Galindo began skating with his sister. Although the sport was expensive, his parents were supportive and forwent a chance to buy a house, settling instead for a larger trailer. Christine Brennan of the
Washington Post disagreed, stating that it was because he was not the best skater in the U.S. and predicted that he would never win a U.S. Championships. Figure skater writer Ellyn Kestnbaum states that Brennan must have not been paying attention to Galindo's practices during the 1995 Nationals, when he was ill with
asthmatic bronchitis but was one of the best spinners in the competition. He was also the only male skater, other than his competitors
Todd Eldredge and
Scott Davis, who were practicing the triple
Axel-triple
toe loop combination jump, one of the most difficult jump combinations in competitive figure skating at the time. Galindo decided to take advantage of this opportunity to compete in front of his mother, who no longer traveled, and his hometown. He resumed training in September 1995, with his sister Laura Galindo-Black as his coach. In January 1996, he won the men's title at the
U.S. Championships at the
San Jose Arena in a performance that has become legendary in the skating world. He was the oldest male to win this title in 70 years. A profile of Galindo appeared in the local newspaper, the
San Jose Mercury, and he was included in a monument to San Francisco Bay area skaters dedicated during Nationals, on the basis of his success as a pairs skater. Kestnbaum reports that the national media did not notice him until he won the title, stating that he garnered more attention than skaters like Eldredge and Davis, who had more clean-cut images than Galindo. The press also reported on Galindo's "triumph-over-tragedy human interest angle" Brennan stated that Galindo deserved the title and should have earned more points in his short program, citing it "as further evidence of the arbitrary and political nature of figure skating judging". . Galindo went on to win a bronze medal at the
1996 World Championships. He performed to
Swan Lake by
Tchaikovsky for his free skate program, and Franz Biebl's
Ave Maria (performed by the
Stanford Fleet Street Singers) for his exhibition program. As Kestnbaum states, Galindo was not yet prepared to take on the responsibilities of being a gay role model, so he focused on his training, even though it incured disappointment and hostility from the gay community. After he won the bronze medal at World's, however, he focused on gay issues directly in his skating, including wearing a red scarf in the shape of a large AIDS ribbon around his neck during the Ave Maria program. Galindo retired from eligible competition in the summer of 1996 and toured with
Tom Collins' Champions on Ice. He underwent hip replacement surgery in August 2003 after finishing the season's tour with a broken femur on his left side. After recovering, Galindo continued to tour with COI until it went out of business in 2007. In 2006 he served as a judge on the
WE tv series ''
Skating's Next Star'', created and produced by Major League Figure Skating and hosted by
Kristi Yamaguchi. Galindo coaches at
Solar4America Ice (formerly Sharks Ice at San Jose), the same rink where he trained during his competitive career. Among his students is Kristi Yamaguchi's daughter, Emma Hedican. Galindo was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. He was elected to the
U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in December 2012. == Personal life ==