The trek to shifting cultural norms continues as we explore what it takes to change the future of sports for transgender and non-binary athletes. In Nike FM Broadcast’s second episode of season two, our host and global civil rights activist, Janaya Future Khan (they/them), speaks to Canadian professional footballer and Olympic gold medallist, Quinn, (they/them) about their experience as an openly transgender Olympian. From Berlin, Wayv Run Kollektiv share how they empower people through their love of running, while in Chicago, non-profit organisation, GenderCool, sets out to make the stories of trans and non-binary youth impactful.

The exhaustion of being misrepresented is what nudged Quinn (they/them) to come out as trans— feeling a responsibility to themself and to shifting a broader narrative. “I see my gender as changing every single day, and I think that’s like, through self-exploration and through finding new confidence with going against, you know, the stereotypes and the boxes that society is trying to put you in,” Quinn (they/them) says.

Quinn(they/them) is worried about being a bigger voice and having only a handful of figures instead of raising everyone else up with them. They see this as not quite representative of the community. “There’s a bigger narrative going on, but unfortunately the most vulnerable of the population is being picked on, and that’s youth,” Quinn (they/them) adds.

Berlin-based running club, Wayv Run Kollektiv, was founded by Daniel Marin Medina and Thi Minh Huyen Nguyen in 2019. It exists to empower Black, Brown, queer, female, trans, Muslim and underrepresented bodies in sports. Jarred, one of the team members says, “the running community is stereotypically and traditionally very white, and very cisgender, and heterosexual, and our group is a mix of, everything.” 

In Chicago, non-profit organisation, GenderCool, was birthed out of the need to share and make an impact using positive stories of trans and non-binary youth. Director of champion engagement, Dezjorn Gauthier, says this is to “allow folks to have an experience with a trans or non-binary youth, to see that we are all one.” Eve, one of the GenderCool champions, shares that the one tip she would give coaches who are interested in coaching trans and non-binary youth, it would be to treat them the way they would any other athlete.

You can watch the full episode here, as well as all other previous episodes.