Transgender fitness model Ben Melzer
will be featured on the cover of the April issue of the German
edition of Men's Health.
According to various
media reports, Melzer's turn on the glossy's cover will make him
the first transgender man to appear on the cover of a men's fitness
magazine in Europe.
Melzer entered and won a cover model
contest held by the German magazine.
In an interview with Now
This, Melzer said that he wanted to become a spokesman for
the transgender community.
“When I was in that situation [of
struggling with my gender identity], I had nobody to talk to, nobody
to ask all these questions,” he said. “That's what I want to do.
I want to give the community a face, stand up and answer those
questions for people.”
Last year, the U.S. edition of Men's
Health included its first transgender man in a special
collector's edition issue. Aydian Dowling was in the running to win
the 2015 Ultimate Guy Cover Contest. He lost the cover to Tim
Boniface, but readers picked Dowling as their favorite.