Gareth Thomas Quotes

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I think what I want to learn more than anything... is that, I've got HIV and it's OK, like. That's what I want to learn more than anything.

I was able to come out as gay publicly because my family had accepted me. They thought nothing of it, and without them I wouldn't have been able to do it. If I didn't have them in my life I would have felt like I had no one.

If you add children to a marriage, they bring a different dimension to the relationship. If I'd had a child and I believed it would have made my child's life better by not coming out, the chances are I wouldn't have done it. Because I think you do whatever it takes to make your child happy.

When I got married to my ex-wife, Jemma, I took my vows very, very seriously. I've been brought up with good values and I don't go into anything thinking: this is just for the sake of it - it's not going to last.

I know that my parents sacrificed a hell of a lot to make sure that my brothers and I would have all that we needed.

You tell that to people until you are blue in the face and they struggle to believe it, but I am being totally truthful when I say that all that matters to me is Wales winning.

I am not interested in individual glory.

When I first started at Bridgend, I'd see the amount of work Rob Howley put in on his own after the team had all gone home. He was doing ridiculous amounts. So I started training like him. Always on my own.

It's too easy to forget bad things. By keeping the reminders close, it's the reminder of not just who you are, but how you became what you are.

I want to be a good person.

It has always been my ambition to be captain of Wales over a sustained period of time.

I hate driving.

I'm terrible for road rage.

When you cross the whitewash, you only think about the present.

It was a huge honour to be chosen by the Lions and to lead the side, but the greatest of all is to represent your country and win.

My brain acts bizarrely and I keep having major mood swings.

There are days when I wake up and do not know who I am any more.

You cannot afford to take any risks where your health is concerned.

All I'm concerned about is that I'm with a good squad of players and want us to be competitive and I'm not looking for anything more.

There are excuses for dropping the ball or missing a tackle. But there are no excuses for not playing with a passion for your team-mates and as long as I get that response and they play well, I'll be happy.

I don't care about the size of the crowd or other people's opinions - I just want us to perform.

It's not about shutting people up or proving them wrong. It's about proving to ourselves what we're about.

In 1999, we went into the World Cup with a string of victories behind us but we could not handle the pressure and ended up letting ourselves down.

The World Cup has not been kind to us overall.

I have always said that leadership is not about one man but a group of experienced players.

Toulouse opened my eyes as a player and as a person. I returned to Wales 10 times better for the experience. I admit that when I went there I was not life-savvy: I was a wild child who lived life instinctively. I would walk past a building and not even notice it.

In Toulouse, you immersed yourself in the culture of the place.

The rugby team is a massive part of the city and generates a real passion but there is also far more to Toulouse. I learned not only to respect the history of the club but also the area and I soon came to appreciate 'buildings and structures.

Toulouse expanded my game. You were given a freedom to play and express yourself on the field. Toulouse is the biggest club in Europe, rugby's equivalent of Real Madrid. Their game has always been about offloading and running but it is also physical, the complete 'package. It was always exciting, no matter how close a game was.

I don't know if my life is going to be easier because I'm out but, if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to ChildLine, then it will have been worth it.

I'm not going on a crusade but I'm proud of who I am. I feel I have achieved everything I could ever possibly have hoped to achieve out of rugby and I did it being gay. I want to send a positive message to other gay people that they can do it, too.

My parents, my family and my friends all love me and accept me for who I am and, even if the public are upset by this, I know the love of those people who mean the most to me will never change.

I really want to remain involved in rugby. I want to continue and have an influence on the game.

I feel I am as fit as anybody.

If you could bottle that special feeling you sometimes get in a dressing room just before a match, you'd be a billionaire.

The most famous man in the world has his down days. It's life. But, for me, the rainy moments are isolated moments. I'm always at least half-full. And the rest of the time I'm smiling - all the way up to the brim.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

My fear of coming out wasn't about rejection. I was scared people would say: 'Why were you lying to me? If you've been lying about that what else are you lying about?' Lying is my biggest regret.

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.

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.

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?'

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.

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.

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

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

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

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?'

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

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.

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.

When I was 16 or 17 I knew I was gay, but knowing and accepting are two very different things.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This journey of education and breaking stigma around HIV is something that will have a legacy everlasting.

After giving up rugby, I wanted to keep busy.

I know it's not easy for people to get to a gym.

As a professional sportsman, working out has always been an important part of my life.

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.

When I came out I hoped it would empower others - and it has.

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.

I knew I was gay at 18, but to come out then would have meant I would not have achieved what I did in rugby. I loved rugby so much and it was so important to me that I made the decision to keep my sexuality secret. People may disagree with that, but it was my belief and my decision.

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.

People tend to be consumed by sport when the big events come up.

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.

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.

When you lie you live in fear as well.

Times change so fast.

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.

If I'm in the position to help someone else I'd love to be able to.

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.

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.

I hated being Gareth Thomas. I hated the man I looked at in the mirror.

I've been through 20 years of torment battling with my sexuality.

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