The hundreds of men competing to land the cover of Men’s Health magazine are nearly all buff, tattooed, and fond of bathroom selfies, and they look like they know their way around a bench press. Aydian Dowling is no different. The 27-year-old fitness fanatic is ranked No. 1 in the magazine’s “Ultimate Guy Search,” a nationwide contest to elect one health-conscious, physically fit, and socially aware American man for the cover of its November 2015 issue.

But for Dowling, the contest is about more than just his ego—it’s a chance to redefine what it means to be a man. Dowling is transgender, and he’s documented his transition in a series of diary-style YouTube videos over the last six years, building up a fan base of more than 15,000 subscribers who tune in for his candid talks on everything from coming out and hormone replacement therapy to surgery and recovery.

“This was the search for the ultimate man, a man who is well-rounded in all things, so I really felt like, you know, I am a man also,” Dowling told TakePart, speaking by phone from his home in Eugene, Oregon, where he lives with his wife and runs the LGBT-oriented clothing company Point 5cc. “It’s a big deal,” he says. “It puts affirmation on trans men being men.”

Dowling uses a sports analogy to describe himself as a member of a team working toward a common goal: transgender awareness and visibility. “I’m the ball in Roller Derby,” he says, referring to a game in which one player acts as a human ball. “You can’t get points until the rest of the team pushes the ball. Right now I happen to be the ball, and I have no problem smashing down some barriers when I have thousands of people pushing me.”

Among those thousands of supporters are YouTube stars and LGBT activists Hannah Hart and Tyler Oakley, both of whom re-blogged a post about Dowling’s bid to be the “Ultimate Guy” on their Tumblr pages earlier this week. At the time of this writing, Dowling had racked up more than 24,000 votes—about three times those of his closest competitor—but he says he hadn’t even considered entering the contest until his fans suggested it via email.

While the winner is selected based on a combination of factors, such as physical fitness, community service, and professional success, it’s not determined by reader votes alone. A panel of judges including Kenneth Cole, Sofia Vergara, and Men’s Health editor in chief Bill Phillips will decide who wins when the voting period closes on June 21.