I want to create things while I have time on Earth, and the art of costume and culture has always inspired me.

I'm not commercial, I'm not for Special K cereal and I'm not a Wheaties boy; I'm a little bit more avant-garde, a little bit more out there.

It's really grinding to always play out of both sides of your mind and always be thinking what will offend people. Or what won't. But I'm strong enough to deal with that. I own that I'm freakish in my way.

No mother wants to hear her son say he's gay. Those two words rip the picture of a daughter-in-law and grandchildren into pieces. I felt sorry for my mom and wanted her to know everything was going to be all right. But then she said, 'I don't really care, Johnny, as long as I know that you are going to be happy.'

Nobody gets lucky all the time. Nobody can win all the time. Nobody's a robot. Nobody's perfect.

There are some things I keep sacred. My middle name. Who I sleep with. And what kind of hand moisturizer I use.

I think I've gotten more attention after the Olympics than any other U.S. athlete, and it's really great that people are recognizing who I am and what I do. You look at Shaq and you see a basketball player. You look at Tiger Woods and you see a golfer. But people are responding to who I am.