A man is crowned England's 'outstanding female champion'

Katie Neeves, formerly known as Martin, was awarded in England the "2023 LGBTQUIA+ Women's Champion," due to her "diversity training" work. The award was presented at the East and West Midlands Women's Awards gala, which took place last September 2022 in England.

According to the event's own website, the objective of the award was to “raise awareness, recognise and honour the hard work and valuable contribution that women of all cultures, communities, races, and beliefs, in all sectors make.”

Neeves celebrated the recognition on her social media while reminding her followers of the other awards received in recent months.

"It has been the most amazing year for me, as in the last 12 months I have won the British Diversity Awards Hero of the Year 2023, the Trans in the City Trans Community Champion Award 2022 and the This is Us Awards Training & Development Award 2023. Also, I was listed a DIVA Power List 2023, and I was a DIVA Awards Unsung Hero of the Year Finalist 2023 and I was named a LinkedIn Top Voice, as well as becoming a co-presenter of the BBC Sounds series 'Time for some LGBTea'," she wrote on her Instagram account, where she accompanied the text with some photos.

Neeves transitioned in 2018, at the age of 48. She previously worked in photography, a field that led her to portray Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Shortly after, she created his own YouTube channel where she advertised herself as a "trans ambassador."

According to her, she envied women during her years as Martin, a feeling she began to experience after she was 20 years old. Scratching five decades, she began talking to a "clairvoyant," who directed her towards the transition.

“My transition will be very public, very bold and very open. There are no excuses for that. I will be starting HRT soon, which should start giving me the feminine curves I would like and need to be happy,” Neeves said at the time. "It's slow progress, so I'm not going to suddenly show up with huge, big, double breasts. I hope HRT will reverse some of my male pattern baldness. I really hope so. It is something that worries me a lot,” she added.