You may remember 27-year-old trans activist Aydian Dowling from his smoking-hot recreation of Adam Levine's notorious 2011 nude portrait, which Dowling shot for the April issue of FTM Magazine. If you haven't seen it, stop reading immediately and click through. Finished? Welcome back. Now, we can all share in the excitement that Dowling may soon lend his piercing gaze and chiseled torso to the cover of Men's Health magazine. Dowling is currently winning the magazine's "Ultimate Guy Search" to find "a guy who is fit and fearless, a doer who gives back and leads by example," to be on the cover of the magazine.
"It's crazy," Dowling told PEOPLE. "It's phenomenal, the amount of support it's gotten — how many people have re-tweeted and re-blogged and re-posted and liked and shared and commented and voted."
Dowling rose to social-media prominence as he documented his transition on his YouTube channel, A Lion's Fears, where he continues to share his personal story. View the video below for his take on his success thus far in the "Ultimate Guy Search." Then, head to Men's Health to cast your vote. Dowling's not the only trans man in the competition, and he encourages voters to consider supporting any of the transgender entrants. A trans cover model would be a Men's Health first — and would bring visibility for the trans community at large.
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