Interview with Amanda Elstak

 

Today I would like to introduce a truly remarkable guest, Amanda Elstak, a proudly transsexual singer, performer, and dedicated activist. Amanda has left a lasting mark not only in the Hungarian music scene with her 2007 album Szükségem van a szerelemre (“I Need Love”), but also in civil society. She is the creator of the Hungarian Tolerance Award, the Hungarian Charity Award, and the Hungarian Equal Opportunity Award, and since 2010 she has served as president of the Together for Tolerance Foundation and the Hungarian Tolerance Association. Through her work, she promotes social acceptance and equality, with particular attention to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and Roma communities.

 

Amanda is equally at home on stage and in the media. For years she hosted shows at Budapest venues such as Limo Caffe, Capella Caffe, Angyal Bár, and Club Bohemian Alibi, as well as events like the Hungarian Porn Oscar Awards, the Erotica Parade, and the Mr. Gay Hungary beauty pageant. After a long hiatus, she revived the Amanda Elstak Show in 2021, which now welcomes audiences at two Budapest nightlife locations, the Black Unicorn Bar and the Crush Budapest Club. In addition, Amanda teaches alternative therapies, Reiki, crystal healing, and psi-surgery, and as a life coach she helps people find their inner harmony. Her career and life are both inspiring and exemplary. In this interview, Amanda shares how she became one of the most recognized and influential voices of the Hungarian LGBTQ community, the challenges she faced along the way, and what continues to motivate her to work for her community today.

Interview with Fallon Fox

Fallon Fox was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1975, and even as a child she sensed a truth inside that didn’t match the body others saw. Growing up, she thought she might be gay, since liking “girl things” was labeled that way, but her longing ran deeper. At nineteen she married her high-school love, became a father, and quietly carried the weight of an identity she could not yet claim. Service in the U.S. Navy taught her resilience, but the discipline of military life could not silence her need for authenticity. After her discharge and a short time at the University of Toledo, she turned to long-haul trucking, saving every paycheck for the day she could live openly. In 2006, in Bangkok, Thailand, Fallon underwent feminizing surgery and breast augmentation, finally stepping into herself. Returning to Illinois, she trained in mixed martial arts at the Midwest Training Center.

 

She called herself the Queen of Swords, earning the name with three knockouts and two submissions—proof that strength and femininity could exist side by side. In March 2013, Fallon came out publicly through Outsports and Sports Illustrated, becoming the first openly transgender athlete in professional MMA. Her announcement ignited debate: some praised her courage, others questioned fairness. The discussion intensified after fighter Tamikka Brents sustained an injury in 2014. Fallon faced the controversy head-on, advocating for policies based on science and fairness, and encouraging research into how hormone therapy affects strength, bone density, and endurance. Beyond her record in the cage, her legacy became one of visibility and advocacy, helping to move the conversation from fear and resistance toward understanding and inclusion in the world of sports.

Interview with Lynne Jones

Lynne Jones is a luminous presence in the transgender community, a woman whose journey shines with resilience, compassion, and an unshakable devotion to others. As Vice President of the Beaumont Society, now blossoming into TransKind by Beaumont, she has poured her energy into modernizing this pioneering organization, ensuring it speaks to new generations while honoring its proud history. Her commitment is deeply personal, born from her own tender struggles with identity and self-acceptance. At just twelve years old, Lynne felt the undeniable pull to live as her true self, a longing that in those days carried no roadmap. In the shadows of a pre-internet world, information was scarce, yet hope found her in Manchester’s gay village, where she discovered that there was a name for what she felt — a revelation that brought comfort, recognition, and light. Through the years, Lynne has embraced her identity with grace and pride, surrounding herself with friends and family who celebrate her authentic self. Her life has been touched by profound trials and moments of destiny, none more dramatic than surviving the September 11 attacks while working in the World Trade Center. In the midst of chaos and loss, she discovered a renewed vow: to live boldly, to love deeply, and to uplift those who walk beside her.

Interview with Sofia Saunier

When I approach Sofía Saunier’s story, I don’t see just a biography, I see a journey woven with courage, sensitivity, and beauty. Born in Montevideo in 1974, she first found her stage in Buenos Aires during the 1990s underground scene, where drag, dance, and performance carved out cracks of freedom in a society that often preferred to look away. There, Sofía not only learned how to inhabit the stage, but also how to turn her body and voice into a declaration of existence. Two decades later, upon returning to Uruguay, she began to unfold a multi-layered artistic language: photography, audiovisual work, painting, drawing, and writing. It was not dispersion but a single thread: the urgency of telling trans and queer lives with truth, tenderness, and dignity. That urgency took form in Transur, a project that since 2013 has gathered more than seventy interviews, becoming an invaluable archive of stories that might otherwise have been silenced. Through Transur, Sofía opened a window onto diversity, showing that our lives are much more than what sensationalist television used to portray. Her free spirit also led her to create another project, Transmotoqueras, where together with her companions she rode through the roads of Uruguay, filming each kilometer as an act of visibility and freedom. Taking the road is no small gesture: it means claiming public space, confronting prejudice, and reminding society that trans women also build full and open lives.

