Openly gay Australian Olympic gold medalist, Matthew Mitcham, pictured above, recently modeled for a video marketing campaign, launching of a colorful new line of Aussie underwear, "Funky Trunks."
Although Funky Trunks has no affiliation with that undie favorite from down under - Aussie Bum - AB has undoubtedly noticed this new kid in the hood. Funky Trunks has got hot to spare. And -- so does Mitcham.
Here's a clip from Mitcham & Funky Trunks' video collaboration:
Mitcham should be congratulated for "coming out" about his struggles with meth addiction, and not for just being an "openly gay" athlete. To be sure, having openly gay athletes is important so that young people, in particular, have diverse and positive role models to look up to.
But, let's not kid ourselves. Meth addiction is of uniquely important concern to our community's long-term health and well-being, being near-epidemic in some places. Successful treatment of meth addiction must include a reality check about who the "typical meth addict" is. Mitcham's contribution adds a more accurate, albeit complex, piece to this emerging picture.
I hope Mitcham's book helps to shatter unhelpful and often destructive stereotypes about meth addicts - both in our own community, and in the larger society as well. His memoir, Twists and Turns, is available now from Amazon.com's Kindle store. I would be quite interested in hearing from any of our readers/followers whether you have purchased the book, intend to purchase it, general thoughts about Mitcham's book, or meth addiction in the gay community.
For those of you interested, you can also view a recorded "Google Hangout" Mitcham held live on November 19, where he discussed his meth addiction battle directly with Google+ members.
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