Trans teen beats Eating Disorder and undergoes Amazing Transformation to triumph in Bodybuilding Contest
A transgender teenager has triumphed in a bodybuilding contest after he turned his life around by beating a dangerous eating disorder.
Alex Tilinca, 18, hit rock bottom in 2016, after developing an eating disorder that saw him consume only one meal every 24 hours and weighs himself up to four times a day.
The teenager, who was born female, succeeded in turning his life around and competed against cisgender bodybuilders at the Victor Martinez’s Legends Bodybuilding Competition in New York on August 24.
After clinching first place in “Teen Classic Physique”, and second place in “Novice Classic Physique” and “Junior Classic Physique”, he wants to use his success to show the world that trans people “are not victims” and can do anything they set their minds to.
Speaking to Metro UK about transitioning from a female to male, Alex, originally named Alexandra, said: “I didn’t really understand how I felt but I just didn’t want to have anything to do with being a female. I felt really uncomfortable with the fact that people saw me as a female.
“It was like living third party to myself. I was just going with the flow because I had to, not because I wanted to. I felt really wrong, deep down.”
After Alex watched videos about gender dysphoria on YouTube, he finally put a name to what he felt. He came out to his mum at age 11 and was met with love and understanding and began to transition at age 12. But two years later, he became angry and painfully envious of those who were born male around him.
Doctors had recommended that he lost some weight to ensure minimal scarring for his top surgery, but after losing the weight, the teenager became consumed by the idea that he had to lose as much weight as possible to look masculine. He became “terrified” to eat. At a time, he weighed just 100 pounds and was going to bed every night hating himself.
He said: “I had dysphoria, so I saw myself as hugely feminine, even though people around me were like ‘You’re really skinny, you might want to put some weight on’.”
He added: “I felt very trapped. I felt very helpless, like no matter what I did, it wouldn’t be enough. I always felt like I needed to overcompensate for the fact I was trans.”
Alex became interested in fitness after watching bodybuilding videos online. Soon enough, he set his mind on becoming a bodybuilder himself. Three years after beginning his journey back to health, Alex has now transformed his body and continues to take his physique to the next level by training at the gym.
The bodybuilder says that, as a trans man, he has found the most acceptance in the bodybuilding world.
Following his success in the amateur competition, he plans to take three to four years off to build muscle and ultimately aims to become the first transgender male to win the Mr Olympia title.
Alex said: “If a transgender male is able to compete against men who are born men, it’s inspiring for everyone, not just transgender people. It shows there’s no excuse”.
He continued: “I want to show that we’re not victims. People always kind of live under the assumption that we need their help and bodybuilding is like a physical embodiment of mental willpower and strength to me.”