Aydian Dowling, you have our vote.
The US Men’s Health Ultimate Guy Search is in full swing, and the forerunner is a 27-year-old with the requisite rippling abs, perky pecs and killer guns, as well as a smattering of tatts and a three-day growth.
But one thing sets this guy apart: He used to be a woman.
Aydian Dowling, a transgender man from Oregon, is currently outstripping his closest competitor by a factor of more than three — and redefining what it means to be a man in the process. If he wins, which is looking pretty likely, he’ll be the first trans man to ever grace the cover of the men’s mag.
Dowling is a vlogger and transgender rights activist who has been documenting his transition for about five years.
“I think I would have laughed if someone said that in five years I was going to be in a competition to be on the cover of Men’s Health magazine,” Dowling told People.
“I would be like, ‘No way would you be putting me shirtless on a magazine!'”
Dowling used bodybuilding throughout his transition to “feel more masculine,” and now he’s, well, pretty smokin’ hot actually. But the competition is about more than muscle.