Athlete

Athletes are given a really special platform. It's our duty, as athletes, to be role models.

I'm proud of a lot of things I've said on Twitter.

First and foremost, I'm an athlete. And I'm an Olympian. I'm not a gay Olympian. I'm just an Olympian that's also gay. I don't mind reading that - like, 'gay Olympian Adam Rippon.' It's fine. I hope that, in a way, it makes it easier for other young kids who are gay. If they go to the Olympics, they can just be called Olympians.

Nobody loves me as much as I love me, so I guess I'll just be my own valentine.

I've used my sense of humor as a coping tool. It's gotten me through a lot of challenging times.

I'm just one of those people that, if there's a problem, I want to work through it. Push through it and do everything I can. Anything.

I know what it's like to be young and to feel like you don't belong.

I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren't a friend of a gay person but that they think that they're sick.

When I was young, to have had somebody out there to look up to... it would have made a world of difference; it would have changed my life.

I've gotten a lot of attention, I think, just for being myself. I think that a lot of people, when they come to a competition, are afraid to be themselves no matter who they are.

Sometimes when you're not confident in yourself, to see someone who doesn't care - and I don't care anymore. I really don't care - it gives you that confidence.

All the sacrifices my mom and family had made had been worth it.

I'm really go-with-the-flow, but I take things really seriously. At the same time, when things don't go my way, I don't ever freak out. Why? Why freak out?

As an athlete, I know that I'm such a perfectionist that I'll want to go out and keep working on something over and over until it's perfect. Part of growing up is learning to take a step back.

I know what it's like to be young and to feel like you don't belong.

I'm confident in who I and what I'm doing.

Sometimes I might meet people, and they might just not like me, not want to get to know me. And that's OK. They're boring as hell anyway.

As soon as I broke my foot, I remember thinking that I'm going to make this the best thing that's ever happened to me.

I think I had a stress fracture before I broke my foot, and I think that was absolutely because I was not getting enough nutrients.

When I found skating, it was something that was individual, and it was something that I could focus on being my best. And I loved the whole practice, and I also loved performing. It was probably the first time I felt really good about myself and that I was good at something, because I always liked being athletic.