Alex Ukkelberg. Instagram Reel / alex.ukkelberg
Professional beach volleyball player and Team USA Beach Pro Tour competitor Alex Ukkelberg has publicly shared that he is gay for the first time on social media, driven by the belief that “visibility matters.”
Although he has been out to his family and the volleyball community for years, Ukkelberg decided to take his story public to support others, reflecting on his upbringing in Battle Lake, Minnesota—a town of fewer than 800 people—where “being different is almost always a bad thing, and it’s definitely something you want to hide.”
He added, “I knew I was different from a young age, but I didn’t know what that meant.”
While he admits, “I never really wanted to be a spokesperson – but I also feel like it’s important for me to talk about it,” he ultimately felt compelled to use his platform to speak out.
Ukkelberg plays professionally on the AVP Tour in the United States and represents Team USA internationally, following a collegiate career at Grand View University and Northumbria University and two years playing professional indoor volleyball in the United Kingdom.
