Pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it on the sand, Zelah Glasson ran on the beach alongside his mates, laughing. It was an ordinary moment made extraordinary by the overwhelming joy he felt – not just because he was in the Canary Islands on holiday with his pals back in 2024, but because he was topless – like his male friends usually are when playing football – and he finally felt like one of the boys.
First topless moment after top surgery
Glasson had been waiting patiently for this moment, and the freedom he felt was indescribable. To play football with the lads – to be one of them – was euphoric. While he had played football with the boys before, this was his first time doing it since his top surgery. With still-fresh scars on his chest shining in the sun, he kicked the ball in the air and basked in this perfect moment. It stuck with him and will be with him forever.
Early struggles with sports and gender identity
But Glasson did not always feel comfortable playing sports. As a six-year-old girl, he played football in the Little League in Colliers Wood, South London, and was the only girl on the team. He would run around yelling “I’m a boy, I’m a boy!” in the playground at school, already feeling different about himself. However, he was not taken seriously; they underestimated his skills and put him in defence – a position that kids rarely wanted, as it felt like they were putting the ‘worse’ players at the back. As a stubborn little kid, he thrived to prove them wrong, and they ended up putting him up front as the main goalscorer. But as the only girl on the team, he felt like the odd one out.
He loved playing the game, but by the time he went into secondary school, there was no funding for football and his interest disappeared alongside the school’s budget. Sports did not stick as an interest until he got into Nottingham University in 2018 and joined the women’s rugby team.
Finding acceptance in rugby
Having never played rugby before, Glasson had to make up for what he lacked in skill with physicality – so he quit smoking and hit the gym. His whole lifestyle completely changed. Unlike playing football as a child, women’s rugby felt different. Most of the women were queer and incredibly welcoming of him and his expression. He still presented as a woman, but he was becoming more masculinised, and in rugby, muscles were coveted. He had been told his whole life that he was too much of a brute for a girl, that he was not aware of his own strengths, that he needed to be more feminine. Then he found this sport where having broader shoulders and tackling other people was a good thing. For the first time in his life, his more masculine features were a good thing. He went from never playing rugby to becoming vice president of the team in a couple of years. It completely changed his relationship with fitness.
Coming out and top surgery
During this journey, Glasson was still coming to terms with his gender identity. In 2022, he started to question his gender and began using different pronouns. The only person he ever came out to was his mum, two weeks before he started testosterone. She accepted it straight away and said the signs were always there. Then on October 23, 2023, he finally had top surgery. The years of wearing uncomfortable sports bras were finally behind him. But being trans in fitness was no easy feat. He left rugby after graduating in 2022 and did not join another team because he felt he was going to transition into a man. He kept going to the gym – it became his sport and his safe haven.
Creating inclusive fitness spaces
In 2025, tired of the corporate world, Glasson followed his passion and became a personal trainer. He now runs a freelance personal training business centring trans and queer people, giving them space to connect with their bodies. It is not easy – many trans people have complex relationships with their bodies, and a gym environment can feel unsafe due to toxic masculinity. Also, the media’s demonisation of trans people – talking about bathrooms and who is or is not allowed in sports – can create fear. When the FA says trans people are not allowed to compete in the sport as themselves, people feel they are not allowed to participate at a grassroots level. Glasson wants to change that. He wants trans people to feel welcome in fitness spaces, to be allowed to take care of their bodies and go to the gym, or play a sport. Just as he felt taking his top off and playing football with his friends, he wants other trans people to feel free in their bodies.
As well as his business, Glasson runs the London section of the Misfits Lift Club for Not A Phase – a trans charity – which is a strength-focused gym session for trans and gender diverse people. There are no anxieties around bathrooms or judgement when everyone around you is trans. Having these exclusive spaces is vital to the survival of trans people. People need to see that they are allowed, and Glasson wants to show that they belong. Like him, running free, topless, he wants all trans people to feel that freedom. As told to Sharan Dhaliwal.
