Page 63 - ISSUE 2

GRAPPLER Fall 2018

GM: How was that culture, being in the fighter’s dorm? GM: So pivoting into being gay in grappling. With some of
What was that experience like? the old-school mindsets that exist in the sport, have you
ever come across a situation that you feel people are either
KG: It was weird. My dad was super worried about me, unwilling to roll with you or they find out you’re gay and
I barely left the country before and all of a sudden I just that strikes up a different vibe?
announced, ‘Hey, by the way, I’m going to California this
summer to train Jiu-Jitsu.’ He said `Do you know what that KG: I haven’t had that yet, but to be fair it’s one of those
is?’ and I said ‘No, I saw this cool video online (laughs)!’ So things that doesn’t really come up naturally in any way.
props to him for letting me do it and not just fucking saying I don’t exude [my sexuality], but on top of that it doesn’t
no. really come up naturally in conversation. If it did, I wouldn’t
mind talking about it, but I think most people probably
It was really cool. There was two guys my age there, don’t know just because it’s not something that comes
and they’re both black belts now, actually all of us [that up in conversations. [With] those who have found out it
were] in that house are black belts today. I think your first hasn’t been a big deal, but again to be fair, I’ve been living
introduction to Jiu-Jitsu is when you make your closest in Denmark (laughs), which is probably like the most liberal
friends. Day One you see that social aspect of Jiu-Jitsu, you place in the world when it comes to these things.
get caught on and it’s hard to let it go after that.
Straight [guys] roll with plenty of attractive females and
We had a great summer. Just went out and trained every they’re like, yeah, I mean, objectively she is a good-looking
day, went out and got teriyaki chicken for lunch, hang out woman, but right now we’re rolling, and that’s not really
on the internet, went to the beach. I ate a lot of Oreos, and a sexual thing. I mean, I’m sure there’s some creeps out
they ate ice cream. Those were the days, eat whatever the there. But I think in general, that’s not really a big deal. I
fuck I wanted and never put on any weight [laughs]. would say the vast majority of people know how they feel
when they roll with someone they’re attracted to, and they
GM: So when you left California, what was the next step? know that it doesn’t turn to anything.
Did you go back to Iceland?
GM: Agreed.
KG: I went back to Iceland, and I tried, but there was no
Jiu-Jitsu at that time. So I just ended up not doing much KG: And you forget about it pretty quick when you’re
for a year and a half, and then I went back for another three getting choked.
months to Chris’s place. It was a good gym but had shut
down at that point, because apparently you’re not allowed GM: When did you know you were gay?
to let people live at a place that’s “commercially” zoned, so
he was kind of being a little bit iffy with a law there I guess. KG: 13-14 probably, at least that’s when I suspected it,
and when I was 16-17, I was like yeah, definitely. I had a
But I hit him up later, and I think he barely remembered me. girlfriend when I was 17, gave it a “good old college try” for
But he immediately said, ‘Yeah, don’t worry about it, you six months, and I was like yeah, this is definitely not it.
can just stay at my place in the spare bedroom. So I stayed
with him and his wife and family for three months. Then a GM: Did you have any kind of internal strife to coming to
few months later, I moved to Denmark and I was training at terms with being gay or with coming out to your friends and
Christian Graugart’s school ever since. family?

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