A photo posted by viktor belmont (@viktorbelmont) on Jul 19, 2015 at 11:09am PDT
Viktor Belmont is an award-winning trans male escort and he's "proud" of his work.
According to Huffington Post, the 25-year-old is the first transgender to win the Best Newcomer Award from The Hookies, an awards show that recognizes the best individuals in the male escorting industry.
Buzzfeed reported that Belmont won through online voting and support from his colleagues.
"With the industry having a huge focus on bodies and anatomy, I was concerned that I might not be accepted into the awards because of being trans," he reportedly told the site.
However, he was able to become a trans male escort without experiencing any transphobia from other adult industry workers. Despite his initial fears, he was reportedly treated as an equal.
"I've had absolutely no tension or competition with other escorts -- it has only been support. This community is really tight; we really help each other out," he told Huffington Post.
In addition to the bond he shares with his co-workers, he also attributed his popularity and win to a more open society.
"I can't speak for all trans people, there isn't a single person who can do that, but I can tell you that I think things are changing," he continued.
When it comes to being open about his line of work to other people outside the industry, Belmont said he had no problem about sharing his job, despite society's stigma about workers in the adult industry,
"I started by 'coming out' about it to my friends a little bit, and now it's just like when people ask me what I do I just say, 'Oh, I'm an escort,'" he shared. "There's no need to beat around the bush with that -- I'm proud of my work, and there is no shame in it."
In fact, the proud trans male escort already has quite a substantial fanbase on social media, which gets flooded with messages of support from other members of the trans community.
