Mack Beggs

For four years, the name Mack Beggs has been associated with courage as well as controversy, related to the unjust decision by some states and school districts to restrict transgender student-athletes like him from competing with those who are cisgender, meaning they’re not trans. Back in 2017, when he was...

In 2018, high school wrestler Mack Beggs made international headlines with a photograph showing him performing a winning move against an opponent in the Texas State girl’s wrestling tournament. At the time, Beggs was transitioning, but he was barred by Texas law from competing in boys’ wrestling competitions. Now, after wrestling in college for a few years, Beggs has refocused on activism, helping young trans kids across the country be the best versions of themselves. Beggs spoke with Mic about the recent raft of anti-transgender legislation, quitting college wrestling, and the possibility of him becoming professional fighter.

The cheers erupted as soon as the referee’s whistle rang out. But so did the boos. Mack Beggs, then 17 years old and boasting a thick head of bleached blond hair, circled the mat, then sank to his knees and soaked up the roar from the crowd. Beggs had just become the first trans athlete to win a Class 6A girls’ state championship in high school wrestling—and he’d done so despite a lawsuit, a fight in the Texas state Legislature, and a national debate over his right to compete.