Pride Athlete Feature - Brent Caverly
In his own words: “Growing up in a small town in Northern Ontario wasn’t always easy. Not everyone is as open and accepting as they are in bigger cities. I definitely experienced my share of gay slurs, and little comments against being gay or the LGBTQ community in general. It took me a while to really find myself and be comfortable in my own skin.”
“Being a competitive Athlete also came with challenges. Sport can be very homophobic, so for a long time I hid my sexuality (maybe not very well), but avoided those dating conversations, kinda kept my head down just focused on what I had to do and wasn’t truly myself. It wasn’t really until my early 20s when surrounded by supportive people I started to come out and be my authentic self. Fitness from that point on played a huge role in my confidence not only with my physical appearance, watching my body change with the work I was putting in but it gave me the confidence to live my life openly and proudly.”
“Pride means a lot of things to me. Yes, it’s a chance to party and have fun with your friends but it’s also a celebration of our right to live openly and unapologetically.” - Brent Caverly
“That's one thing I love about auxiliary. When I first joined I was a bit nervous, CrossFit has a reputation for being very bro-ey, even though Matt told me how amazing it was still a bit intimidating. It was a new form of exercise I’d been working out in a gym on my own since like 15 so stepping into a new type of fitness was also intimidating. But from the moment I walked through the door and was greeted with a smile, a warm welcome and seeing the pride flag hanging in the gym I knew it would be alright. I love that it doesn’t matter who you are, your gender, background, sexuality, the age we are all athletes who support and encourage each other. I wish the rest of the world would look at how our Aux community treats each other as an example to follow.”
“Pride means a lot of things to me. Yes, it’s a chance to party and have fun with your friends but it’s also a celebration of our right to live openly and unapologetically. That love is stronger than hate and we can overcome anything together. It also reminds me to continue to live my life openly and to be unapologetically myself. Growing up I had no gay role models or knew any LGBTQ people. So I think I have a responsibility to be visible, to live my life loud and proud so maybe someone struggling with their sexuality who is worried what it means for their career, athletics, etc can see that you can do anything, you can be an out athlete, have a successful career, be out and happy. That our sexuality is a small part of who we are and should never hinder our aspirations in life! And that love is love and it’s beautiful!”