How a Fierce Rivalry Became the Unexpected Catalyst for His Bold Coming Out Story

“It was time to put a real face to what this story has done for athletes, to get it out there. And it took off!”

‘The hockey is terrible, but they like the story’

Like many LGBTQ+ amateur athletes, Kortuem has a nagging feeling that having to repress a part of his personality stopped him being his best – and potentially cost him sporting opportunities.

But he says former team-mates getting in touch in recent weeks has helped.

“I didn’t know what would happen if I disrupted the brotherhood you have in the locker room,” he says. “Would I be a target?

“But I’m now at peace. I don’t know where hockey could have brought me, if I would have had a career, but to have that pride on the ice, it feels like home.”