Nancy Brigham: Gay Games Chicago

Today marks the opening day of Gay Games VII in Chicago, Illinois. More than 12,000 members of the global lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community from 70 countries will be taking part in the Games all week. And Nancy Brigham, 49, of the San Francisco team will be one of them, competing in the women’s bodybuilding/master physique portion of the Games for women ages 40-49.
Nancy won a gold medal in Sydney in 2002, and is looking for another gold this year. She’ll be competing on Tuesday. So if you’re in the area, give the girl some support! The closing ceremony is Saturday, July 22.
And when Nancy is not at the gym training, she’s at Brigham’s Therapeutic Massage. The private practice she founded in 1988.
Here’s Nancy…

When did you first participate in Gay Games?
In 1994, in New York. That was my first year being exposed to Gay Games. I wasn’t in the sport of bodybuilding yet. And I went with some friends. We primarily wanted to go to experience the spirit of the Games.
Some friends of ours had told us how exciting it was, especially coming into the opening ceremony. How moving it was that that many people come from around the world to celebrate and rekindle friendships. It was at a Christmas party, and my friend was like, “You guys have got to go.�
At that time I was playing field hockey. I’ve played sports all my life. And so I thought, I’m going to go do something that I’ve not competed in, in the past. And we were playing badminton at the party, and she was like, “Come on. Let’s do badminton.� So, we played in the scene category, not in the real competitive. We just wanted to have fun and experience the Games. We actually got fourth in our category, and did better than I thought we would. And while I was there, I got to pop my head in and see where the bodybuilding was being done.
I’ve done weight training all my life in preparation for the other sports that I’ve done. But it wasn’t my sport until in 1995…I come from a family of six kids; three of us are gay. And my younger brother, Gary, had been HIV-positive for years, and he came down with full-blown AIDS in 1995. And during that time, when he was sick, I noticed he was getting stronger and stronger in his personal, spiritual and emotional strength. He was such an inspiration for me to pursue my dreams in life. I think when we come into moments of life and death, we realize in our lives what really matters to us.
Unfortunately, Gary passed away two years later in 1997. It was in 1998, in Sydney, that I won the gold medal. So, I didn’t get the chance to put that medal around his neck and embrace him but he knows. He knows I did it. He was my inspiration and made it possible for me.
One of the reasons that I chose the sport of bodybuilding as my sport, and to be the top medal of my life, is because it has been a great inspiration for me. It’s about taking one day at a time, one step at a time, one rest at a time. Trying to be harder in the moment of my life.
I lost my mother three years before we lost Gary, to emphysema. So, I lost two family members. And I just recently found out this weekend that my oldest brother has lung cancer. So it’s kind of going to be a tough ride this summer. I don’t know what stage he’s in right now.
A positive thing is, it seems like your family has always supported you?
My family has been fantastic. They’ve been my best cheerleaders, and not only for the Gay Games. What’s interesting is my mother got me into acrobats, ballet, and tap when I was like 10 or 11 years old. And I loved it! It helped hone me into the coordination for my sports. But it was the only sport that I was a drop-out in because I didn’t want to go out on stage in those tutus. [Laughs] “Look, I’ll go to practice, but I don’t want to do these stage shows in these tutus.� And the funny part of it is, here I am in something less than a tutu on stage in a posing suit! [Laughs] I know [my mother is] in heaven laughing at me saying, “You see!� I’ve always been a bit of a gender bender. [Laughs]
My father, bless his heart, when I was young and had a lot of energy, he took me out and taught me how to shoot baskets, throw a football and a softball, and trained me in my running. He was my first and best coach I ever had in life. He taught me there’s a certain discipline in sports and I turned that out in my life as a person. My bodybuilding has helped teach me to be a better person and is integral to who I am.
What is your training schedule like?
I train all year round. I did nationals last year. The NPC [National Physique Committee] is a national affiliation for bodybuilding. I did the master’s in Pittsburgh last year and got into the light feather weights. I’ve been training for years, but I started really coming down last year for nationals. In the fall of 2004 is when I really started picking up the intensity of my workouts and honed in on nationals. But after nationals, last July, I just kept in pretty contest form. I gained maybe 15 or 20 pounds in the off season. When you lose your body fat, it’s more difficult to gain your muscles. And then I started training really intensely in January. I always watch what I eat, but I became stricter on my diet. Between gym, cardio, and my posing, I put in about 3 to 4 hours a day. I enjoy it, it’s like my art.
The thing about this sport that is really so difficult, that a lot of people don’t realize, is that it comes down to diet. What you eat, your body is working on fat and fuel. In our culture, we revolve our social engagements around food a lot. I find bodybuilding is a sport that I can still have a life but I stay away from animal fat, dairy products, processed sugars and flour, high fats. I really try to stick to a really high protein diet. The whole science behind this thing is very intriguing to me. On top of the training at the gym as well.

Can you describe what the bodybuilding competition entails?
You go out anywhere between 60 and 90 seconds in a basically choreographed routine to music. So, you can entertain as well as earn points for your creativity. In my mind, I view my body as a piece of clay. I sculpt it in my trainings in the gym, and I can express it when I’m on stage.
As I approach turning 50, my efforts are less about the medal than myself. It’s more that I would like to inspire others. So, that they too want to get out of the bleachers and into the game of life. You have to be out of your comfort zone to do something that challenges you. That’s what I see as my motivation for bodybuilding.
It looks very narcissistic with all the poses, but it’s not. I grew up back in the 70s when Title IX came in finally, but by freshman year it was not in my high school, so I went out for the boy’s track team. I could have had a great lawsuit and been happily retired by now. [Laughs] It wasn’t around back then. Then Jane Fonda came out, and Tina Turner, it’s just incredible—and they served as great role models for women. Having muscles can not only help women feel more powerful physically, that I can take care of myself, but also, emotionally and spiritually it really makes me feel like I know where my boundaries are in my body.

