Greg Louganis is a five-time Olympic medalist and world-renowned diver, but even through his unparalleled success in his sport he suffered through a personal pain.
“I needed to know I wasn’t a throw-away child,” Louganis — who is the subject of a new documentary streaming on the PEOPLE/Entertainment Weekly Network and is featured in the current issue of PEOPLE — says of being adopted and being filled with questions about his birth parents.
Louganis’s birth parents met in Hawaii, but his biological mother moved to San Diego while pregnant and Louganis entered the foster care system at birth. At 9 months, he was adopted by Southern California-based Frances and Peter Louganis, who were unable to have their own biological children.
Frances, a homemaker, and Peter, the controller of a fishing company, had also adopted a daughter two years before and were always open with their kids about their family history. But the adoption organization had lost Louganis’s files in a fire, and unanswered questions led to troubled times for the young athlete, who started diving at age 9.
“I’d always felt like if my natural parents couldn’t love me then nobody could. I internalized that and went through a horrible rebellion,” he says. “I was out of control, and I wouldn’t let anyone in.”
With his parents’ support, Louganis reached out to the organization and was told his biological parents had been young when he was born and had no choice in giving him up for adoption.
“That kind of helped ease the question of whether I was loved,” he says.
Feeling more “at peace” about his family, Louganis turned his focus to diving. At 16, he won silver at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and by the time he was 28, he’d become a four-time Olympic gold medalist.
Among his biggest fans was Fouvale Lutu, who for years had quietly followed his son’s life from afar. When an endorsement event for Speedo brought Louganis to Honolulu in 1984, Lutu decided it was time to meet his first-born son.
“One of the hosts came up to me and said, ‘You’re father’s here.’ And I said, ‘My father’s in San Diego,’ ” recalls Louganis. Then he said, ‘No. Your biological father.’” Face-to-face with his son for the first time, Lutu was emotional.
“I was very excited but nervous,” Lutu says.
“Like me, he’s a man of few words. But he told me he’d wanted to raise me,” adds Louganis. The diver learned that Lutu’s brother lived in San Diego and had actually been keeping tabs on Louganis and relaying updates to Lutu, but had stayed silent to protect Louganis’s privacy.
“It was pretty amazing, but I was stunned,” he says. “It wasn’t until I was on the plane to L.A. that I started to have questions.” Despite his skepticism, Louganis continued to meet with Lutu, who appeared whenever Louganis visited Hawaii.
“He never asked for anything,” says Louganis. “He’s a very gentle and shy man. He just wanted to know if I was okay and that I was happy.” After Louganis lost both Peter and Frances following their battles with lung cancer, in 1991 and 2004, respectively, his relationship with Lutu grew closer.
“It was interesting because as the years progressed,” he says, “I saw a lot of similar traits in him that I saw in myself.” By 2015, Louganis had started communicating with his half siblings and his half brother Malcolm, 55, invited him to a Lutu family reunion that they were planning for this summer.
“I said, ‘Hey, if you want to meet your family, this is what’s happening,’ ” says Malcolm. “Greg was the second guy to send in his RSVP.”
But before the reunion, Louganis says he wanted to put any last bit of doubt to rest and in December 2016 he got a DNA test to confirm his biological connection to Lutu.
“Through the years I had gotten to know Fouvale and my [half] brother and sisters, Malcolm and Sherry and Jeralynn. I’d always been skeptical but when I did the DNA testing and found out how we were connected, it validated everything that I knew in my heart,” says Louganis, who, through the DNA test, also discovered the identity of his birth mother. (He spoke to his Northern California-based birth mom for the first time on Mother’s Day and hopes to meet her soon.)
On July 17, Louganis and his husband Johnny Chaillot arrived at Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolu for Louganis and Lutu’s first official father-and-son hug. In addition to meeting his extended family for the first time at the reunion, Louganis spent the day with Lutu sharing stories of their past and putting unanswered questions to rest.
“We’re not living in the past anymore,” says Louganis. “I’m excited that now we can focus on being in the present and talk about what’s going on in our lives now.” He’ll also be spending a lot more time in Hawaii.
“I have family there,” he says, almost in disbelief. “It’s an incredible gift that I’ve been given.”
