Creating emotion was what my career was all about. I wanted people to laugh at me; I wanted people to cry with me. I wanted people to feel good or to think about something when they watched me. I think that's why, even not being an Olympic champion, I have such a huge following around the world.

Finding someone to share your life with is one of the most important things a human can do and was preached to me by my mother.

I will be 60 or 70 years old still rocking my Chanel blazer with my hair all coiffed.

Being in the public eye is part of what I do, and taking on a multitude of different projects - television, radio, fashion, writing or deep-sea diving - is a blessing. It is also how I pay my bills and fund my own skating, as I don't have a sponsor or financial help from my federation.

Nothing shocks me anymore. I've embraced men in thongs, I've embraced women with padded bras. I mean, I can embrace Larry King saying 'fierce.'

I grew my beard out a little bit just to show that indeed I am a man.

I'm hoping my presence alone in Russia will be a show of strength for the Russian LGBT community.