So, you really want to win a gold this time?
Of course. We all would like to win. I’m going for gold; I always do. I’m looking to inspire people, like I said, to re-enter the game of life. But I also look forward to the new friendships that I’ll make, and the conversations with people from all over the world. What’s really cool about the Gay Games, and why I like to participate in them, is the fact that it revolves around principles of inclusion, acceptance, and for people to achieve their personal bests both on the playing field and in the game of life. It’s really not about winning the medal.
It’s also about celebrating our diversity and our freedom of expression—whether you’re straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, you want to include all of us who are of different cultures, races, or religions. It allows us a greater opportunity to celebrate who we truly are as human beings. Although we all speak different languages, a lot can be said from our heart and from our soul. A lot can be said in a handshake. Although I might not speak that language verbally, it’s the connection we make.
I think the most incredibly moving experience for me in the Gay Games was when I had marched in with team San Francisco, and we were sitting in the bleachers waiting for the rest of the teams to come in, and Team Iran and Team Iraq walked into the stadium together holding hands. It brought tears to my eyes and a real warmth to my heart. And I will have that etched in my heart forever. To see that we can truly come together in sports, and put down our differences.
I’ve been really embarrassed as an American to see the lack of leadership by President Bush. When I was in Australia, I had several people ask me, “What do you think about your president?� I try not to mix conversation with three things: sex, religion, and politics. [Laughs] But my president? I didn’t vote for him! [Laughs] It’s like being born in this world and you have these two parents, and you’re kind of stuck with them for another four years and it’s awful?! So, don’t blame me! [Laughs] Trust me, I’m voicing my differences! [Laughs] Yeah, so it’s kind of like a bad marriage! [Laughs]

What do you think about President Bush’s obsession with same-sex marriage?
First of all, I think it’s totally political posturing to take the focus off of the screw-up in Iraq and that there are no weapons of mass destruction. The only weapons of mass destruction are his way. I think this man thinks he’s right, and so does bin Laden. As far as gay marriage goes, let’s think about where we live and the name of our country. Our country is called the United States of America, right? It’s united. We’re all immigrants here, and we come from different religions, different races, different cultures, different backgrounds, different sexual orientations. And his obsession with gay rights and the marriage amendment is really something that is denying this.
To me, a true leader is someone who lifts the voices of the people and who takes them into consideration. Religion and politics shouldn’t be mixed. Look when the Bible was written, and who wrote it. God’s word is being interpreted by humans. Our founding fathers would be rolling in their graves if they knew what Bush was doing right now.
Are you out to your family? And if you are, how did you come out?
Having lived in the Midwest and in a small town of maybe 7,000 people, we lived in a rural area and my younger brother and my older sister are both gay. I thought I was the most obvious because I was in all the sports. [Laughs] I was probably around 22 when I had my first conversation with my brother Gary. I had thought, “Oh my god, I have two siblings who are gay. How cool is this?!� Even though it was a little later in life, it was still great. It was funny because my brother was like I always liked your boyfriends. And I was like I always liked your girlfriends! [Laughs]
And then I came out to my parents. My mother was the first. My dad always knew, but he never asked questions. My dad was really cool. My mother started probing and asking questions when I was 36 years old. And I hadn’t had [the conversation] up to that point because she had been drinking up until two years prior to it. She was an alcoholic then, and I didn’t want to give her another reason to drink. And so I struggled with that and I didn’t tell her until we were sitting in the backyard that day. And she was like, “Oh, my god, was it something your father and I did?� And I was like, “No.� They did everything right. It’s about who we are. It’s who I am. And relationships are hard anyway. It’s hard being in straight relationships, let alone one that is not accepted by our society.
I never really had to sit down and talk to my father about it. He liked my girlfriends better than my boyfriends. [Laughs] I told my dad, “I want to share my life with you. I’m single right now, but if you want to ask me who I’m dating, ask me.� He said, “Oh, I know what I need to know, don’t I?� And I said, “Yeah, but I’m just opening the doors for you.�
My straight brothers and my younger sister always adored our partners. And loved us for who we are, and I credit my parents for that. It was a great family to grow up in.
[The Gay Games is] a full week to just go and meet people and be who I am. I’m out in regular life, but I’m also out in my practice. It’s always great meeting people who share being in a world that doesn’t always believe or accept our lifestyle. I am planning to meet up with old friends.
How did you feel when you won the gold medal?
Exhilarated. I felt like I could feel my brother’s loving presence there. Gary, we did it! It felt like a real team effort. He was such an inspiration for me when he was battling his illness, and he gave me the courage to go for it. That gold medal was just a validation that when you work hard, and become part of something, dreams do come true. It was a dream come true for me. I felt on top of the world. It was one of those peak experiences of your life that when you look back at that day, you say, “I did that. I went for it.� If I got a dollar for every rep that I did at the gym, I’d be a billionaire. [Laughs] You put in a lot, and you sacrifice a lot to do something of that caliber. It takes up a lot of my personal time, my social time.

Did you have a feeling that you were going to win?
I always see myself as a winner. Because when you walk on stage, you have to. It’s in your best interests if you say you can do this. I’ve been competitive all my life. But because of the type of competitor that I am, I like my competition to help inspire others to step up and do their best, too. It’s not about, I’m going to beat you. It’s more about, let’s all go for this and see how much we can improve one another.
But, when I won, the whole rest of the week in Sydney was fantastic! I had a lot of people coming up to me and sharing with me how much they loved my stage presence and my personality on stage. That meant the most to me. I have my medal in a case in my office here. My medal is definitely part of my family now. [Laughs] I think of Gary every time I look at it.