1. Buck Angel

 Angel’s family was totally cool with his tomboy nature when he was a kid. But, when he started to show male characteristics from around age 16, the family didn’t approve of the changing tide. He was even sent to therapy. Angel wasn’t aware of the gender dysphoria treatment, and so stayed a struggling man in a female’s body for years.

Today, as an American trans man, he is an adult film producer, a motivational speaker, and has also bagged the AVN award for Transsexual Performer of the Year in 2007. What’s more, he has also served as a member of the Board of directors in Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance: An organization, which since 2010, has been working to promote sexual freedom as a human right, through means of advocacy and education.

2. Loren Cameron

 Having lived his early years as a self-described tomboy on his father’s farm, from age 16 on, he started to identify himself sexually and socially as a lesbian. Unsurprisingly, the homophobic attitude of his small town Arkansas didn’t approve of his desires. Consequently, Cameron left home to travel the country and worked as a construction labourer. He stayed a lesbian till he was 26, after which, he realized his dissatisfaction with his female body and consequently, Cameron was reborn as a man.

Today, he is a photographer and his works usually include portraiture and self-portraiture of clothed and nude lesbians and transsexual bodies.

3. Ian Harvie

Harvie knew in his heart that he was a transgender at a very early age, but didn’t come out as one until age 32. He had revealed himself as queer at age 19, though. Today, he is a stand-up comedian who often uses his transsexuality as a subject to tickle people. The guests at his show are either all LGBT or have a connection with the community in some or the other way.

4. Katastrophe

Popularly known by his stage name Katastrophe, Rocco Kayiatos is allegedly the first transgender singer in the hip-hop genre. An acclaimed rap artist, his works touch the areas outside of the concerns of education, gender, culture. For example: The issues of community, space, privilege, sex, and self-worth. He uses his own struggles as a trans man in his rap songs.

5. Thomas Beatie

 Born Tracy Lehuanani LaGondino, from age 10, Beatie started to recognize himself as a man, and by age 23, he started undergoing testosterone hormone treatment. In March 2002, he underwent sex reassignment surgery but kept his reproductive organs intact.

Since his wife Nancy was infertile, Beatie chose to become pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007. He gave birth thrice in three years, becoming the world’s first pregnant man. And eventually, he regained his manly, muscular and toned body.

6. Ryan Sallans

 Born Kimberly Ann Sallans, Ryan started transitioning physically and socially into a man in 2005. During his transitional period, he was featured in a LOGO documentary, Gender Rebel.

Working as a trainer and speaker since 1999, Sallans usually focussed on the issues revolving around eating disorders (since he too was a victim of anorexia), body image issues, and overall wellness. But after his transformation into a trans man in 2005, he started to emphasize on transgender issues as well.

Sallans is also an author.

 7. Balian Buschbaum

 A former German pole vaulter, Buschbaum’s personal best ranking placed him second among German pole vaulters. However, he retired from the sport in 2007 because of a persistent injury, and to address the inner calling that urged him to undergo gender transformation. In 2008, he changed his first name to Balian from the former Yvonne and eventually, underwent gender reassignment surgery.

8. Andreas Krieger

 Similarly to Balian Buschbaum, Andreas competed as Heidi Krieger, a former woman German shot putter, before becoming a trans man. However, his story of transition isn’t the regular I-wanted-to-become-a-man-so-became. His transition was more of a requirement, born out of years of being unknowingly doped with anabolic steroids by East German sports officials. As a result of this, his body chemistry was disturbed and, a sound solution to this was gender reassignment surgery.

But, it isn’t likely that he didn’t want to become a man. Krieger accepted having suffered gender dysphoria before even being doped, but he regrets not having been able to undergo actual transition without doping abuses.

9.  Chaz Salvatore Bono

Born Chastity Sun Bono, before undergoing gender transformation and becoming Chaz Bono in mid-2008, he outed as a lesbian in 1995. Born to popular American entertainer parents Sonny and Cher, Chaz Bono works as an advocate, writer, musician, and an actor.

10. Lucas Silveira

 At age 3 itself, Lucas knew exactly what he was. But, unaware of an identity to give to his true self, he struggled. Once, he even asked his mother to buy him a penis like how all his brothers had. When he first came to know about transgender people living on Geraldo Rivera, he outed as a lesbian and lived like one for years.

He underwent hormone replacement therapy to start his gender transformation in 2010.