Love myself I do. Not everything, but I love the good as well as the bad. I love my crazy lifestyle, and I love my hard discipline. I love my freedom of speech and the way my eyes get dark when I'm tired. I love that I have learned to trust people with my heart, even if it will get broken. I am proud of everything that I am and will become.

I'm not ashamed to be me. More than anyone else I know, I love my life and accept myself. What's wrong with being unique? I am proud of everything that I am and will become.

I want to be judged by who I am, not what I am. I mean, I am Johnny Weir. Judge me the way you see me, love me the way you see me, hate me the way you see me.

Masculinity is what you believe it to be. I think masculinity and femininity is something that's very old-fashioned. There's a whole new generation of people who aren't defined by their sex or race or who they like to sleep with.

I'm different, and I have to be a warrior to be that way. But I have had some success; I hope I have touched the lives of some wonderful people, all by being what I see as myself but some others people see as different.

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

I'd love to learn how to foxtrot and cha cha. Believe it or not, I have terrible dancing skills. I can do everything on the ice, but as soon as you put me on the ground, I'm that person that falls down walking off a curb.

I don't take on a project unless I know the end result is going to make me happy. If I can't give 100 percent to something, I choose not to do it because it's very difficult to have so many pots on the fire at one time.

Music is fun, but I'm an ice skater. I may sing songs and do shows, make movies and other things... that's all well and good and I enjoy it, and I would never trade any of those for anything. But figure skating is who I am.

It's of very little importance to me that I was born gay. It doesn't make me a better athlete, it doesn't make me a stronger person, it doesn't really do anything to enhance my life. It's just something I was born with, the same as green eyes.

There's a lot in my closet. I've been collecting things since I was five. I'm definitely a pack rat. I'm not a hoarder, but I'm definitely a pack rat. I will keep anything if I have a memory in it or a good moment.

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

I hate summer, to be honest. I hate dressing. I hate the heat. I hate sweaty people getting aggressively close to you when you're walking down the street.

I definitely don't think of myself as an actual male model. I'm far too short and my legs are far too muscular.

I got into figure skating for the art of it, as well as the sport, and how much I love it. And, you know, I do everything that I want. I march to my own drummer. Sometimes people have an issue with that, and I can't control it.

Michael Phelps is a sporting god among men. It is hard to say if anyone will ever match his accomplishments, but it has been an honor to see him become a legend. He makes me proud of the American sports institution and proud of the sports that get mass attention only every four years.

I never ever wanted to change my sport... Figure skating was my outlet, it was my breath, it was how I could live and transmit everything I was feeling and everything I had worked for and given up and all these sacrifices I'd made throughout the years. It was how I could make them all worth it.

I've never been invited to do 'Stars on Ice' before, which is the only figure skating tour in the U.S., and it's disappointing that I can't perform for my American fans... all because I'm not 'family friendly' enough.

I have been a figure skater for so long that when I stopped that competitive day-to-day grind, I didn't know what to do with myself. I don't know how the world works outside of being barked at by a Ukrainian woman and watching my weight.

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.'

To me, skating should look effortless even when you're doing the hardest of elements.

I would love to be a spokes model for Karl Lagerfeld or Balenciaga or something like that.

To be honest, I just want to go somewhere where I can wear a white Speedo.

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 played soccer, and I was the kid who ran the wrong way, or I was pretending to be some sort of zebra and I would flail my arms and kick up my legs.

I'm an ice skater. I'm all about the glitter.

I hope that more children have the same opportunities as me, with the same parents as me, that let me be an individual, who gave me freedom, and taught me to believe in myself before anyone else would believe in me.

I suppose being fierce is a very good thing, and a very cool thing. But more than fierce, I think I'm a strong person and a strong individual. And that's what I take with me every day.

Fashion is something that I want to be involved with for a long time, and I want to show that I can give people what they want while still keeping my pizzazz and my razzle-dazzle.

To sum up my idea of on-ice costume fashion sense, it's probably that too much is never enough.

Ice shows give us the opportunity to forget ourselves and just perform. They are amazing opportunities to be in front of audience to try out new material, to show new costuming. It's an incredible opportunity to do what we do without the stress of worrying about what a judge is going to say.

I've always wanted to make a music video with skating and different imagery, something very artistic.

I've always had a loud mouth, and for that I've gotten a lot of attention. I did falter in some big competitions in my career, but being counted out and not being seen as a threat is something I'm used to.

I am often criticized for spending too much time off the ice, but if you were in my shoes, you'd see how necessary it is.

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.

Figure skating is a bit dated - it's like that tweed jacket you pull out of the back of your closet from time to time, and I'm going to try to Chanel it up a little bit.

The life of an athlete does have to be lonely and you have to be focused on your craft and what you do. Loneliness is just a sacrifice you make as an Olympic-level athlete.

I'm a huge fur fan; it's no secret to anyone anymore.

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

So many people in the gay community have always asked me to come out, say it like it is, and help our cause. But for me... I think my biggest statement I could give to the world is to be strong being myself... you have to make something of yourself, and that's what makes us strong.

I wouldn't participate in 'Stars on Ice' if I were asked. I find it an amateurish tour in a way, the production quality.

I feel like at the Olympics I gave the best performance of my life and I wasn't rewarded for that as an athlete. Yes, my fans and my mom were happy about it, but I didn't win that gold medal.

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.

It's easier for me to go to Russia and train with top coaches and choreographers there than go to Colorado Springs and train with 14 of my competitors.

I drink Vitamin Water nonstop - I should have an IV.

My family, the support of my friends, the amount of people that have written and come up to me on the street and said, 'Thank you for representing us,' and Adam Lambert, and Lady Gaga, that's been amazing.

I think being in the public eye can only help me launch into the world of fashion.

Of course I was bullied and of course I was called names - my last name is Weir. That's very, very close to 'weird,' or 'queer' and any of those words. But I've never been anyone to cry over spilled milk or be upset because kids don't like me, or people don't like me... It makes my skin stronger and thicker. And why cry? Your mascara runs.

I think it is important for young people to see other young people on television doing something positive with their life, making positive changes and growing. I don't think there is enough of that on TV. I mean, we've got 'Jersey Shore,' and I don't know what that teaches young kids.

I totally understand that I am a little outrageous in some ways... I'm a little un-P.C., but I really wish I had the chance to perform for the American fans.