What is your given (old) name?
Matt: Sylvie
Kyle: Kelly Anne Smith

And the new name that you've chosen?
Matt: Matt Nicholas
Kyle: Kyle Andrew Smith (though quite frankly, I'm really itching to get rid of Smith altogether...someone referred to me as "Mr. Smith" the other day and I realized the ONLY reason I'd ever liked the idea of marriage as a woman was that it would mean getting a last name with some character)

Your Age? Birthplace?
Matt: I was born on February 23, 1963 in Besancon, France, which makes me 37 years old. Besancon is Located near the Swiss border and about 100km from Dijon.

Kyle: As a human being on the earth, 28 years old. As Kyle, because I started taking the male hormone testosterone in late November, I'm only 4 months old. Or another way to look at it...since it might be another three months before I actually begin to PASS as a guy, I'm in my second trimester, and due to be born in about 12 weeks. :-)

To continue the analogy, I was conceived in Hamilton, Ontario. But I'll be born in Toronto, Ontario.

Your occupation?
Matt: I work as a Flight Attendant for one of the major charter airlines in Canada.

Kyle: Until March I was a media services representative. Currently I'm "networking". (ie, unemployed) Know any positions for an intelligent and hip trans guy?

When did you first realize that you were different?
Matt:As far as my memory will take me back. I remember very clearly at a very early age knowing that I was really a boy. And for some reason everyone around me had a tendency to treat me like a boy. Not like a tomboy. I remember very distinctly how conformable and happy I was when I was being treated like a boy. But as soon as I had to step back into Sylvie's skin, I became angry, withdrawn and sad. When my mother attempted to put me in a dress I used to cry to her that kids were going to make fun of me at school, and how could she do this to me?!?

Kyle: Different from whom? I was often found in a hockey rink on Sundays watching my brother's team, or my father's team, out on the ice, and yet I had to play ringette because that's what girls did. I couldn't pee standing up and put out campfires like my brother and his friends, but I wanted to. At puberty my body began to get these horrible lumpy fatty deposits that I really thought were going to become pecs, but didn't. In university I finally had to face the fact that I was attracted to girls. My point is that I was always different from my peers, if you assume my peers were girls.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Matt:I started singing at a very young age, and I always wanted to be a singer, I never really thought of anything else. Until 1988 when I recorded my first song called "I've only got you to blame," which had a fantastic start. I always knew that this is what I was going to do. I have always felt at home on stage.

Kyle: I wanted to be Johnny, the Human Torch, from the X-Men. I know that sounds silly, but it was equally silly seeing myself as ANYTHING when I grew up. I'd always assumed I would grow up to be a guy, but then at puberty, clearly that wasn't happening. Around that point, I pretty much assumed I'd kill myself. I didn't want to grow up.

How do you currently describe your situation to new acquaintances?
Matt:To a stranger or when I meet someone I automatically present myself as Matt. I find that a lot of the time, that "breaks the ice" right away.

And people don't really pay attention if it is someone that I'm going to spend more than an hour with (i.e. new people at work.) I tell them about my situation right away. I guess it projects a sense of confidence in myself and therefore leaves no room for negative feedback. So far, I have not had a negative response.

Kyle: I say "Hi. My name is Kyle". They always move in closer and ask me to repeat it because they're CERTAIN they heard me wrong. I smile and say "Kyle. K-Y-L-E." They say "Oh..." and look really perplexed. I just keep smiling. If they take it in stride, then I know this is going to be someone worth getting to know better. If they don't, then I know this was about as much of an interaction as I care to have.

Describe where you are in the transition of becoming male.
Matt:The phase that I'm at presently is called the "real life experience". It's one of the first major steps of the whole process.

In the "real life experience", I am required to live and fully function in society and in my personal life as a man for a period of one year. The first step of the "real life experience" is to change all of your ID to your new name and work as the "New Me." I have entered this phase and I've been living and working as Matt for two months. And I'm counting down, 10 more months until I can start hormone therapy.

This "real life experience" is truly an experience! A fascinating one, considering I don't yet have the help of hormones. Just can't wait for that five o'clock shadow!

Kyle: I've been injecting the male hormone testosterone bi-weekly for the last four months. I do not yet pass as male, though I'm expecting that to happen sometime over the next three or four months.

There are risks to this. Describe them.
Matt:There is always a potential risk anywhere you go, whatever you do. I have always been one to be cautious but not overly worried. And I think being a pretty confident individual in everything I do, I somehow avoid putting myself in "risky" situations.

In the beginning, I ran the risk of losing my job (that I love), losing my family and friends, but when I made my decision, it was all the way and I accepted the risks that came with it.

I was very blessed and lucky that neither happened. My employers and my family and friends have been very supportive.

Kyle: Physically speaking, the male hormone testosterone can do some damage to the liver, if it is not monitored. Also, as with all bio-males, testosterone somehow plays a role in higher levels of cholesterol, making it imperative to monitor those levels as well. Many trans-men - before they've had a hysterectomy - stop seeking regular gynecological check-ups once they pass as men and are at increased risk for gynecological problems.(How many men do you know who are warmly received in the offices of a gynecologist when they show up saying "Get out the speculum, I'm here for a pap smear!") Emotionally speaking, something like 80 per cent of all people who start the process of SRS discover they are not transsexual afterall, and stop the process. I suppose technically, there is the risk that I might wake up one day and think I made a mistake.

What do you hope to be at the very end of the transition?
Matt:I have always felt a deep void in my life. I hope and I know that at the end of my journey, this void that had become a very somber and sad part of me will be filled with happiness and clarity. And my laughs and smiles will be true, because I will have become the man that I was meant to be.

Kyle: I never used to be able to look at my myself in a mirror and feel good about the person I saw. I hope that at the end of this journey, whenever I look in a mirror and see myself, I'll be able to smile. The cool thing is that I'm already doing that now, and my transition has only barely begun.