Olympic diver Robert Páez comes out, says “life is too beautiful to be hidden in a closet”

Robert Páez is a professional diver from Venezuela. He represented his country in both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.

In a powerful new op-ed published by Outsports, the 23-year-old coming out publicly for the very first time.

“Growing up in Venezuela, I knew from a very young age that I was different, despite not knowing what exactly that meant,” Páez writes.

He continues:

I was born gay. As I got older I became more aware of it, and as I grew–like with so many others–it became my great dilemma. It was a source of worry that I was interested in things like dancing and fashion, things that in my culture were for women and gays. I shied away from doing many things. I was at times ashamed to go out into society, to face who I really was.

Today, Páez says he’s no longer ashamed of who he is. He admits that fear kept him closeted for many years. But he’s no longer going to surrender to that fear.

“In sharing my story, I hope to help make homosexuality as common of a word as heterosexuality,” he writes. “We have to understand that we are all equal.”

“Accepting ourselves and respecting ourselves are big first steps. Life is too beautiful to be hidden in a closet.”

Scroll down for pics from Páez’s Instagram page and read his full op-ed over at Outsports…

? A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Nov 8, 2017 at 2:11pm PST

El famoso “TIRA BUZÓN” A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Jan 31, 2018 at 1:51pm PST

Canela pasión?? A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Jun 13, 2016 at 3:07pm PDT

Río 2016. A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Jan 27, 2018 at 6:06pm PST

? A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on May 24, 2017 at 3:29pm PDT

Hasta que el corazón aguante. A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Oct 30, 2017 at 5:16pm PDT

? A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Dec 27, 2017 at 10:05am PST

? A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Sep 16, 2016 at 7:01pm PDT

NEVER BEEN HAPPIER. A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Dec 1, 2016 at 9:07am PST

? A post shared by Robert Páez (@robertpaez) on Jun 25, 2017 at 4:13pm PDT

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