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Hunky Transgender Man finds Success as a Male Model
'When I look in the mirror, I am satisfied': Hunky transgender man finds success as a male model just two years after he started taking testosterone
- Laith Ashley, 26, says he knew there was a 'misalignment' between his body and mind when he was a five-year-old girl
- He came out as gay to his parents at 17 but didn't realize he was trans until many years later
- He walked the runway at New York Fashion Week in February and also appeared in a Barney's New York campaign
- Whoopi Goldberg and Laverne Cox are fans of the New Yorker, who also has quite a following on Instagram
Hot stuff: Laith Ashley is finding success is finding success in the modeling world as a transgender man
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A hunky New York model who's racked up tens of thousands of Instagram followers is known for his piercing eyes, broad shoulders, and sexy six-pack — and, if you know his backstory, the fact that he used to be a woman.
Laith Ashley, 26, has been finding success in the modeling world since he started transitioning two years ago, walking in shows for Adrian Alicea and Gypsy Sport during New York Fashion Week this February and even posing for a Barney's New York campaign with legendary fashion photographer Bruce Weber.
'Being a model now is definitely exciting. I'm always shocked when I'm walking to the gym or going to the store and people recognize me. It makes me feel good, but it can be a bit of shock.
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Strutting his stuff: The 26-year-old New Yorker walked in several shows during New York Fashion Week in February.
New career: Laith said he never expected to be a model but is having fun in the industry
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The muscular New Yorker was just five when he noticed the 'misalignment' with his body and gender identity, he said. When he was a 17-year-old girl, still not quite sure of who he was, he came out as gay to his parents.
'At the time I didn't know what transgender was, so I just told them I had a girlfriend,' he explained. 'But I never felt right with the idea of being a lesbian woman.'
Finally, a year before he medically transitioned, he broke the news to his mom.
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He always knew: He said that he realized their was a 'misalignment' between his body and mind when he was just five (pictured)
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'My mom is Pentecostal Christian, and although she loves me she felt it conflicted with her faith,' he said, adding that she now brags about him to her friends at church. 'My dad was fine. I told him that if he is proud of me, it takes away the power of people who criticize. Who cares what other people think, if he is proud?'
After two years of being on testosterone, Laith underwent surgery in 2015.
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Big changes: Two years ago, he began testosterone treatment, and medically transitioned in 2015
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Still, he's been thrown a bit off-balance by all of the attention. Since he began modeling, he's earned almost 60,000 Instagram followers and support from celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg and transgender actress Laverne Cox. But while the attention was exciting at first, it soon became too much.
'I went through a period of being very overwhelmed. I focused on all the negative comments I was receiving and just wanted to disappear,' he said. 'I never thought of myself as a role model. It was a label placed upon me after my photos began circulating through social media.'
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Getting into the big time: He has more than 55,000 Instagram followers and counts Whoopi Goldberg and Laverne Cox as fans.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar...#ixzz42S2CZEv0
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So he came out as a lesbian before he realized that he was trans?