“I didn’t want to make other people uncomfortable,” Corey said. “I was more worried about making everyone else feel comfortable and safe. I didn’t realize what it was doing to me, hiding my authentic self. And it really was just my having to come to terms with it internally, and I was thinking it was going to be a big reveal, and it just wasn’t. My best friend from high school was like, ‘about time.’ And I realized that by not wanting to jeopardize those relationships and worrying about how people would react, I feel like I missed a lot of potential signs from friends and family. I know that I’m totally blessed, and I got very, very lucky.”
After college, Corey found a role at local furniture giant Steelcase doing event planning and moved to Chicago. From Chicago, the company moved him to Boston.
“It was great, but I decided I wanted to be closer to my family, so I moved back here.”
When Corey moved back, Gazelle Sports was looking for support with their supply chain. Corey’s mom is a long-time employee of Gazelle Sports, so he decided to make a career change.
“There was an opening here, and I ended up falling in love with the culture and the people working here,” Corey said.
Corey has since been able to put his passion for supporting the LGBTQ+ community to good use as a founding member of the Gazelle Sports Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force.
“I feel like I was so lucky, having the support of my family and friends and colleagues, that it was easy to become a voice at Gazelle for the community,” Corey said. “It’s so important to have a space, a place where you know you belong. And I’m deeply humbled and proud to be able to help build that for others.”
Corey is passionate about helping to create a safe place and sense of belonging for kids and young adults, especially runners and soccer players, who are just finding their place in the LGBTQ+ community.
“I truly believe in creating a culture that is open and accepting of all people regardless of who you are,” Corey said. “There are a variety of different lenses that you can use to approach DEI, and I felt very strongly that the LGBT community needed to have a voice and needed to be heard. I look forward to what we as an organization can accomplish.”
