Blogger Matt Hennie is the founder and managing editor of Project Q Atlanta. He’s a longtime Atlanta resident who’s worked in journalism since his days as a Purple Paladin at Furman University in the early ‘90s.
Never one to pass by a Matthew Mitcham story without stopping, I caught a new interview the Olympic swimming stud has with a gay media outlet in which he talks about coming out, a lack of endorsements and — this is fresh material — his role as Ambassador for Men’s Health in Australia.
“Obviously my niche, my demographic is young men, but it is also gay men, so I’ll be involved in different areas, all promoting healthiness, whether that be sex checks or healthy eating or exercise or getting cancer treated. A lot of men think maybe they are a little bit invincible. Women get regular check ups more often than men and a lot of men go without for a long time and end up finding something when it is too late. If I can prevent that, I would like to.”
Some of the interview hits on ground covered in prior sessions with the press, which you can catch up on through the Matthew Mitcham category on Outsports. But it is notable for being one of Mitcham’s few sessions with a gay media outlet and the first since his sexy spread in the Advocate.
In the interview, he also chimes in on athletes behaving badly in the wake of his appearance on the first float in the parade at Sydney’s Mardi Gras. He apparently was more mindful of his public persona than say Michael Phelps and his lip-locking of a bong.
“I’m allowed to have fun,” he said, “but there have been so many athletes who have been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and whether they were innocent or not, they’ve copped a lot of flak for that. I’m going to be embodiment of sobriety and responsibility, just because I don’t want to be put in that position.”
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