Man says he 'woke up gay' Former athlete Chris Birch , 26, rugby sport he play claims a gym accident led him to become gay. Birch says he was trying to do a back flip during training, but broke his neck stroke he suffered. After that, he says he woke up in the hospital and realized his sexuality had changed stroke personality changes. Strokes can have strange consequences. Some stroke victims wind up with different accents, others with different personalities. Chris Birch said he discovered he was gay when he woke up after a stroke. The 26-year-old Welshman suffered a stroke after breaking his neck while attempting a back flip at a gym, The Daily Mail reported. His then-fiancé and family stayed by his side, but when he woke, something had changed. "It sounds strange, but when I came round I immediately felt different," Birch told the paper. "I wasn't interested in women any more. I was definitely gay. I had never been attracted to a man before - ...