To celebrate her two-year anniversary after gender reassignment surgery, a brave Californian has released a video showing her dramatic transition from a cheeky four-year-old boy to a lithe, blonde 32-year-old woman.
Isley Reust says she knew she was born in the wrong body at the age of four but it took her many years before she felt comfortable enough to express her feminine side.
In the moving film, the musician notes various turning points in her life, including when she started wearing make-up in public for the first time and when she started undergoing hormone replacement therapy.
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To celebrate her two-year anniversary after gender reassignment surgery, Isley Reust (pictured above) has released a video showing her dramatic transition from a four-year-old boy to a blonde 32-year-old woman
Flashback: Isley says she was four years old when she knew that something was wrong and that she was born in the wrong body (above, pictured aged four)
In just one week the ten minute-long video has been viewed more than 10,000 times with many viewers applauding her openness.
‘Wow, you’ve changed a lot. And all this time I thought you were a natural blonde,’ one commenter wrote.
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Another added: ‘Absolutely heart-warming, well done on your fantastic transition. So happy for you that you are now where you always knew you were meant and going to be.’
Reflecting on her transformation, Isley, who is from Phelan, said: ‘A lot of people can’t believe that I was born male when I tell them.
Rock chick: Isley (pictured right, age 18 and left, at 19) played with her looks over the years – she also abused drugs and alcohol to hide the way she felt
‘I only recently started being open and sharing my story with in the last two years.
‘I decided to make this video because at times it was tough for me, and I just felt it was my time to help others just the way they helped me.
‘I was four years old when I knew that something was wrong and that I was born in the wrong body.
‘I always knew I would transition to female.
‘I feel amazing now. I feel I’m living the life I was cheated out of as a child and that I was supposed to have.’
In the video, a selection of photographs reveal that until her mid-teens, Isley looked like a typical schoolboy.
By her late teens, she had experimented with a slightly more feminine look, but still felt unable to truly dress how she felt inside.
Blonde ambition: The musician said she started experimenting with a more feminine look in her late teens and early twenties (Isley at age 22, left, and 24, right)
New woman: By 24, Isley was living full-time as a woman, photographs shows her with long blonde locks and a trendy fringe (left, aged 25 and right, aged 26, one year after being on hormone replacement therapy)
Some shots show her sporting a rocker look, with dark shaggy hair, black eye make-up and a lip piercing.
And when she enters her early 20s, a few photos show her wearing more feminine make-up and women’s clothing.
By 24, she was living full-time as a woman, and a photograph shows her with long blonde locks and a trendy fringe.
She then spent three years undergoing hormone replacement therapy until she finally had full gender reassignment surgery two years ago.
Nearly there: The blonde spent three years undergoing hormone replacement therapy until she finally had full gender reassignment surgery two years ago (left, before the surgery and right, on her 30th birthday)
Birthday wishes come true: Isley having her gender reassignment surgery at age 30
Isley said that in her late teens she abused drugs and alcohol in a bid to hide the way she felt.
However, in her mid-twenties with her health starting to suffer, she decided to clean up her act so she could finally become the person she’d always dreamed of.
Isley added: ‘I finally feel my life has a meaning, a purpose and I was finally able to be my authentic self.
‘There are many challenges for someone who transitions, are you going to be accepted by family, co-workers, friends and society.’
Isley added: ‘I finally feel my life has a meaning, a purpose and I was finally able to be my authentic self’
Testing times: Isley said the first year after gender reassignment surgery was the toughest because she was basically going through ‘another puberty’ feeling ’emotional’, ‘self-conscious’ and ‘scared’
Inspiring story: Isley seen signing autographs after one of her music performances
Isley said the first year after gender reassignment surgery was the toughest because she was basically going through ‘another puberty’ feeling ’emotional’, ‘self-conscious’ and ‘scared’.
However, as the months passed she found she started ‘blending in with society’ and people she met would have no idea about her past.
The transgender advocate, who regularly uploads videos to YouTube documenting her day-to-day life concluded: ‘That was a great feeling because I just wanted to be seen for the woman I was inside and that’s how the rest of society saw me.
‘I just hope that my video will be helpful to other trans people who might be struggling.’