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Updated:Leon Purvis Returns to YouTube To Court Gabby Douglas

Back in December, Glassboro High School Senior, Leon Purvis famously took to YouTube to ask 2012 All Around Champion, Gabby Douglas to his senior prom in May.

Gabby unfortunately turned him down. But she gracefully turned him down, citing scheduling conflicts. Leon is back and he's courting Gabby for a date. Gabby and Leon have been communicating a little bit via Twitter. It's small things, he's asked Gabby what her favorite restaurant is, her response was BangBang. She wished him a happy birthday on Twitter and later, followed him back.

Recently, he tweeted her and asked if he helped her get to 800,000 followers on Twitter, would she go out with him then?

Her response...

Maybe.....

























Of course, Leon is a gentleman, and he reached out to gain the approval of Gabby's mother, Natalie, who thought Leon was sweet. It's very old fashioned in a very modern way.






Here is Leon's official YouTube video asking Gabby out on a date. It's very sweet, he dons a tie and courts her with his proposition for a date.





Of course, he's no novice at reaching out to celebrities and public figures. Leon also famously asked Justin Bieber to attend his junior prom with him. The Biebs turned him down for that engagement, but later, he got to meet Justin Bieber as evidenced by this photograph. Leon also reached out to President Barack Obama inviting him to speak at his high school graduation. President Obama turned him down as well but he sent his wishes to the graduating class via a letter. Glassboro, North Carolina has had presidents speak at college and high school graduations in the area.

Leon recently reached out to yours truly sharing his YouTube video and I asked him a few questions, about Gabby about gymnastics and what inspired him to ask Gabby to the prom. Here is the interview:

Maria: It's so sweet that you reached out to Gabby for the prom invite. The invite was so sincere. What made you want to ask Gabby as opposed the eligible young ladies at your high school?

Leon: What made me want to ask Gabby, opposed to the eligible young ladies at my high school is I was watching Gabby Douglas on Barbara Walter's ABC Special "Most Fascinating People Of 2012". In the interview Barbara asked Gabby "Would you like him (him as in a guy NOT ME!) ask you to the prom?" Gabby's response was "That would be nice." A light bulb went off in my head telling me to do it because I didn't have anything to loose.

M: Were you a fan of Gabby's before the Olympics? Will you bee rooting for her to make it to the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Team?

L: I was a fan of Gabby before the Olympics, I knew of her when she made the U.S. Olympic team. I will be rooting for her 100% for her to make it the the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Team. Hopefully this time around she will be team captain. 

M: How did it make you feel to get that response from Gabby? It's very sweet that she's followed you back.

L: Getting a personal response from Gabby via Twitter on January 3rd 2013 was really cool, not everyone can say they got turned down by a 2x Olympic Gold Medalist for their prom. But she didn't follow me back on Twitter right away when she turned me down. She just recently followed me back on July 1st 2013, I was pretty excited when she followed me back on Twitter.

M: This isn't the first time you've reached out to a celebrity. You got meet Justin Bieber and you asked President Obama to speak at your high school graduation. When you started this, did it make you nervous and how did you overcome that nervousness if it did?

L: When I started this I was not nervous at all, I felt as though I had nothing to loose if I tried but if I didn't try I won't ever know what could happen.

M: Because this is a gymnastics blog, I have to ask you, are there any other gymnasts whose careers you follow?

L: I follow the careers of the other members of the fab five and up and coming gymnast who plan to try out for the Olympics. The reason why I follow their careers is because I want to see what Gabby will be up against for Olympic trials in 2016.

M: I have a section of my blog called "Favorite Routines", what is your favorite routine of Gabby's? 

L: My favorite routine of Gabby's is her floor routine from the 2012 Olympics in London. 








Gabby is due to appear in Hartford, Connecticut next weekend for the P&G National Championships, along with the rest of the Fierce Five. Hopefully, she can gain some new followers then. Gabby is planning on making a "comeback" to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. She's not competing this year, but hopefully, we will see the Olympic all-round champion come to the World Championships in 2014 and maybe win an all-around World Championship title? That's another blog for another day.


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