Hogan's Hero :: Glenn Douglas Packard keeps it real

Sometimes, reality bites.

On the VH1 reality show Brooke Knows Best, Glenn Douglas Packard has plenty of fun doing what he does best: living his life as an out gay man, an Emmy-nominated choreographer and artistic director, dancer, and best-bud-slash-roommate to the show's titular Brooke Hogan, the pop star daughter of wrestler Hulk Hogan. Set in their Miami Beach pad, the show is fresh and frothy, fabulous and fun, as reality TV should be.

If only the real world was so kind.

Bullied by his peers

Chatting by phone, Packard has a much more sobering reality on his mind. He's thinking of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, the 11-year-old from Springfield who hanged himself earlier this month after enduring months of homophobic taunting, teasing and bullying by his peers. Today, Packard has a career built in part on his success as a gay TV personality; but wearing his sexuality on his sleeve didn't always come naturally.

"I was the kid who got picked on a lot, and I was so sad when I heard about that boy [Walker-Hoover]," says Packard, who grew up on a Michigan dairy farm, literal and figurative miles apart from gay and glamorous South Beach. It was on the farm that Packard nearly lost his leg in a tractor accident, an event that impelled him to finally take dance lessons and spurned him on to a career working with Pink, Whitney Houston, and even Michael Jackson - hence the Emmy nomination for the Gloved One's 30th anniversary concert.

But he almost lost far more than a limb. "When I was young, I tried to commit suicide a couple times," he admits. "Luckily, it didn't happen to me. But it is just so sad to think that I could have let someone else change my destiny."

"My situation was a lot like what I heard in that boy's story," he elaborates. "I got picked on because I was nice and friendly... I defended other kids if someone was making comments that weren't nice or I saw someone getting picked on, so then they would say, 'You must be a faggot.'"

"I wasn't tough and aggressive," he adds. Even his suicide attempts were interpreted as the acts of a simply oversensitive boy. "Oh no," says Packard, when asked if his parents attributed those attempts to issues surrounding his sexuality. "They probably just thought, you know, that I wasn't tough."

If memories of growing up are fresh in his head, it's because Packard recently shot an episode of Brooke Knows Best where he returns to his hometown to meet parents and neighbors with his boyfriend in tow. The homecoming episode will air in Season Two of the series, premiering June 7.

"It was one of the favorite moments of my life," says Packard about his return to Michigan. "It was like coming full circle, bringing my career, my family life, and my life as a gay man all together. ... It was something I was a little nervous about, but it was an amazing experience

Ranking himself 10 on the gay scale

Packard might feel comfortable now, but that wasn't entirely the case when he came out on television on last year's first season. Glenn first met Brooke Hogan when he was touring as part of twONEty (21), a short-lived boy band assembled by manager Lou Pearlman (Backstreet Boys, NSync).

Packard remained close friends with Hogan throughout his career; she eventually invited him to move in together as part of the reality show. Now seven years into their friendship, Brooke's overprotective, famous father had never broached the topic of Packard's sexuality until he discovered that the dancer would be sharing an apartment with his little girl. In front of the cameras, Hulk Hogan asked Packard to assure him of his gayness by ranking himself on a Kinsey scale of one to 10.

"It was really weird for me," admits Packard. "That was my first day on camera and all of a sudden I'm thrown into that. I wanted to give an answer of confidence, but not cockiness. I'm thinking that I have to answer it honestly, but I'm also thinking that my family is watching this."

Packard ranked himself a 10, and he has no regrets.

"[Before that] my friends knew who I was, but it wasn't like I went around preaching about my sexuality. I didn't think it was important," he explains. "After coming out, I realize the importance of it, and how important the community is. I've received so many e-mails [from viewers]... I realize now that I'm so excited to be a part of this whole gay movement. At first I was scared of that, I would think that I have nieces and nephews in that small town that I lived in, and I didn't want things to happen to them. But when I went back to the school and gave a speech, they were sitting in the front row with a big smile on their face."

Still, there's teasing to be had even when you've hit the big time. After all, Hogan and her pals are part of a generation of media personalities lampooned on skit shows and dissected on gossip websites. Packard even filmed a short mockumentary, posted on his own YouTube page, that spoofs rumors of bad behavior and diva tantrums.

"For me, it rolls off the shoulders," says Packard about adulthood's version of teases, taunts and paparazzi bullying. "I want to show people that good people can finish first."

And Packard has plenty going on. He's preparing to write a memoir detailing his career and experiences in the entertainment industry ("I might call it, Why I'm Not Famous," he chuckles), he's working on his own fashion line, and tossing around some project concepts with LOGO.

But whatever he does, he wants to do it in a way that makes that inner farm boy from Michigan proud to be in his own skin: he wants to do it as himself.

"I'm a country boy at heart," confesses Packard, when asked what part of his personality will never - or at least, he hopes - be captured by a reality TV camera. "Here I am living in a penthouse in the city, but I'm really a farm boy. I sometimes forget to brush my teeth or take a shower; I might poop with the door open; pick my nose... I'm a hillbilly sometimes!"

"Oh my God, I can't believe I just said that!" he laughs.

Don't sweat it, man. And kids, take note: it can be a long road to embracing yourself, but when you do, Packard promises you'll be dancing free.

"I just want young people to know, don't let anybody else make a comment about you that makes you change the way you're supposed to be," he shares. "Why let that person have control over you and your life?"

"There are two types of people," he concludes. "Those who choose to be a victim, and those that thrive on something bad and make it better."

Glenn Douglas Packard stars on the VH1 reality show Brooke Knows Best, which premieres Season Two on June 7. For the upcoming show schedule, including currently airing Season One episodes to help you catch up, visit vh1.com. For more information on Glenn Douglas Packard, visit glenndouglaspackard.com