| Founded | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , |
FTM Fitness World is a company created in 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia, US, by Neo Sandja, a transgender man. [1] In 2014, it launched its first annual conference dedicated to the transgender community. With its motto "Fitness for the mind, body and spirit", the idea was to create a 3-day conference where transgender people could improve their lives in five main areas: wellness (including health, fitness, and nutrition), spirituality, relationships, finances and personal development. The conference included the first historical bodybuilding competition for transgender people, [2] [3] won by Shawn Stinson. [4]
The second annual competition in 2015, known as TransFitCon, was the first to be covered by mainstream media. [5] [6] In the third annual competition, the organization added a powerlifting competition with Janae Marie Kroc as the head judge, rebranding the competition as the International Association of Trans Bodybuilders. [6] Since then, competitions have been held every year, [7] [8] [9] [10] with divisions for lightweight, middleweight, heavyweight, and masters competitors. [7] Originally just for transgender men, open-gender divisions were added in 2018, and transgender women's divisions was added in 2019. [6] The transgender male and female categories determine eligibility based on hormone replacement therapy status, while the open category is open to all competitors. [11]
For many of the participating athletes, being able to participate as their experienced gender, in clothing that aligned with their gender, was extremely gender affirming. [7] [12] [13] Others noted the empowering nature of bodybuilding as a sport, and the welcoming community. [7] [13]
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