Pro beach volleyball player Alex Ukkelberg comes out as gay
Posting an Instagram Reel yesterday (5 November), Ukkelberg said he was “thankful” to be gay and living authentically
By Aaron Sugg
Professional beach volleyball player Alex Ukkelberg has come out as gay on social media.
Posting an Instagram Reel yesterday (5 November), Ukkelberg said he was “thankful” to be gay and that living authentically has helped him become a better person.
Although he has been out to family and friends for more than 10 years, this was the first time he had spoken publicly about his sexuality.
Alex Ukkelberg on his coming out journey
Growing up in a competitive environment, he played basketball, football, baseball and ran track. He thought there was “no way I could be gay”.
“It took me a long time to come to terms with my sexuality and even then I contemplated staying in the closet for a long time,” Ukkelberg said.
“Saying the words ‘I’m gay’ out loud for the first time was really hard for me,” he added.
“I’m thankful that I’m gay” – Ukkelberg on living as his authentic self
After struggling with his mental health for quite a few years, he decided he couldn’t sacrifice either sport or living authentically. “I was just gonna have to figure out how to be both.”
“And honestly, I’m thankful that I’m gay,” he said. “It’s made me a better, more empathetic person.”
Ukkelberg had kept his sexuality off social media out of fear of saying “the wrong thing”, but added: “I also want to be honest about my experience and how I feel.”
“I never really wanted to be vocal about my sexuality, especially not on social media, but being vocal is exactly what the young version of myself needed,” he said.
“He always provides me with new ways of looking at the world” – Charlie Siragusa on Ukkelberg
One of Ukkelberg’s friends and fellow beach volleyball professionals, Charlie Siragusa, congratulated him while speaking to Outsports.
“Like he says in the video, he genuinely is a bit of an enigma, but in the best way. He has so many different pieces of his identity that would seem to conflict, and somehow he’s able to honour all of them and live authentically.”
“I think a lot of times people feel like they have to give up pieces of themselves to fit in, and Alex does not subscribe to that mentality at all. We’ve been friends for years and played together a bunch, and I find that whenever I’m around Alex, he always provides me with new ways of looking at the world, which is something I truly appreciate.”
The two are part of a gay athletes group chat called GayVP.