Pioneers of Progress: Brian Anderson in Conversation With Elissa Steamer and Leo Baker

In any creative discipline, you have the standard keepers and the pioneers, those who leave behind a blueprint for progress by challenging the status quo. Brian Anderson exemplifies the latter as the world’s first openly gay professional skateboarder. His liberation wasn’t straightforward, yet the impact of his courage continues to drive change today.

“People have been so supportive,” says Anderson, displaying the unassuming humility found in the best role models. “I was at Potrero Skatepark in San Francisco recently, and a guy came up and said, ‘Brian, I just want to say thank you. I’ve been skateboarding since 1985, and I’ve never seen such an awesome, drastic change in the industry. I’ve seen a lot of cool things happen, but nothing quite like people’s respect for one another as a result of you telling your truth.’”

Anderson stresses that while his teammates were “intelligent and open-minded,” the hyper-masculine world of skateboarding remained rife with homophobia and chauvinism. “You’d hear fa---t being thrown around a lot, words like ‘b-ch,’” he says. “I grew up listening to hip-hop and rock, so it’s not like it hurt me that much, but it just put more nails and screws into the metal box I was already living in.” 

He describes a feeling of alienation while his peers would be toasting their successes. “It was scary because I thought, ‘Who’s going to want to buy a gay man’s pro skateboard?’ Popular culture made it seem like coming out meant being chased away from your career. I needed to ensure I had support when coming out to friends in the industry.”

Anderson found allies in his team, Girl Skateboards, Antihero founder Julien Stranger, Ed Templeton and supportive editors at Thrasher and Transworld. However, persistent whispers about his sexuality endured. “My relationship with skateboarding changed a lot after coming out,” he says. “Before, I’d hear people say, ‘That’s the gay dude.’ Now, that’s no longer the case. It’s like living a whole other life.”

A husband, icon, artist, advocate for mental health and a gay man, Anderson’s experience continues to inspire skaters of all backgrounds and skill levels. Exclusively for GOAT’s West Coast to the World Exhibit, Anderson leads this two-part interview with Elissa Steamer and Leo Baker, uncovering the progress made in skating over the last 30 years and why there’s still more work to be done.