gus kenworthy's back. >> what! : but gus's most courageous move arguably came off the slopes. you see, next month gus kenworthy will make history, becoming one of the first openly gay u.s. male athletes to compete at the winter games. >> i feel like i'm representing the lgbt community and i want to do well for them. >> will we see the triple for kenworthy? he wants it! >> reporter: we first met gus as the babyfaced heartthrob who burst into our lives at the sochi winter games in 2014 and that silver medal in slopestyle skiing. >> a score of 93.60 for gus kenworthy. >> take me back to sochi in 2014. what was that like for you? >> like nothing i'd ever experienced before. i didn't really know what i was getting myself into. >> reporter: and viral fame soon followed when he came back to the u.s. with more than just his silver medal. he helped rescue five furry friends. some of the hundreds of stray dogs swarming sochi. tweeting "puppy love is real to puppies." and with that the olympian seemed to steal the hearts of am

>> gus kenworthy. back. >> what? >> gus' most courageous move arguably came off the slopes.month gus kenworthy will make history. becoming one of the first openly gay u.s. male athletes to compete at the winter games. >> feel like i am representing the lgbt community i want to do well for them. >> will we see the triple from kenworthy, he wants it. >> we met gus as baby faced heartthrob who burst into our lives at sochi winter games in 2014. and that silver medal in slopestyle skiing. and viral fame soon followed when he came back to the u.s. with more than just his silver medal. he helped rescue five furry friends. some of the hon drepundreds of swarming sochi. puppy love is real to puppies. with that the olympian seemed to steal the hearts of america. things seemingly couldn't get better. but away from the bright lights, gus says he was actively concealing his real life from the world. >> i was definitely forced to compartmentalize these aspects of my life. ee was k i was considering coming out. >> i have known i was gay since i was 5 years old. >> much like big airs, gus

gus kenworthy, an olympic freestyle skier and silver medalist is using his platform to promote a causeyoung people to live their life honestly. ♪ 26-year-old athlete gus kenworthy knows a thing or two about greatness. the colorado native is a pioneer in the world of freestyle skiing and took home his first olympic silver medal for slopestyle at the 2014 sochi games. two years later kenworthy made headlines again when he came out publicly as a gay man. >> i put a lot of pressure on myself being in the closet. it caused me a lot of anxiety and i think when i was finally able to come out it let me be so much more free. >> that newfound freedom allowing him to focus on what truly marys to him like making an impact on young people's lives and raising awareness. highlighted in his new campaign from our sponsor he head & shoulders. >> my shoulders car iry more than my country's pride, my community's pride, my family's pride and pride in myself. because shoulders are made for greatness, not dandruff. >> i got to hold a pride flag in a national campaign for the first time in history and that's

>>> plus gus kenworthy.> they didn't want to be afraid of what people might say or anything. >> risking coveted sponsorships to come out as