Interview with Andrea Montanez

It is easy to mistake Andrea Montanez’s life for the plot of a thriller. One moment she is raiding cartel hideouts in Colombia, dodging bullets, and negotiating with kidnappers. The next, she is in Orlando, with purple glasses and a trans flag fluttering from the vents of her Nissan Sentra, rushing from one public hearing to another in a fight for the dignity of her community. From undercover narcotics officer to TSA worker to full-time activist, Andrea has carried one thread through all of her lives: an unshakable courage to face danger head-on, whether it comes from armed guerillas or bureaucrats in suits. In Florida, that danger no longer hides behind machine guns, it hides in the technical language of state regulations, in manipulated medical reports, and in “emergency rules” designed to make health care nearly impossible for transgender people. When the state’s board of medicine moved to restrict gender-affirming care, Andrea did not sit back. She borrowed a van, drove activists across the state, charmed opponents who called her community “mutants,” and pushed back in rooms designed to silence her. If Pablo Escobar could not scare her into silence, neither could the board of medicine.

Interview with Małgorzata Kukiełło

Nestled along the Baltic coast, Gdańsk is a Polish city where history and modernity collide in the most enchanting ways. Its cobbled streets whisper stories of centuries past, from the rise of the Hanseatic League to the birthplace of the Solidarity movement, while its vibrant cafes and contemporary art scenes reflect the pulse of a cosmopolitan present. It is here, amid this dynamic tapestry, that I met Małgorzata Kukiełło, a woman whose journey is as compelling and multifaceted as the city she calls home. Małgorzata’s life is a blend of courage, curiosity, and boundless energy. By day, she navigates the high-stakes world of big tech with poise and intelligence, earning the respect of colleagues and collaborators alike. By weekend, she’s conquering tennis courts, hiking up rugged trails, or sailing across open waters, constantly pushing her own boundaries. Yet, as vibrant and adventurous as her public life appears, Małgorzata is refreshingly candid about the quieter, more intimate parts of her story, the moments of vulnerability, the challenges of transitioning, and the hard-won victories in her pursuit of authenticity. In our conversation, she reflects on the profound personal evolution that comes with embracing one’s identity, and the delicate balancing act of being seen, understood, and accepted in a world that still struggles with difference.

Interview with Elizabeth Taylor

Step into the fabulous world of Elizabeth “Beth” Taylor, a cisgender woman, where glamour meets courage, and transformation is nothing short of an art form. Nestled in the heart of LGBTQ-friendly Takoma Park, Maryland, just minutes from buzzing downtown Washington, DC, Beth’s private studio is more than a place, it’s a sanctuary where transgender women, male-to-female crossdressers, and genderfluid people come to explore their beauty, confidence, and authenticity. With her signature mix of warmth, skill, and sparkle, Beth turns every session into an experience: whether it’s a first-time client stepping into heels for the very first time, or a seasoned star looking for a fresh twist, she makes everyone feel luminous, seen, and celebrated. Beth’s path to becoming the queen of male-to-female transformation is as captivating as her artistry. After eleven years of service in the US Navy, where she taught nuclear propulsion theory and excelled in Human Resources and Equal Opportunity roles, Beth embraced a new calling: helping people express their truest selves. The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and her own coming out as bisexual/pansexual in 2012 opened a dazzling new chapter, leading her to create her signature transformations. 

Interview with Nikita Carter

For nearly 55 years, music was Nikita Carter’s language. As an avant-garde improvising saxophonist and composer, she thrived in a world of sound, vibration, and connection, creating bold, unconventional music that spoke directly to the soul. In August of this year, she added a new title to her creative résumé: published author. Her debut book, a project nine years in the making, grew out of a period of solitude when she had no one to confide in and was trying to make sense of her life. Much of it reflects on her gender transition in her 60s, placing her among the relatively small number of people who transition later in life. She describes that experience as carrying both the advantages and the scars of living for decades in a privileged role, and then stepping into an identity with profoundly different societal power dynamics. The transition brought significant losses. Many former friends, collaborators, and professional contacts disappeared from her life, and her career in music suffered as a result. She also faced risks that had not been part of her life before, including ridicule, social invisibility, and even the threat of physical violence. Among the most frightening episodes she recalls was being wrongfully arrested and imprisoned in Mexico. 

Interview with Giselle Donnelly

When you first look at Giselle Donnelly’s résumé, you might expect to meet someone who only speaks in policy briefings and Pentagon jargon. She’s an Emerita Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a specialist in national security and defense, a former staffer on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, and the co-author of major strategy documents that helped shape American military thinking. She’s also worked as a journalist and editor, covering everything from the Gulf War to Somalia, and has been at the center of Washington’s biggest debates for decades. In short: Giselle knows her stuff. But that’s just one side of her story. The other side is deeply personal, and a lot more colorful. In 2018, after years of living a secret life, Giselle transitioned and began living openly as a trans woman. She credits her wife, Elizabeth Taylor (yes, that’s her real name!), with guiding her out of the shadows. Elizabeth runs a makeover studio for transgender women, and she spotted the truth about Giselle before Giselle herself did. Together, they’ve built a life filled with love, laughter, and music.