8 Transgender Athletes Explain How Fitness And Movement Changed Their Lives

    Transgender people face a particular set of challenges when it comes to spaces where people exercise and compete. Here, eight athletes tell BuzzFeed Life about their experiences with fitness, movement, and competition.

    1. The yogi

    2. The running CrossFitter

    3. The MMA fighter

    4. The track star turned weightlifter

    5. The CrossFit coach and competitor

    6. The martial artist and bodybuilding enthusiast

    7. The fitness coach

    8. The triathlete and trans activist

    Interviews have been edited for space.

    Niki Brown competes in local fitness competitions. The original post mistakenly said he competes in local CrossFit competitions.

    The events described related to Chloie Jonsson all took place in 2013; rather than having qualified for the 2013 CrossFit Games, Jonsson was, she says, invited by a team to join them as an alternate. And, according to her lawsuit complaint, it was actually in spring 2013 that she was told by CrossFit Games general manager Justin Bergh that competitors must register under their original gender. CrossFit’s general counsel later confirmed that she would “need to compete in the Men’s Division.” An earlier version of the post mistakenly said it was the 2014 CrossFit Games Regionals, that Jonsson qualified for a highly competitive spot as a team alternate, and that it was at that time that CrossFit HQ told her she’d have to compete in the men’s division.