The DGLCC is celebrating their 25th anniversary this month and you should celebrate with them!
Greater Palm Springs Pride announced today the recipients of its 2017 Pride Honors Awards. The prestigious Pride Honors are presented annually to individuals in order to recognize their efforts in raising awareness and furthering the causes of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and their allies. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on September 28, at the Hyatt Palm Springs.
Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to Marshall Pearcy and Douglas Woodmansee, who have raised over $2 million for charity since their stage debut 37 years ago as Dottie Du Bois and Maude Chapeau. Also recognized will be community organizer, an advocate for LGBTQ individuals and families, and an eighteen-year member of the PFLAG Palm Springs/Desert Communities chapter since 1999, Christine Hammond.
Well in the Desert, a twenty-year grass roots organization that cares for thousands of people annually whose extraordinary efforts help educate the public and humanize the face of the homeless in Palm Springs, is recognized as Advocate of the Year. With over forty years of service advancing the LGBT movement and special recognition for her commitment to raise the visibility of the lesbian community, Louise Minnick is honored as the Volunteer of the Year.
The Transgender Community Coalition, the largest transgender organization in the Inland Empire serving the needs of the local transgender community, is celebrated as the Organization of the Year. Desert Storm Veteran and community leader Kerry Hendrix is presented with the Spirit of Pride Award for advancing equality, promoting diversity and celebrating the strength and talent of the LGBT community.
The 2017 Friend of Pride is a business and community leader who has stalwartly supported the LGBT community Carolyn Caldwell, and the Spirit of Stonewall Community Service Award recognizes retired professor of nursing, DeAnn Young, whose life has been guided by the belief that one should give to others and the community.
“We are proud of all the honorees. At a time when we struggle to promote equality for all individuals, it feels great to stop for a moment, be aware, and recognize the people in our community doing wonderful work demonstrating the powerful force of love conquering hate,” said Ron deHarte, president of Palm Springs Pride.
AspenOUT, serving the GLBT community of the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond since 1996, announces its grant recipients for 2017.
“Our board of directors is proud to announce AspenOUT will grant nearly $55,000 this year to local, state and national organizations,” commented AspenOUT Executive Director Kevin McManamon. “In addition, we will award four scholarships to graduation seniors from area high schools, totaling $16,000.”
Returning for its 41st year in 2018, Aspen Gay Ski Week, Aspen OUT’s annual fundraiser, generates the funds to grant local, regional and national organizations that provide support to the LGBTQ community.
The list of grant recipients includes:
· Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program: Develops leadership and identity by providing training to youth in community broadcasting on KDNK; AZYEP broadcasts youth news programs about acceptance and tolerance
· International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association Foundation: Supports initiatives that advance safety, dignity and respect for LGBT travelers, with a particular emphasis on emerging destinations
· Tyler Clementi Foundation: Creates safe, inclusive spaces for individuals facing bullying, harassment and humiliation
· Point Foundation: Provides LGBT students with scholarships, mentoring, leadership development, and community service training
· The Gender Identity Center of Colorado: Provides support for all gender identities through direct services and social change
· Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund: Works to achieve equality for transgender people through public education, test-case litigation, direct legal services and public policy
· Colorado Health Network, including Western Colorado AIDS Project: Serves nearly 4,000 individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Colorado, including 22 counties in Western Colorado
· Aspen Film: Strives to enlighten, enrich, educate, and entertain through film
· Aspen Hope Center: Creates hope to those in emotional crisis and works to decrease the stigma of mental illness; the center offers a local youth outreach program for LGBTQ students, called “Alphabet Soup”
· You Can Play: Dedicated to ensuring equality for all athletes without regard to sexual orientation; challenges the culture of locker rooms and spectators by focusing only on an athlete’s skills and work ethic
· One Colorado Education Fund: Provides educational programming on LGBTQ issues, conducts research to understand public opinion and develops campaigns to build public support for fairness and equality
· Response: Assists survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the Roaring Fork Valley
· Lesbian Health Fund: Strives to improve the health of lesbians and other sexual minority women and their families through research
· PFLAG Roaring Fork Valley: The local chapter of PFLAG, the nation's largest family and ally organization
· Basalt High School’s Peace Garden
Today we join transgender Texans and their families in celebration because, after many months of courageous storytelling and coalition building, the efforts to pass anti-transgender bathroom ban legislation have FAILED.
