Aydian Dowling, founder of Point 5cc Clothing, is an FTM transgender activist from Long Island, New York. Aydian documented his own transition on YouTube as a way to voice his thoughts, fears, and successes; as well as offer a support mechanism for others looking to transition. His YouTube channel, A Lions Fears, quickly became popular and, to date, has nearly 250 videos, reaches over 14,000 followers, and has more than 1.5 milllion views.
In 2011, Aydian was chosen as one of three LGBT persons to have their stories showcased on the Emmy Nominated It Gets Better Project on MTV. Aydian and his now wife, Jenilee, spoke of their soon-to-be wedding and the challenges transgender couples face when planning to wed. 2011 also marked the year Aydian launched Point 5cc. Aydian has presented to his peers on the topic of “Masculinizing Your Body” at the 2013 Southern Comfort Conference in Atlanta, which followed his 2012 presentation on the topic of “Emotional Transitioning”. Aydian has also spoke at events such as FTM Fitcon ’15, TDOR Long Island ’13, TDOR Eugene ’14, University of Oregon ’14 and Montana State University ’14.
Aydian is most recently known for an FTM Magazine photo that went viral with over 2.5 million views! Aydian has since done many Radio interviews like The NTuned Show, Michelle Meow Show, The C Spot, and Rainbow Rendezvous. He has also graced the covers of online magazines such as Huffington Post, The Advocate, MetroUK Mag, 429Mag to name a few. Aydian also has been a feature on Matthew’s Place (owned by Trevor Project) and Mid-Twenties Magazine as a Monthly Feature.
Aydian continues his mission to help others by giving back through services of his company point 5cc, answering hundreds of emails a month and documenting his ongoing transition on Instagram, FaceBook and YouTube.