Aydian Dowling Talks About the Final Stages of his Men’s Health Cover Journey

Nearing the end of his journey to adorn the cover of Men’s Health and be dubbed “The Ultimate Guy,” trans fitness model Aydian Dowling has started looking back at his journey and sifting through the process to decide what his most valuable takeaways are.

As any darling of the internet would, Dowling took to YouTube and joined fellow vlogger Raymond Braun to talk about what he’s learned along the way and how he’s handling being one of the most visible trans men in the world.

As one of the five finalists in the Men’s Health contest, Dowling is guaranteed a spread in the magazine and could still land on the cover. He told Braun that meeting the other four finalists was nerve-wracking. “We’re all just different kinds of guys trying to better our community,” he said.

Dowling also spoke with Braun about backhanded compliments he often receives, whether intentional or not, and how he’s embraced his icon status and is proud to be a role model for young trans men.

Watch below.