Galen

I started paragliding at 27, and it completely transformed my life. It gave me the impetus to come out of the closet. Paragliding is a fantastic and otherworldly experience. It’s very isolating. It’s just you and the sky, and the sky doesn’t care about gender.

After I won a beginner competition at 28, I was publicly outed. It was traumatic and awful. Most of the voices I heard were telling me I deserved love and respect, but some people were saying I transitioned to win at sports. It was an insult to my character, and totally bonkers. Fortunately, I’ve found an amazing group of people within the flying community who are supportive, open minded, and have become the best friends I’ve ever had.

I travel the world for paragliding competitions, and when I was in Turkey, I found a street cat. My friend said that I deserved to be loved every day, so I adopted the cat, and now she’s my travel buddy.

We all deserve privacy, but being trans feels inherently public and inherently vulnerable. I know I can’t control what people think of me, so I struggle with being out in public. Still, I think it’s important to use the gifts and privileges I have to speak out, so I can help other trans people and educate cis people.