A transgender bodybuilder from Vietnam promoting LGBTIQ rights has been making headlines across the conservative country.

27-year-old Nguyen Thi Trang, who has been using the name “Kendy” after coming out as a trans man, is currently busy practicing in hopes of capturing gold at Vietnam’s national bodybuilding competition.

He claims the title of Vietnam’s first openly trans male bodybuilder and has become a role model in the local LGBTQ community, which is facing a turning point in the fight for equality.

Vietnam is set to make sexual reassignment surgery legal in 2017, also allowing trans people to change their ID documents to match their gender identity.

– with other agencies