For me, it was never a question of whether or not I was transgender. It was a question of what I'd be able to handle transitioning and having to do it in the public eye. One of the issues that was hard for me to overcome was the fear of that.

Around 2001, I started analyzing lesbians. I started to realize that even really butch-acting or -dressing women still had a strong female identity that I never had.

As you get older it's more confusing. Suddenly, there's more pressure to fit in to your assigned gender.

When I realised I was transgender I was so afraid of what my transition would do to everyone else in my life and how they would react to it and would I be rejected?

I wanted to show America a different kind of man. If there was someone like me when I was growing up, my whole life would have been different.

I had felt uncomfortable as a woman my whole life.

I came out around 25 publicly.