Help Kenny yeet his teets!!!
This is my friend Kenny. Kenny is 28 years old, I can hands down say he is one of the most caring and selfless people I know. Kenny spends all his time working on the gym floor educating others and inspiring them with his own weightloss journey but if you can't find him there you can find him in the studio teaching. This is probably where he is his happiest - Just watching him teach is incredible, the participants seem to underestimate his abilities (especially when it comes to HIIT or Bootcamp style classes).
For those who do no know Kenny I'll tell you a little about his story, you see Kenny has been hiding his true self for the past 27years. In November 2020, in a year that we all have found extremely difficult, he made the leap and decided enough was enough, he had to be true to himself so he came out as Transgender. I haven't ever really known much about being trans or about how difficult this journey really is, I've asked questions and Kenny is always more than happy to help educate me on the ins and outs. It was only recently that I found out that NHS waiting times to be diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria (which is a must) before you can even look at starting Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) yet alone anything else are a minimum of 42months (barbaric if you ask me - someone has to continue to live in a body that they don't feel they should be in!!!) Kenny has worked hours upon hours (whilst the gyms where open) to try save the money for private treatment, he has successfully saved the money to have his diagnosis and start HRT. His next steps are to look at "top surgery" (a double mastectomy) and refuses to ask for help to save this money, in his eyes he feels that there are people in more desparate need of the money (which yes isn't wrong but that in itself shows how selfless he is) which is why I decided to create this page for him.
The walls that Transgender and non binary people need to climb and the battles they need to fight to be who they truly are astonish me, I can't imagine what it must be like to wake up EVERYDAY in a body that doesn't match your thoughts and how you feel. I have joked and said if I woke up in a woman's body I'd love it (I think most men have said that, am I right??) but in actual fact unless I was told that tomorrow I will be in a woman's body for just a day I'd freak out. To just wake up and be in a body that doesn't match my mindset would really effect me mentally and it's only since realizing that that I have come to see just how much pain (mentally) these people are in. I think 27yrs is more than long enough to try and live by the gender you were assigned at birth, Kenny has 100% given it a stab but just simply can not find the happiness he truly deserves.
I spoke to Kenny the day he found out he was approved for HRT and he cried, like he really cried - the joy I saw on his face was the joy I had when my son was born. His eyes lit up and I saw a spark that I've never seen in Kenny before, now I've only known him a couple of years but I feel I know him pretty well or so I thought (because I thought that he seemed happiest when he was teaching his beloved Les Mills RPM and Sprint classes). If he shone that much teaching those in a body he didn't feel comfortable in then I can't begin to imagine the things this young man will achieve when he can finally live as the man he was meant to be.
I aim to help Kenny raise as much as I can towards his top surgery, so he can finally start living as his authentic self.
There’s no way to sugar coat it when we say that the support for transgender and non binary people on the NHS is near enough non-existent due to lack of funding and education in this field. There's so much more I know Kenny wants to do and achieve and this wait is holding him back from truly doing those things without pain and discomfort and some days just a hatred of what he sees and feels.
This surgery would give him the liberation to be himself. Kenny dreams of something that most people his age don’t even think about. I want him to look in the mirror (there are a lot of those in his field of work) and truly smile. I want him to be able to go to start going out with friends rather than hiding away, I want him to feel safe and comfortable, I don't want him to have to worry about what to wear so that he can "pass". This surgery will give Kenny the freedom he deserves. That and so much more. It really is that simple.
Those who know him personally will know that he is beyond stubborn, especially when it comes to asking for help and support. So here I am, asking for anything you can spare; a moment of your time, a donation or simply sharing this page with someone that might be able to help. A donation however small or insignificant you may think it is, means the world not only to me but will change Kenny's life. Each donation will get him that one step closer to being truly happy. It will add all add up to the single most life changing event of his journey. Top surgery. A mans chest.
The one thing I can promise you in return of your act of kindness is that will be paid forward. Kenny is working hard at trying to raise awareness for those who like himself suffer on a daily basis. He is trying to make sure that those who follow will not have to go through the same battles that he is facing everyday. He is going to be keeping track of his progress and the highs and lows of his transition which you can follow on his social media:
Instagram: Becoming_Kenny https://www.instagram.com/becoming_kenny/
Tiktok: BecomingKenny https://www.tiktok.com/@becomingkenny?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read about Kenny's story. If you have any questions about Kenny or his journey, or perhaps have any suggestions as too how we can achieve this target it would be highly appreciated if you left a comment. Thank you again, for all your support.