Queer Athlete Finds Jesus, but Still Loves to Thirst Trap!

In 2020, gay triathlete athlete Mark Turnipseed wrote a 'coming out' story for the website Outsports, accompanied with a thirst-trappy photo of himself in a bathing suit.

Recently, he expressed he wants to take it back.

"Mark Turnipseed, who has for years sought attention as a gay fitness star on social media, now says Jesus has made him not gay. Or straight. Or... well, you be the judge," reports Outsports this week.

"Turnipseed released an unhinged video claiming gay men have 'daddy issues' and other needs for attention from men. He said he is reaching out to other men who are 'wallowing in the sin of homosexuality,' in hopes of helping them also be straight."

In a series of Instagrams, the hunky Turnispeed thirst traps his message of Christian benevolence (!) In the text that accompanies one IG, he compares homosexuality to overeating (ouch!), but at least he isn't damning the sinning overeaters to Hell as many of his Christian brethren do.

Curiously, the social media-savvy Turnispeed, doesn't move away from the visual syntax of the thirst trap to get attention. No buttoned-up Turnispeed accompanies his IG. No stern-looking latter-day Evangelist is seen on his page with his white shirt buttoned to the top. Instead, he remains totally comfortable showing his body off to his 12.4K followers. Even though the Lord may be telling him not to have sex with men, he continues to tease them with his thirst traps.

The one IG the Outsports refers shows him walking along a beach with his dog (named Angel, of course) and talking to his phone and confesses to having Daddy issues – with the Almighty!

The question, "How did I come from Homosexuality Back to Christ-centered Living?" appears at the top in a box, with his comments appearing beneath. "So here we are, Angel and I walking down the beach, just having our morning Angel and Mark morning chats. And I know I am thinking it's been about like three weeks or so that I really started dedicating myself to the Lord. And it has only been five years since I came out of the closet. Right. So about a year ago, I started going back to church and started to feel this desire, right, for women again. And I couldn't explain it. I had no idea where it was coming from. I wasn't purposely going to the church to try to pray the gay away, or anything. But I will tell you that somehow I was lifted out of my trauma. I was lifted out of the trauma of my child sexual abuse, of the trauma of not being enough for my own father. I started feeling the love of my heavenly father. And then all of sudden I started to feel like I didn't need the attention of other men. I did not need the sexual attention of other men. Not only that, guys, but a large part of my life growing up with sexual trauma, I felt like I was a sexual object. So if that's you, if you feel like sometimes your only a sexual object or like you have some sort of trauma holding you back from experiencing the love of another person, then it most likely related to your love of your heavenly father. You know, that the connection for me has led to tremendous amounts of joy and confidence. And I really encourage you, if you are wallowing in the sin of homosexuality, take a look at that. Take a look at your own daddy issues and take a look at your own traumas and see if you might be able to get freedom to ask God to put you in on your heart and to open up your heart and your mind. It is so amazing."

In a second, just posted this week, a most ripped Turnispeed stands shirtless in front of the White House because, well, isn't that the way most people pose in front of the White House? Angel stands by, looking very thirsty (for water, not the thirst-trap Turnispeed is making). The text accompanying the pic has him babbling on about God and Country, but isn't his ripped physique the thing?

Here are some more from his IG account.