In December, 34-year-old boxer Patricio Manuel became the first transgender man to participate in a professional boxing match. He won the fight, and now he's making waves for another first.
Iconic boxing company Everlast announced on Thursday Manuel would be the face of their new Be First campaign.
"I'm incredibly honored to have been selected to tell my story in Everlast's Be First campaign. Everlast is such a fixture in the sport and to have such an iconic athletic company recognize me as I am — as a professional boxer who is transgender — is a dream come true," Manuel told CNN in an interview.
Manuel started out as a decorated boxer in the women's division, winning five USA National Amateur Boxing Championships. He secured an invite to the 2012 Olympics trials, but an injury during the tournament changed his life.
He injured his shoulder and had no choice but to drop out of the trials. It was during his rehab that he realized he was a trans man and wanted to transition.
On his journey to transitioning, he said his coach resigned, he lost two jobs and trainers refused to work with him.
Manuel said it took years of him challenging the boxing commissions to change the rules and allow transgender men to compete.
“A lot of people in boxing who I talked to, they would come to me and say, ‘You could have been one of the greatest female world champions, though you would throw it all away to be yourself.’ And I tell them 'That’s how bad I felt living that lie.' Living your truth is going to hurt, but it’s worth it,” Manuel said.
“There are so many people that have said that it’s impossible for someone like me, a trans man, to be able to compete against a non-trans man and win and I proved them all wrong that night. I walked out of that fight with my first victory and it was a victory greater than just having my successful pro debut. I think that it challenged a lot of people’s assumptions about what people like me are able to do,” he added.
It took years before he could get back in the ring. He eventually did in December, beating Hugo Aguilar at the Fantasy Spring Resort Casino in Indio, California.
He said his love for boxing is what kept him going through his trials and tribulations.
"It was boxing that brought me back into my body. It was boxing that made me proud of what I was physically able to do," he said.
In a statement, Everlast said Manuel was a trailblazer who worked tirelessly to prove himself to his peers. He now joins past Everlast stars like Jack Dempsey and Sugar Ray Robinson.
"At a time when transgender people are being questioned whether we have a place in the sporting world or even being recognized by the world at large, for Everlast to endorse me is huge. It's a bold statement and I think it personifies the saying 'Be First,'" Manuel said.
"I really hope it pushes other companies to think outside the box. This world is so incredibly diverse, we all deserve to have our identities and stories highlighted," he added.
