"The Road to Cologne": Chuck Coleman

Another profile from The Road to Cologne in Living in the Queer Times:

I remember longing to be loved and to love other boys as early as 1st grade. By the 3rd grade I already had sexualized these desires. At the same time, the older I got, the more I knew that being a homosexual would lead to physical assault and social rejection by these same boys. Even though I had an athletic physique, I would not allow myself to participate in sports because the emotional and physical closeness might somehow reveal my sexuality. As a result, I never learned to be competitive in a healthy way with other men; I never learned to challenge my body and mind with physical exertion; and I never learned how to catch a ball. From childhood to the time I decided to participate in the Gay Games, I never fully understood what it meant to be a man among men.

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Now, I am a 50 year old man still possessing all the positive characteristics I had at 47 with the addition of power lifting gym buddies both gay and straight as my closest friends. With three local power lifting meets under my belt, I am ready and eager to get to Cologne. I can’t believe that I am competing with other men in an intensely physical sport while being totally free to be gay without hesitation. I may never be able to throw a ball, but gay power lifting supported by the Gay Games has done more for my self-esteem and self-acceptance than all my years, and I do mean years, of psychotherapy!!

Read the full profile of Chuck Coleman HERE.