Benjamin Melzer

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Benjamin Melzer (2016)

Benjamin "Ben" Ryan Melzer (* 1987 in Recklinghausen as Yvonne Melzer ) is a German model , transgender activist and blogger . In April 2016, he was the first trans man as a model on the cover of the lifestyle and fitness magazine Men's Health .

Life

Melzer grew up in Marl . He was born with female sexual characteristics and was named Yvonne. Even as a child, Melzer did not want to wear clothes and always gave himself boy names when playing with children of the same age. According to reports and memories from his mother, he was dissatisfied, unhappy and rebellious as a child. Melzer had first conscious doubts about his sexual identity during puberty , when his breasts grew and the beard did not grow. At the age of 18 he saw a report on television about Chaz Bono , the son of Cher , which made him aware of his transsexuality .

At the age of 23, Melzer decided to take gender reassignment measures . He first started hormone therapy with testosterone . In the following two years a total of eleven operations followed, eight of them in the abdomen alone, during which his breasts, ovaries and uterus were surgically removed and numerous hormone treatments; Finally, there was an artificial penis construction . In the meantime, Melzer's birth certificate has also been adjusted and the civil status change has been carried out; He now carries civil law the real name Benjamin Ryan Melzer . After completed sex reassignment Melzer dedicated to the construction of his male body with strength training , weight training and fitness .

In April 2016, Melzer was the cover model of the lifestyle and fitness magazine Men's Health , together with the four other winners and finalists in the title model contest . He was the first transgender man and the first male transgender model on the men 's health front page. In May 2016, Melzer stood in front of the camera for a New York model agency specializing in transgender models for a photo shoot on the Brooklyn Bridge . Melzer's modeling career has been reported in numerous national newspapers ( Bild , Tagesspiegel , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ), news magazines ( Der Spiegel , Focus ) and magazines.

In May 2016 Melzer was seen as an actor in the pseudo-reality documentary rent, buy, live . In the new advertising campaign “Be yourself” by the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz , which started in mid-2017, he can be seen in the first commercial with the motto #growuplikethis together with Heiner Lauterbach ; Melzer tells his story in the spot and reports on his life today.

Melzer is active as a blogger and activist for the transgender movement. He now has over 100,000 followers in various social networks . Melzer also operates its own Instagram profile with currently (as of October 2018) almost 94,000 followers. Ashton Kutcher also congratulated him on his successful career as a transgender model via Facebook . In the spring of 2020, his autobiography Finally Ben was published. Transgender - My way from girl to man at Eden Books .

Melzer continues to work as a salesperson in sales . For several years he was in a relationship with his partner Zara, whom he had met at the beginning of his testosterone treatment. His sporting hobbies include water sports such as surfing and wakeboarding , as well as extreme sports and cliff jumping . He lived in Oer-Erkenschwick for several years . Melzer is in a relationship with Sissi Hofbauer, the younger sister of the former " Bachelorette " Anna Hofbauer , and now lives in Munich .

Autobiography

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Carolin Unger: How Yvonne became Ben: I used to be a girl. In: image . February 2, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017
  2. ↑ a b c d e Benjamin Melzer: "Men's Health" shows transgender model on cover for the first time . In: Spiegel Online . March 23, 2016, accessed June 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ a b From girl to dream man: male model after sex reassignment . WDR . February 1, 2016, accessed June 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Successful as a transgender: How a woman became a male model. . In: Stern TV . May 18, 2016, accessed June 6, 2017.
  5. ↑ Benjamin Melzer: First transgender model on cover of "Men's Health". In: Tagesspiegel . March 23, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  6. ↑ Benjamin Melzer: “Men's Health” shows transgender model on cover for the first time. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . March 23, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  7. ↑ Transgender model Benjamin Melzer used to be a girl and was called Yvonne. In: Focus . March 23, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  8. ↑ Transmann as the cover model of a men's magazine. In: Focus . March 23, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ rent, buy, live: six years ago Benjamin was still called Yvonne . VOX . May 3, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Be yourself" - Transgender star Benjamin. Blu.FM . June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  11. ↑ BENJAMIN MELZER: egoshooter . Benjamin Melzer's Instagram profile. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  12. ↑ Finally Ben | Benjamin Melzer . Official website of Eden Books. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  13. ↑ Review “Endlich Ben” by Benjamin Melzer . Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  14. ↑ CONTEST: Trans man as a cover model for Men's Health . Siegessäule.de. November 1, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  15. ↑ Sissi Hofbauer and transgender model Ben Melzer want kids . Promiflash.de on March 21, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  16. ↑ The difficult road from girl to man: Interview with transgender model Ben Melzer . Interview with Benjamin Melzer. Editorial network Germany from March 29, 2020. Accessed April 27, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Melzer, Benjamin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Melzer, Benjamin Ryan (full name); Melzer, Ben Ryan (nickname); Melzer, Yvonne (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German model, transgender activist and blogger
DATE OF BIRTH 1987
PLACE OF BIRTH Recklinghausen