The biggest misconception about Rudy Galindo, according to the 1996 U.S. Champion gold medalist, is that he is a "stuck-up and snobby" queen with an attitude as cold and frosty as the ice he skates on.
"People will say they saw me walking down the street or in a bar and that I had my nose in the air and that I am cocky," he says with genuine disbelief.
If Rudy Galindo, born Val Joe Galindo, were "cocky" he'd have plenty of reasons to be: he has won several prestigious figure skating awards including the U.S. Champion gold and bronze medals. The nation's first Latino skating champion, Galindo went on to become the oldest ( at age 26 ) skater to win the gold in 70 years at the 1996 U.S. championships. Over the past three years, he has become one of the most popular skaters and entertainers in the country and is in high demand for exhibitions, television specials and tours, including the wildly popular Champions on Ice.
It's easy to see why people who don't know Rudy, be it the casual figure skating fan or a person walking down the street, may confuse the skater's confidence for cockiness. But Rudy's self-assurance comes from a place more complex than the gilded trappings of celebrity or medals. It is the skater's unflinching ability to reveal the most intimate details of his personal life, including his homosexuality and his HIV-positive status, that have enabled him to walk down any street or walk into any arena projecting this "Yeah baby! I'm here!" kind of vibe. And the fans love it.
"The last time I was in Chicago with Champions on Ice, I walked into Sidetracks and I was mobbed," recalls Rudy with obvious delight. "People were asking me all kinds of things, mostly about skating, and you know, I love it because I rarely get a chance to meet new friends."
And the most popular question posed by the skater's gay fans? "What was it like to tape my walk-on, on Will & Grace," he says with a good-natured sigh.
"It was a blast, of course. The cast on that show works so hard! It's a lot like figure skating, with the amount of dedication and practice that goes into perfecting each and every scene. You can see why these people are paid so much money, they deserve it! I had lunch with the cast after the taping and they had all these questions about the figure skating world. It was a lot of fun."
Rubbing shoulders with the cast of television's highest-rated sitcom is not something Rudy could have ever imagined as a young boy. He grew up poor, in a trailer park in San Jose, Calif., the son of a Mexican truck-driving father who was away from home a lot and a mother who suffered from manic-depression. After discovering his natural ability to skate, Rudy was determined to see his dreams come true despite financial roadblocks.
He survived on small grants provided by the U.S. Figure Skating Association and to save money, his sister Laura became his coach. It wasn't easy. In fact, several months before the 1996 national championships in San Jose, his car broke down and he was forced to ride his brother's 10-speed eight miles to and from practice every day.
Galindo, a virtual unknown, was never expected to place at the event as evidenced by the fact that his background information wasn't even included in the press materials. Nevertheless, in front of a hometown crowd, he nailed eight triple jumps in a row and won the men's singles.
Despite this and other victories that would follow, Rudy says he never saw himself as a role model. It was only after discovering that he was HIV-positive that he realized he could give back to the community more than he ever could by winning a gold medal.
"I first learned that I was HIV when I was sitting on a hospital bed waiting for the results of a chest X-ray to see if it would show why I couldn't get rid of this cough I had. I overheard the doctors in the hall saying I was definitely HIV-positive and the first thing I thought was: 'I'm gonna die. I'm not going to get to see my niece and nephew grow up.' My brother George died from AIDS in 1994 and my coach had died from it ... and after their deaths I didn't really pay attention to the new developments in HIV and AIDS treatment. My doctor sat down next to me and starting laughing. He explained that being HIV-positive was not necessarily a death threat and that he had plenty of HIV-positive friends and patients who were, like, running marathons."
After announcing his HIV status on April 5 in USA Today, Rudy decided to use his celebrity to bring awareness to AIDS-related causes and organizations. He became the honorary co-chairman of the National Minority AIDS Council ( NMAC ) and he posed for an eye-catching poster for NMAC's 2000 Summer Campaign against HIV-related anemia. It is for these and numerous other accomplishments that he has been selected to receive one of the 2001 Larry Osburn Trailblazer awards offered by Chicago's Bailiwick Theater. Rudy says he is "honored" to receive the award which has been given to other sports figures, like Mark Tewksbury, for their outstanding contributions to the gay community.
Another one of Rudy's contributions to the gay community was his plan to learn the Spanish language so that he could film bilingual TV spots for the NMAC, but that project has temporarily been suspended until further notice.
"The lady who was teaching me Spanish was sooo mean," he says in a conspiratorial whisper. "She was like, 'I don't care if you're this famous skater' and she was not very patient. Now maybe if the instructor had been a cute guy ... it would have turned out differently!"
Speaking of cute guys, Rudy admits that he is currently unattached. "I'm married to my skating," he says, using a phrase that sounds like it was created for the purpose of appeasing the press, and I tell him this.
"No, really! I'm not seeing anyone," he says his voice ringing with laughter. "Right now my hand is doing just fine!"
Rudy will be in Chicago with John Hancock's Champions on Ice on Saturday, April 21 where he will be performing, among other things, a routine to the music of Fosse's "Big Spender." The skater says he creates his routines by "putting myself in the audience" and imagining how they will react.
"Everyone's favorite routines and everyone's favorite costumes are always the ones I design myself. The more expensive costumes, the ones designed by other people? They are you usually the ugly ones that nobody likes!"
Rudy says he enjoys touring and that he thrives on his interaction with the audiences.
While on tour, he keeps a daily journal, which he says he will use to write his follow up to his highly acclaimed autobiography, Icebreaker.
"Since I became HIV-positive I have been keeping a journal where I note my emotions every day. There is so much there. There is so much, that I knew I would have to write a follow-up book."
When he's not writing in his journal, Rudy is busy holding court on the tour buses. "The buses are kind of segregated. The Russians travel on their bus and the Americans travel on their own bus. And even on the American bus, I have to say, it's a little clique-ish at times, but of course, I am the most popular of them all!"
United Center, April 21: John Hancock's Champions On Ice, including Rudy Galindo, Michelle Kwan, and Brian Boitano. 2 and 8 p.m., ( 312 ) 559-1212, www.championsonice.com
