June 21, 2025
Hello all,
When anyone signs up for their IATBP membership, we ask them, “How did you hear about us?” What inspired me to write y’all today was a competitor’s answer to this question.
Before I tell you their answer, I want to give you a little history behind the IATBP, and trans bodybuilding.
The formation of our association dates back to 2012, when Neo Sandja established a Facebook page for transmen. Neo posed this question to its members: “What sport would you like to participate in as a trans athlete?” The answer was overwhelmingly “bodybuilding.”
Fast forward to 2014. Neo held the first FTM Fitness World Conference. The tag line for the conference was “Fitness for the Mind, Body, and Spirit.” Punctuating the Atlanta, GA conference on Saturday night with an undeniable exclamation point was the first ever transgender bodybuilding competition in the world.
The winner of that 2014 competition was Shawn Stinson. Shawn came back in 2015 to defend his title, and won that years’ competition as well!
From a 2015 CNN online article about Sandja:
“[Neo’s] rapid weight gain after starting hormone therapy spurred him to get into shape, and Neo started a blog called ‘FTM Fitness’ to hold himself accountable. In less than two months, he had more than 800 followers on Facebook. He started receiving emails from people all over the world: India, Australia, Mexico, the Philippines. Neo realized how many people were out there who had been born in the ‘wrong’ body.
The blog quickly morphed into a resource for whole-body wellness; not just for physical fitness but for emotional intelligence, too. Neo integrated an online store to help with domain fees, and his business was born. The company held its first annual conference in Atlanta in 2014. The main event was the world’s first transgender bodybuilding competition. More than 120 attended the conference in 2015.”
Neo brought trans femmes into the fold when he changed the name of the next years’ conference to “TransFitCon,” though it would be years before trans women competed in bodybuilding as they are now.
Now that you know a little history about how we got started, hopefully you’ll understand the significance of what one of this years’ competitors, a bodybuilder, said when asked the question, “How did you hear about us?”
“I have been a part of the Facebook group since it has begun 🙂 I just needed time to finally believe in myself enough to make it happen.”
This is why we do the work we do: to bring our competitors a world class bodybuilding competition and powerlifting meet, year after year, in an environment that is intentionally safe, supportive, encouraging, competitive, affirming, and enriching. The IATBP creates this environment to empower athletes like this, who are committed to the sport – sometimes for over a decade before finally realizing it’s their time – to compete confidently.
We are so inspired by those of you who show up and show out. Your dedication is a beautiful thing to behold. I, for one, have competed in both bodybuilding and powerlifting, so I know the mindset one has to have in order to prepare for such competitions.
It’s grueling, and it takes a tremendous amount of time and energy to sustain a prep cycle while holding down a job, and all of life’s responsibilities.
We are so proud of all of our athletes, past and present, and we want to continue our work to create a community of iron athletes around the world. We invite you to begin your prep cycle now, even if you’re on the fence about competing. Believe in yourself – the IATBP and all of its members and past competitors already do. Your actions will prove to you that you can compete – the IATBP believes you can. Train one day at a time, and the end result will be better than you imagined – the IATBP is rooting for you.
So, make the decision for yourself. Though it is a competition, it is more than anything else all about your own personal achievement.
We hope you will take part in the next IATBP bodybuilding competition and powerlifting meet on Saturday, November 22, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. If your interest has been piqued, all of the details and future updates can be found on our website and our Instagram.
We’ll see you on stage or on the platform. You’ll find a supportive group of people who have done just what you have done: “believed in yourself enough to make it happen.”
I also invite those of you who are on the email list who do not want to compete to become a supporting, non-athlete member of IATBP. Your membership will help the IATBP continue our mission of serving trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming bodybuilders and powerlifters around the world.
To become an IATBP member, click here. Need guidance regarding membership? Contact us at bucky.motter@iatbp.org – we’re happy to help.
To this year’s IATBP competitors: good luck with your training! Stay strong, focused, and believe in yourself. We will be proud of whatever numbers you bring to the platform, whatever physique you bring to the stage. We are honored you’ve made the decision to compete with us, and we are so excited to meet you and cheer you on!
Love and Courage,
Bucky.
Bucky Motter
Executive Director
IATBP.org
My pronouns are he/him/his
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