Belinda Hogg, Kallos sthenos (PEOPLE 2024)

I met Val at a calisthenics competition I was photographing. Though cleanshaven and painted to match the women he shared the stage with, I could not take my eyes off him. I later learned Val is a trans man– to his knowledge, the first one in the sport. From the Greek kallos (beauty) and sthenos (emotional strength), calisthenics is a uniquely Australian sport with a matriarchal culture spanning centuries. Until 2024, males over fifteen were barred from competing. This photo was taken five weeks after Val's top-surgery. Coincidentally The Australian Calisthenics Federation had passed their momentous gender inclusion policy the previous night.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.