Demetrius McMullen

I started coming to the Y when I was 4 years old, I still have a photo from then – a little girl with her head tilted and a big smile. I’m trans and was a girl at the time. I just don’t have the heart to get rid of it. She is so cute.

Through Y Cares we were able to go to summer camp and learn to swim. My mother was able to get a second job here and received discounts because of that. I feel like half of my childhood was spent here. It was amazing because we had so many opportunities that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.

It is hard to pick one favorite memory. There was a little space next to the old racquetball court filled with mats and my friends and I would make forts and hide in there and listen to music. At teen night we used to play man hunt and hide and seek all over until they didn’t allow us outside anymore. And Stan the Man was there - he still visits me when I go swimming. He knows I’m in the pool Friday nights and comes to visit – sometimes he sits in the lifeguard chair.

I swim because I’m really not able to do anything else right now. I used to do Zumba with my Mom when I was more mobile. But now I swim and lift weights so I’m getting stronger. I love all the opportunities here! The Y is very generous and if I didn’t receive a family member discount, I have a feeling they would find a sliding scale for me.

I love going into family swim because I see so many happy families. There is one kid that always waves to me and her parents say “Hey, how are you doing?” I love to see people motivated to live a healthy, active life. The Y is all about being healthy and happy.

My biggest challenge is that I grew up as a girl and now I identify as trans masculine. When you had the big flood here, the universal locker rooms weren’t available. I wasn’t really comfortable going to the men’s room or the women’s locker rooms so I ended up using the boys’ locker room. The Y was fine with me choosing where I felt most comfortable. That meant a lot to me.