Interview with Mylee Blake

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Mylee Blake, an American immersive experience designer and experiential gender and sexuality coach from Colorado, the USA that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Mylee!

Mylee: Hello! Thanks for asking to interview me. I love sharing my story, as other trans women's stories helped me along the way through my transition.

Monika: What does an immersive experience designer and experiential gender and sexuality coach do? Could you say a few words about yourself?

Mylee: Well, as an immersive experience designer, I create worlds and stories for participants to explore, play, and transform their perceptions of "reality". As an experiential gender and sexuality coach, I sort of do the same thing, just with a focus on exploring one's gender and sexuality, with exercises, real-life games, and a little bit of active listening.

Interview with Saigon Le

Monika: Today I have invited Saigon Le, a Vietnamese-born former model, actress, and now aesthetics nurse from the sunny state of California, USA. We will talk about her amazing life experiences and challenges related to her transition. Hello Sai!

Sai: Hi Monika it’s a pleasure to be a part of this so thank you for recognizing your fellow sisters.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Sai: My name is Saigon, I am a transgender female from California. I’m the youngest of nine children but I feel because of my unique circumstances l have the oldest soul.

Monika: You can boast over 10 years of experience as a nurse. Why did you decide to become a nurse?

Sai: Well, first I’d like to emphasize that this career was not born out of self-belief. I had a very troubled upbringing and was on my own at age 17, I found a “tribe” of drag queens and queer club kids that performed at club ARENA and hung out, performed as well as lived together. I wasn’t very good on stage but I was just happy to be there. There was an electrifying and talented performer named Barbarella, she and I became very close. She was my drag mother and taught me how to wear eyelashes, corsets, and wigs.

Interview with Natalie

Monika: Today I have the pleasure and honor of interviewing Natalie, an American IT professional and transgender woman that shares her transition story on social media. Hello Natalie!

Natalie: Hi Monika and thank you for reaching out to me. I am happy to share a bit of my story.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Natalie: I am a full-time IT professional, occasional illustrator, photographer, writer, programmer, mountain biker, puppeteer, and... I could go on for a bit. I have a bunch of hobbies that for the most part are visual and creative.

Monika: What inspired you to share your intimate life moments via social media?

Natalie: When I first realized I was a woman and decided on transition is the answer to me back in 2007-2008, there was very very little out there in terms of positive stories, access to information or just documented stories. It felt like all you heard about were the cartoon depictions of trans women in media like Jerry Springer or vomit moments in comedies. It felt so empty and hopeless. It made me give up.

Interview with Chelsea Brickham

Monika: Today my guest is Chelsea Brickham, an American model, beauty pageant queen, and actress that shares her transition story on social media. Chelsea was born in Maryland but she grew up in Texas, spent some years overseas in Japan with military parents.

After working in the engineering field for 14 years in New Hampshire, she decided to follow her passion and turn her cosplay/modeling hobby into an acting career. She debuted recently in the role of Kellie Maloney in "Knockout Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story", an authorized documentary of Kellie Maloney, the famous British transgender boxing manager. Hello Chelsea!

Chelsea: Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak about my experiences! It’s a pleasure to join you.

Monika: You are a woman of many talents. Could you say a few words about yourself?

Chelsea: I love life and really just crave life experiences. I want to experience as many sides of life as I can because I want to know what it’s like to do different things well. Being trans is an incredible life experience gaining perspective from a male role and a female role in modern society. I consider myself fortunate to have had that life experience.

Interview with Erika Dapkewicz

Monika: Today I have invited a special guest. Erika Dapkewicz is an inspirational woman. She is an American film editor, writer, musician, and composer, known for Vivo (2021), Lilo and Stitch (2002), and Puss in Boots (2011). In addition, her YouTube vlog Miss Mako attracted 150 thousand subscribers. Hello Erika! Thank you for accepting my invitation!

Erika: Thank you Monika for reaching out and asking me to be a part of your blog.

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Erika: Oh gosh… let’s see… I currently live in Los Angeles. I am a Transgender Woman and started my physical transition back in 2014. I have two kids. Both are in their early 20’s and live outside California. I live with my Cis-Girlfriend. I am a Professional Film Editor. Composer. Musician. Writer. Indie Director.

I have a band called, “Imaginarius”. And I also have a YouTube Channel listed under my internet handle, “Miss Mako”. I’m a member of the Academy Of Arts And Sciences (Academy Awards - Oscars) and I serve on the Animation Executive Committee. I am a member of ACE (American Cinema Editors). As well as ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers).

Interview with Bree Fram

Monika: Today I have invited an inspirational woman. Lieutenant Colonel Bree Fram is the President of SPARTA, an organization that advocates and educates about transgender military service and is dedicated to the support and professional development of over 1200 transgender service members. She is currently the highest-ranking out transgender officer in the Department of Defense.

In addition, Bree is an active duty astronautical engineer in the US Air Force. Her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, Military Times, Inkstick, and LGBTQ Nation. She is the co-author of the forthcoming book With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Military Personnel in Their Own Words due out in November 2021. Hello Bree!

Bree: Hello Monika!

Monika: How are you doing in these crazy pandemic times?

Bree: We're getting by, though are concerned with the massive rise in cases of the delta variant. I'm hopeful that someday soon we can reach that magic of herd immunity with enough people getting their vaccines.