As the Sydney Morning Herald's Andrew Hornery reports this weekend, Aussie Olympic gold medallist Matthew Mitcham - this month's hot DNA cover guy - has signed on to a star manager, the same one who made Ian Thorpe a millionaire:

"Mitcham, who is due back in Sydney this weekend with his partner, Lachlan Fletcher, after a six-week European holiday, has hired the man who helped turn Ian Thorpe into a multimillionaire, David Flaskas, to manage his career away from the dive towers.

While the swimmer Stephanie Rice has earned an estimated $1 million in various sponsorship and media deals since winning triple gold in Beijing, Mitcham is yet to snag a major deal amid rumblings his sexuality will hold him back.

However, Flaskas says he is more than confident his new client will be a 'significant earner', saying his raw honesty was a strong selling point for sponsors, agreeing it set him apart from the almost robotic, media-trained athletes who have traditionally hogged sponsor dollars. However Flaskas shied away from answering PS's question on whether Mitcham would be a millionaire in a year.

And while Flaskas says Mitcham's appeal to sponsors goes beyond those looking to cash in on the 'pink dollar', the athlete has been embraced by the gay community, which has turned him into a poster boy - whether he likes it or not." (source /www.dnamagazine.com.au)