Benjamin Melzer's physique gets envious glances - but no one would guess he was born female.
Showing off his buff body, Ben Melzer looks every inch the hunky male model in a line up for a men's health magazine- even though Ben, 29, was born a girl called Yvonne.
The carpenter- who's been living as a man for six years and has had full gender reassignment surgery and a mastectomy- hopes to prove being transgender doesn't mean you can't achieve your dreams.
*Ben and his fiancee Zara *
Ben, who is 5ft 10 and lives with fiancee Zara, says: "People are shocked when they find out I was born female- men often tell me they're jealous of my physique and ask for advice on bulking up."
Beautician Zara, who has supported Ben throughout his transition, says: "I'm proud of Ben and love his body. We have a great relationship and want to start a family one day."
Ben- who grew up in Germany with his parents and older brother- always felt uncomfortable with his gender.
He explains: "I insisted on having short hair and wore boys' clothes. When I hit puberty, I felt uncomfortable with my body so I hid it under layers of clothing. I had girlfriends, but always felt as if I should be the male in a straight relationship."
At 18, Ben realised he was transgender after watching a TV show about singer Cher's son Chaz, but was too overwhelmed to act on it.
He says: "For years I blocked it out by working out. But when I turned 23, I knew I couldn't live the rest of my life unhappy. I visited a psychologist who confirmed I was transgender.
"Thankfully my family were supportive and I began testosterone treatment, which caused my body hair to thicken and my voice to deepen. I felt so much happier."
A few months later, Ben got together with old school friend Zara. He says: "Even though Zara is straight, she'd always considered me to be male because I looked so much like a boy at school so it felt natural."
In 2011, Ben had a double mastectomy, a hysterectomy and in December 2012 he had full gender reassignment to create a functional penis.
Ben says: "I finally felt like I could be myself, and I carried on working out because I loved having a strong masculine body."
And Ben's rippling muscles have landed him a career in modelling. He says: "I read about a transgender man who was on the cover of a men's fitness magazine and thought I'd give it a go. I'm going to be on the cover of a collector's edition in April and would love to do more modelling.
"I'm proof you can achieve anything you set your mind to."