2024-2025

Brooklyn, NY For six months, I photographed at Red Planet MMA, a martial arts gym in Bushwick, New York, where the Gay Fight Club (GFC) offers free classes to the LGBTQ+ community. In the midst of Trump’s election, I witnessed a rapid increase in participation, especially among trans people, driven by the need to learn self-defense in an increasingly hostile political climate. 

My project explores how a combat sport—traditionally tied to masculinity—can become a space of resistance and affirmation for those often excluded from it. In this space, physical strength transforms into mental strength: together they become tools of autonomy, confidence, and solidarity, empowering a community that has long been fighting outside the ring simply for the right to exist.