SPORT
A different kind of brave
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I don ’ t want anyone else to feel alone like I did – transgender firefighter tells William Murphy .
Two minutes into my conversation with Cheshire firefighter Nic Brennan and he ’ s already advising me on my new year ’ s gym routine . “ You ’ ve got to focus on different muscle groups in each session and stick to a set routine if you want to see results ”, he tells me . If anyone is living proof of a good gym routine to build muscle , it ’ s Nic .
Nic felt out of place in his body while growing up . Now he knows he suffered from the anxiety disorder Gender Dysphoria , a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity . Nic was born female but from a very early age actually identified as male , resulting in being very isolated , angry and uncomfortable growing up , and continuing into adulthood .
Transgender people have a higher profile now than ever before . Actor Eddie Redmayne was nominated for an Oscar for portraying artist Lili Elbe , the first person to ever undergo gender reassignment , and the BBC soap EastEnders have introduced the character Kyle , played by a transgender actor . The fire service has its own transgender story to tell . “ Writing my own name and ticking the female gender box felt so wrong ”, Nic says , recalling how he signed up to become a firefighter at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2001 . “ I didn ’ t know that I was transgender at the time . I just knew that I wasn ’ t who I was supposed to be .”
Due to this inner conflict Nic found himself isolated and frustrated at work , which often resulted in outbursts of anger . Others may have seen him as the only female firefighter posted at Stockton Heath fire station . But to Nic , he too was one of the male firefighters . It was more than seven years after he joined the service that Nic learned what the word transgender meant . “ It was a lightbulb moment . I had figured out the root of the problem and knew there was somewhere I fitted in . I remember saying out loud for the first time ‘ I am transgender ’ and thinking to myself that this was the most momentous moment of my life .”