We’ve resisted more than 20 similar anti-transgender bills across the country this year, but none have garnered the level of attention as those in Texas. Federation member Equality Texas showed the nation how to lead in times like these. They engaged and provided support to transgender people and their families of all ages and backgrounds while amplifying their stories. They also built a broad, unwavering coalition of businesses, sports teams, celebrities, politicians, and civil rights organizations.
And together they won.
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One hundred and forty years ago, Cherry Creek North was part of a small town called Harman. Since then, Cherry Creek North has emerged as a staple in the fabric of Denver and Colorado, blossoming into a very special mixed-use district.
What
sets it apart? Perhaps it’s the walkability of the area, or lodging
that provides all the comforts of home. Maybe it’s the laughter spilling
out of a gallery during a nightly wine tasting, or alfresco dining on a
patio laced with flowers. When you’re in Cherry Creek North, you can
sit back and exhale. Life feels good here.
By Dan Hanley
So much going on. A few things happening in my head:
It’s not enough for me to not be racist; I must be anti-racist.
I can do more and I need to do more.
I am courageous, yet I want to have the courage of these college students protesting the Friday night of the Charlottesville violence.
If I don’t know everything there is to know about white supremacy, I can learn.
I am sending love to all of those hurting right now. I’m in. I’m on your side.
By StevieB
Last week I went with Becca, and the Boyfriend, Naveen, to get mani-pedis in beautiful downtown Boulder, Colorado. This is a standing appointment we have as friends on a semi-monthly basis. As this time it was in Becca's town of Boulder we ate Indian and wandered over to the nail salon. Now, when we do this Becca gets her toes and hands done, Naveen gets a pedi and polish, and I get just a pedi. Every appointment I see the ritual play out. Becca and Naveen approach the polish wall and debate the best and cutest colors for their soon to be pampered fingers and toes. And every time I decline to join the fun.
It is not that I am against men having polish, I am just against me having polish. Take yesterday as an example, in the gym’s locker room. Bright orange polished toes popped out of a work sock and my first thought was, “Really?” a grown man with painted toe nails. Not that I am attaching any feminine versus masculine traits. I do not believe that a painted nail is a feminine and should not be associated with manly-men. It's just about standing out. Being a peafowl at my age. Twenty years ago I would do anything to make my uniqueness stand out. Bottles of Sun-in Hair Lightener Spray came to their end in my hands. But, now I'm content with eight versions of the same grey tee-shirt folded neatly in my dresser drawer. So it still shocks me daily since our last trip to mani-pediland. Yeah, I know … since the bright orange toes are mine.
I tell the lucky people in the public realm that are exposed to my Safety-orange toes that I am just waiting for the polish to grow out. Like the polish was against my will. Like I was held down by mob of nail techs. When I was in the junkyard… pulling a rear differential from a ’73 Torino. “They came out of nowhere and softened my cuticles and applied two gel coats before I could fight them off!” But, now that I think about it, neither Becca, nor Naveen even mentioned me getting polish. I guess I wanted to be adorable.
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On Saturday, August 12, seventeen restaurants represented the best of Cherry Creek North dining during the 9th Annual Cherry Creek North Food & Wine event. The restaurants, all located in Cherry Creek North and renowned for their service, culinary options and quality, competed for the titles of Best of Show, Best Dessert, Best Table Décor and People’s Choice.
A group of independent jurors determined the following restaurants to take home the 2017 Best Of awards:
Best of Show – Quality Italian
Best Dessert – Departure
Best Table Décor – Quality Italian
Food & Wine attendees were also given the opportunity to vote for their favorite restaurant and Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar took home the People’s Choice Award.
Many people who attend AIDS Walk Colorado want to make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS in our community but have never fundraised before or maybe don’t know how to begin fundraising. The Red Ribbon Challenge is a way for everyone to participate in fundraising efforts by setting a simple goal of raising $100 in an easy three-step process that can be done in one day!
1.Donate $20 to your own fundraising page at www.AIDSWalkColorado.org
2.Ask two people you know to donate $20 each to your challenge
3.Ask four people you know to donate $10 each to your challenge
