Figure skater, actor, health advocate: Huntley Woods refuses to be pigeonholed

For some people, things just come easy. Although Huntley Woods would humbly deflect such statements about himself, it’s undeniable that he has been successful at most everything he has tried in his life. OK – so he freely admits he sucked at various team sports:

“I couldn’t play baseball for the life of me. I was no good at soccer or football.”

But he has excelled at numerous other sports since trying his hand at those as a young boy. It wasn’t long after he put on a pair of skates that he began drawing attention in the world of competitive figure skating. His love of swimming led him to become a lifeguard for six years. And when he moved to southern California for school, he picked up a fencing sword and discovered he had a knack for that, too. Today? Well, he spends free time playing beach volleyball – a sport he thought he was no good at until he spent some time learning the game.

But it’s not as if Huntley has a lot of free time these days. As a recent graduate of the University of Southern California’s theater department he, like thousands of other SoCal twentysomethings, is trying to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. He currently works for a company that makes movie trailers, and manages to get in front of the camera at times, too. (In March, Neutrogena began airing a nationwide commercial starring – you guessed it – Huntley.)
“I’ve been doing so much performance (in pairs skating) since I was little, (acting) was a natural segue. … I had that ‘performance’ in (my) blood.”

And when he’s not working on trailers, acting, modeling or playing beach volleyball, he’s working part-time for the Hep Team, a national Hepatitis initiative that encourages people to get vaccinated for Hepatitis A and B. Huntley serves as their market manager, traveling the southwest to Pride events, rodeos and other large gatherings of gay folk.
“A friend at USC was working with them. They needed extra help working booths at festivals,” said Huntley. “This was several years ago.”

As the Hep Team expanded, they turned to Huntley for help. His presence was requested at more and more events, to the point he was finally named market manager. Now, he can be seen at events at least once a month – more during the busy summer Pride calendar. He runs booths, trains new staff and helps establish new markets. But his favorite part of the job is simply talking to people.
“Part of the joy of it for me is going out and striking up a conversation with a random stranger and getting the message to them,” Huntley told me. “I love going to Prides, so being able to go to different Prides around the country … it’s a lot of fun.”

It took a great deal of education for Huntley, who admits he knew relatively little about Hepatitis before taking on his current role. Now, he confidently approaches strangers and is able to educate them about how Hepatitis can be spread and about the need for vaccination.

He enjoys getting positive responses from people he meets at events. He says most people are very receptive to him and the Hep Team.
“There’s a good amount of people who are aware of it,” he said, acknowledging that more and more community members have become educated about this important health issue. He says he has noticed more people at each event getting their final vaccinations; they’ve got the entire series (three) done while at different community events.
“I think the most successful part is when we speak to someone at one of the events and they’ve already finished their vaccinations.”

As the classic “gay-boy-next-door” Huntley is enjoying life right now in southern California. At only 24 years old, he is trying his hand at many different pursuits – something he has done his entire life. At an early age, he transitioned from gymnastics to figure skating – “I just had so much energy at that point, always climbing up trees or bouncing off walls” – the sports arena in which he had the most success. He competed in Pairs for 10 years, even though he had a greater appreciation for the skating and performance aspects than the actual competitive aspect. In high school he began to gravitate towards the Drama Club. Ignoring the pleas of his coaches, he juggled both skating and plays; the theater eventually won out. It was while studying theater at USC that he decided to try his hand at fencing. And during all this time, he patrolled the beaches as a lifeguard.

Yeah – Huntley Woods pretty much will go after anything that strikes his fancy. With his whole life ahead of him, there are plenty of opportunities.
“I’ve always really wanted to try pole vaulting.”

THE HUNTLEY WOODS FILE

Age: 24
Hometown: Media, Penn.
Resides: West Hollywood
Education: USC, BA in Theater
Favorite sport: Anything with an adrenaline rush
Hobbies: Nintendo Wii, Painting, Drawing, Astronomy
Favorite Movie: Jurassic Park
Athlete he’d most like to date: David Beckham
What others may not know about him: He’s a HUGE nerd
Relationship status: Dating