Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is an athlete, activist, ground breaker and coach. He was the first openly gay figure skating champion in the United States. Today's Out Spotlight is skater Rudy Galindo.

Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo was born September 7, 1969 in San Jose, California the third child of Jess and Margaret Galindo, having a brother, George, who was ten years older and sister, Laura, five years older.

From a working class family his father, a long-distance truck driver, and his mother, a homemaker sacrificed so that Galindo and his sister could skate a sport they both fell in love with at an early age. His family so supportive of their children's desire to skate, passed a on chance to buy a house, a remained living in a mobile home to offset the expenses of the coaches, training, rink time and competition for their children.

Galindo competed in both single skating and pair skating. In singles, he won the 1987 World Junior title before temporarily giving up singles in order to concentrate on pairs. He was partnered with fellow teammate Kristi Yamaguchi by his coach, Jim Hulick, who died of AIDS-related cancer in 1989.

The pair won the 1988 World Junior title and the U.S. senior championships in 1989 and 1990.

After winning the pairs title in 1990, Yamaguchi decided to end their partnership so she could focus a her singles career, and with no one of her caliber to partner with, Galindo returned to singles competition.

Depressed over the break-up of the promising partnership, he turned to drugs and alcohol. He continued skating as a single, but with disappointing results.

It was during this time when he was focusing on his singles career that Galindo faced tragedy and loss.

Galindo's father died of a heart attack in 1993, his brother George contracted AIDS in 1992. He became George's primary care-giver until his death in 1994. Only a few months later, Galindo's coach Rick Inglesi also passed away to AIDS.

Discouraged by his eighth-place finish in the 1995 U.S. Nationals and short of money,coupled with the tragic loss of those close to him, Galindo abandoned skating for eight months.

While he lacked the funds necessary for travel, the 1996 U.S. Nationals were to be held in his hometown of San Jose. That and the opportunity to compete in front of his mother who no longer traveled, he decided to resume training in that September. This time with his sister, Laura Galindo-Black, as his coach.

With a string of lackluster performances before his break from skating, Galindo was regarded as such an unlikely competitor for the title that the United States Figure Skating Association did not even include him in its publicity guides.

After an artistic short program skated to Pachelbel's Canon, he stood third, a result booed by the crowd, who felt that he had been undermarked.

His style had been criticized as too balletic and not sufficiently "masculine," but his long program, choreographed by jazz dancer Sharlene Franke to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, featured eight triple jumps, including two triple-triples. His flawless execution of a program that was both masterful in its artistry and athletically demanding drew a wild standing ovation and earned him the national title. His artistic marks included two perfect scores of 6.0.

He had disclosed his homosexuality in Christine Brennan's book Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey Into the Secret World of Figure Skating, which was published shortly before the competition. By winning the competition he became the first openly gay skating champion in U.S. history, the first Mexican-American champion and the oldest male to win the title in 70 years.

In the exhibition after the competition he wore a simple black costume with a large AIDS ribbon as he skated a moving routine to Schubert's Ave Maria as a tribute to his late brother and coaches.

After winning a bronze medal at the 1996 World Championships, he turned pro, joining the Champions on Ice tour.

In the spring of 2000 Galindo had to withdraw from a performance due to shortness of breath. A subsequent medical examination revealed that he was HIV-positive. He suspects that he contracted the virus during his period of depression, when he practiced unsafe sex. He made the news of his diagnosis public and quickly resumed skating.

In the summer of 2002, he was diagnosed with avascular necrosis in his hips, a condition that results in the death of bone. Although he skated with the debilitating disease for over a year, in 2003 he underwent two operations to replace his hips. By April 3, 2004, returned to the Champions on Ice tour, where, skating on two new hips, he exemplified the determination and courage that has characterized his entire career.

He continued to tour with the company until it ceased in 2007.

Galindo published his autobiography, Icebreaker in 1997.

In 2006, he was a celebrity judge on the WE TV series Skating's Next Star, created and produced by Major League Figure Skating and hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi.

Galindo has worked to increase AIDS awareness, especially in minority communities. He served on the National Minority AIDS Council, and in 2001 received the Ryan White Award for contributions to AIDS awareness, prevention, and education.

Currently, he coaches at Sharks Ice San Jose, the same rink where he trained during his competitive career. He will be inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame this year.