Help me to be the man of my dreams.
Donation protected
Hi everyone! My name is Blaine. I am a 27 year old transgender man. I am looking to raise money in order to finally get top surgery here, in Austin, Texas.
Before I dive into the fun stuff, let me share a bit about myself. My story is far from bland and boring. I was born in Georgia to a single mother with 3 kids. We grew up with a lot of inconsistencies and challenges. My mother did her best to raise me, my older brother, and my younger sister who has brain damage. Due to the extreme challenges we faced growing up, my mom did what a lot of moms do, and she married a man who promised to help provide for our family. Sadly, those events didn’t take place. We moved to Alaska of all places, where challenges got just as bad as the weather conditions. My mother was stuck in a bad marriage and as kids, we were stuck in a tough environment. We lived in dry cabins with no running water, no toilet, just an out house or a bucket. We got about 2 showers a week at a local spot in town, or in my case in the high school locker room showers. My mother did her best, but life was tough for so many reasons. Being trans never made any of that easier, but as a kid, I didn’t really know who I was or what I wanted.
Throughout high school, I did everything I could to avoid being home. I joined every sport I could and got a job to earn money for my first pair of basketball shoes. I hung out with an intellectual crowd who seemed to always be 50 steps ahead of me. But I wanted the lives they had. So I kept them close.
Post college, I became a security escort for the United States missile field on Fort Greely in Alaska. From there, I found other passions through fitness and worked in the military gym establishment. I became a wild land firefighter, ranking number 1 out of 43 in my fitness scores. I then made it my passion to help others become their best selves as a personal trainer. There was something about seeing before and after photos side by side, where the first photo is pale and the person seems so sad, and then the after photo is them completely transforming into this beautiful, confident, and happy person. I loved it.
I came out as trans publicly at 20. I started hormones, and had my first HRT shot in my front yard with the help of my mom. I didn’t realize how much testosterone would affect me, but it played a huge role on my mental health. In positive ways and negative.
Being a trainer had its downsides. I had to sacrifice healthcare and reliable hours in order to maintain the joy I felt from the job. With no car, I would catch rides or literally run 4 miles to get to work. I could hardly afford my hormones, and I lied to my doctors when I couldn’t afford my blood work and would just reschedule the same appointment over and over. It definitely caught up to me. I then transitioned into helping people with fitness by stepping down as a coach, and becoming the manager/sales lead at another fitness studio. I thought I could still help people along their fitness journey while making a little bit more money. Even still, if you’ve worked in that industry, you know healthcare is rare to non existent. So I finally put myself first and quit! It was one of the hardest and most emotional decisions I’ve ever made.
I soon landed a job at Google and it became the first step in me getting my life together. I finally got a car, found the girl of my dreams, and started working in a place where being trans was accepted and respected. I never had to be stealth or hide the biggest parts of myself. I could thrive in a world of professionals and diversity… or so I thought.
After landing my surgery date, and signing a lease to a brand new apartment, I got laid off. Google made some necessary cuts, so my home away from home is now gone. With that, so are so many opportunities missed that I could’ve used to develop my career and save to achieve my surgery deadline. Now I am in a pickle.
I am asking people to consider helping if possible. I have made so many powerful connections over my wide variety of jobs and experiences. From moving to Alaska, then to Washington, then Texas… I have had my heart touched by so many, and I hope my heart has touched enough to help make my dreams a reality. Help me become the person in the After photo. I have put off myself and my needs long enough. Help me to care for myself in a way that I am too unfortunate to do at this time. Any remaining money earned will be passed along to another fellow trans person in need of gender reaffirming surgery. Thank you in advance for all of your kindness and generosity. I hope to see you all with my brand new smile and brand new confidence once I receive this life changing surgery.
Before I dive into the fun stuff, let me share a bit about myself. My story is far from bland and boring. I was born in Georgia to a single mother with 3 kids. We grew up with a lot of inconsistencies and challenges. My mother did her best to raise me, my older brother, and my younger sister who has brain damage. Due to the extreme challenges we faced growing up, my mom did what a lot of moms do, and she married a man who promised to help provide for our family. Sadly, those events didn’t take place. We moved to Alaska of all places, where challenges got just as bad as the weather conditions. My mother was stuck in a bad marriage and as kids, we were stuck in a tough environment. We lived in dry cabins with no running water, no toilet, just an out house or a bucket. We got about 2 showers a week at a local spot in town, or in my case in the high school locker room showers. My mother did her best, but life was tough for so many reasons. Being trans never made any of that easier, but as a kid, I didn’t really know who I was or what I wanted.
Throughout high school, I did everything I could to avoid being home. I joined every sport I could and got a job to earn money for my first pair of basketball shoes. I hung out with an intellectual crowd who seemed to always be 50 steps ahead of me. But I wanted the lives they had. So I kept them close.
Post college, I became a security escort for the United States missile field on Fort Greely in Alaska. From there, I found other passions through fitness and worked in the military gym establishment. I became a wild land firefighter, ranking number 1 out of 43 in my fitness scores. I then made it my passion to help others become their best selves as a personal trainer. There was something about seeing before and after photos side by side, where the first photo is pale and the person seems so sad, and then the after photo is them completely transforming into this beautiful, confident, and happy person. I loved it.
I came out as trans publicly at 20. I started hormones, and had my first HRT shot in my front yard with the help of my mom. I didn’t realize how much testosterone would affect me, but it played a huge role on my mental health. In positive ways and negative.
Being a trainer had its downsides. I had to sacrifice healthcare and reliable hours in order to maintain the joy I felt from the job. With no car, I would catch rides or literally run 4 miles to get to work. I could hardly afford my hormones, and I lied to my doctors when I couldn’t afford my blood work and would just reschedule the same appointment over and over. It definitely caught up to me. I then transitioned into helping people with fitness by stepping down as a coach, and becoming the manager/sales lead at another fitness studio. I thought I could still help people along their fitness journey while making a little bit more money. Even still, if you’ve worked in that industry, you know healthcare is rare to non existent. So I finally put myself first and quit! It was one of the hardest and most emotional decisions I’ve ever made.
I soon landed a job at Google and it became the first step in me getting my life together. I finally got a car, found the girl of my dreams, and started working in a place where being trans was accepted and respected. I never had to be stealth or hide the biggest parts of myself. I could thrive in a world of professionals and diversity… or so I thought.
After landing my surgery date, and signing a lease to a brand new apartment, I got laid off. Google made some necessary cuts, so my home away from home is now gone. With that, so are so many opportunities missed that I could’ve used to develop my career and save to achieve my surgery deadline. Now I am in a pickle.
I am asking people to consider helping if possible. I have made so many powerful connections over my wide variety of jobs and experiences. From moving to Alaska, then to Washington, then Texas… I have had my heart touched by so many, and I hope my heart has touched enough to help make my dreams a reality. Help me become the person in the After photo. I have put off myself and my needs long enough. Help me to care for myself in a way that I am too unfortunate to do at this time. Any remaining money earned will be passed along to another fellow trans person in need of gender reaffirming surgery. Thank you in advance for all of your kindness and generosity. I hope to see you all with my brand new smile and brand new confidence once I receive this life changing surgery.
Organizer and beneficiary
Blaine Amory
Organizer
Austin, TX
Kaylee Mcmillion
Beneficiary