Adam Rippon

What makes America great is that we're all so different. ”

I can't tone it down. I'm being me, and I'm being myself, and I'd be doing myself an injustice, and I'd be doing an injustice to those kids who don't feel like they're comfortable to be themselves. ”

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. ”

I'm not like a gay icon or America's gay sweetheart. I'm just America's sweetheart, and I'm just an icon. ”

I can see my competitors sweating, and I am cool as a cucumber. ”

I remember seeing people who I thought were so confident and exuberant. I remember being young and watching Oprah and being like, 'Damn. That lady is so confident. She can talk to anybody.' ”

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. ”

It bothers me so much that people have gone out of their way to make trans people feel less than. ”

I can't tone it down. I'm being me and being myself. ”

I remember when I told my mom that I wanted to come out, and my mom was a little hesitant. She was saying, 'Are you sure? Do you think that might affect your scores?' or, 'Is it something that you think that you need to do?' And I told her, 'I don't care. It's important to me.' ”