Ben Melzer has made history as the first European transgender man to grace the cover of Men’s Health magazine.
Melzer, 29, is appearing on the April collector’s cover of the publication in Germany after entering a social media competition that tallied votes from readers.
“When I entered the cover model contest, many of the other men had no idea that I am a transgender model,” he told NBC News.
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“I really hope that I can change attitudes,” he told The Telegraph. “When you are born this way, you have no choice. So many people are hiding who they truly are, so I really wanted to give the trans community visibility. Show that we’re just normal people.”
“There was no hero to look up to,” he continued. “But, when I ended my transition, I thought to myself, ‘Why can’t you be that hero for somebody?’ So that’s what I’m aiming for. If I can reach just one person, I will be more than happy. I want to give hope and comfort to those who ask themselves every day why they were not born in a different body.”
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Men’s Health posted this photo to their Instagram account — Melzer is second from right.
He also promoted his cover on his own Instagram page.
Approximately a year ago, the American edition of the magazine featured 27-year-old transgender man Aydian Dowling on a cover. The European version of the magazine has 50,000 copies available for online purchase and people already subscribing.