Will third time be the charm for Gus Kenworthy at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China?
The decorated sports star talked about this and more in a video posted on fellow Olympian Adam Rippon’s new YouTube show Break The Ice.
Gus first competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where he scored the silver medal in freestyle skiing that year. He has since won several medals at a variety of X Games events and performed well at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
The 28-year-old also publicly came out of the closet in 2015, posed naked for ESPN’s The Body Issue, became a power couple with boyfriend actor Matt Wilkas and appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
Olympic medalist, LGBTQ+ icon, and Dancing With The Stars champion Adam’s new series Break The Ice, with digital studio Portal A, debuted Wednesday, May 1, on his newly released YouTube channel, to which he will be posting weekly content.
In Break The Ice, Adam takes celebrity interviews to the cutting edge, inviting his well-known friends, like Gus and YouTube creator Lilly Singh, to the rink for a slightly off-balance conversation.
“Ever since the Olympics I’ve wanted to create a show that would combine two of my favorite things — skating and getting to know people,” said Rippon. “I love to make people laugh and I always thought that if I could take people out of their element and spend some time exploring their stories, we’d be able to uncover and discover some insights into what they’re all about. Break the Ice allows me to do all of this in a fun and relaxed environment. I love the diversity of the first season’s guests, we all had a really good time and nobody got hurt — at least not physically. And of course having my own YouTube channel lets everyone discover a little more about me and what could be better than that?”
Adam uses the rink as an ice-breaker to open conversations that are over-the-top fun, and always lead to substantive dialogue – from hot button topics of news and pop culture to the personal trials and tribulations he and his guests face in their real lives, nothing is off-limits. Each guest will fashion full-on winter wear and lace up a pair of ice skates, and every episode concludes with the guest playfully performing the new skating technique they’ve learned.
“Adam has already proven himself to be a crossover star, and with the launch of this new series on his YouTube channel, he’s going to be able to showcase his many talents to a global audience,” said Nate Houghteling, Executive Producer and Cofounder at Portal A. “Adam’s passion for issues that matter to young people and his self-aware style of comedy are a perfect match for YouTube and we couldn’t be more excited to help him realize this vision.”
Other guests to come on Adam’s show include Manny MUA, Todrick Hall and Raymond Braun. Check out his interview with Gus in its entirety here: