchers have already proven some trans athletes are
at a disadvantage compared to their cisgender competitors.

Just as Parker Molloy reported that a Republican-commissioned study on gender
affirming care in Utah actually found “that youth who received care before age 18 had
better outcomes, especially around depression, anxiety and suicidality. Hormonal
treatments were associated with positive mental health and psychosocial functioning
outcomes.”

I believe the science is on the side of transgender Americans. Americans love a
winner. Not a “co-winner.”

FIFA has announced Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, despite concerns over its human rights record that includes the death penalty for homosexuality.

The Associated Press reported FIFA confirmed the decision on Dec. 18. The AP noted Saudi Arabia is the only country that bid to host the 2034 World Cup.

“This is a historic moment for Saudi Arabia and a dream come true for all our 32 million people who simply love the game,” said Sport Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al- Faisal, who is also president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, in a statement the Saudi Press Agency posted to its website.

Saudi Arabia is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.

A U.S. intelligence report concluded Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “likely approved” the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. A federal judge in 2022 dismissed a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed after the Biden-Harris administration said he was immune to the lawsuit because he is the country’s prime minister.

Human rights activists have also criticized the Saudi government over the treatment of women, migrant workers, and other groups in the country.

“No one should be surprised by this,” Cyd Zeigler, Jr., co-founder of Outsports.com, an LGBTQ sports website, told the Washington Blade in an email after FIFA confirmed Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. “FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, and many other world governing bodies routinely turn to authoritarian countries with terrible human-rights records to host major sporting events. There are simply few other countries willing to spend the billions of dollars it takes to build the needed infrastructure.”

Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ+ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, in a statement described FIFA’s decision as “a betrayal of the values that football should stand for: Inclusivity, fairness, and respect for human rights.”

“This is not about football; it’s about sportswashing,” said Tatchell. “The Saudi regime is using the World Cup to launder its international image and distract from its brutal abuses. By granting them this platform, FIFA is complicit in whitewashing their crimes.”

Qatar, which borders Saudi Arabia, hosted the 2022 World Cup.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in Qatar.

“Saudi Arabia was the only country to bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup,” said Zeigler. “So, until FIFA, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and other governing bodies ban major human-rights violators from hosting, we’ll continue to see events like this in Saudi Arabia, China, Qatar, and other countries with terrible LGBTQ rights issues.”

The Blade has reached out to FIFA and the Saudi government for comment.