Swiss ‘swing’ wrestler Curdin Orlick comes out as gay
The athlete says he always knew he was gay since he was 12
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Swiss ‘swing’ wrestler Curdin Orlick comes out as gay.
The athlete opened up about his sexuality in a new feature for The Magazine where he says he always knew he was gay since he was 12.
While speaking to the publication, Orlick – who has become Switzerland’s first openly gay male pro athlete – said: “For far too long I have pushed out who I really am.
“I am not someone who kisses in front of people, but I want to lie down with a man and be able to touch him. … I always knew that I was gay, for sure since I was 12.
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“But I thought: this is wrong, it cannot be. I heard things on the school building square [like] ‘you gay pig,’ ‘you f****t’. Or in soccer, ‘such a gay pass!’
“Even when swinging [wrestling]. Sure, nobody really meant that, but if you’re like that yourself, you think, ‘Shit, that’s not a good thing.’
“I thought, ‘I don’t want to be gay’. But it’s me. Now it’s out.”
Swing wrestling is a sport peculiar to Switzerland and very popular, with its champions becoming household names.
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It’s a derivative of folk wrestling where the wrestlers wear special clothes that allow for holds and throws and the action takes place in a circle covered in sawdust.
Orlick – who has a two-year-old son with a woman he married – also opened up about the first experiences of meeting other men.
“I felt abused,” he said. “I thought if being gay meant you were so miserable, it wasn’t for me.
“Getting to know good gays is doubly difficult if you keep your gayness hidden. You are defenseless because fear always resonates that you are exposed.
“And who should I have talked about bad experiences with? I was alone. It may sound stupid, but I figured I needed a girlfriend again.”