Sam Moir-Smith is strength and radiance personified.
We first met Sam for our April 2022 cover shoot. Centring the issue on the mission statement, ‘there’s no LGBT without the T’, Sam was a part of an ensemble cast of trans and non-binary models who are revolutionising the fashion industry in their own unique way. Proving one size and look cannot fit all.
In his love letter, Sam radiates love to Josh, his ‘Trans Guardian’. Their love transcends being trans, however. Sharing a mutual love for tattoos and Golf Wang clothing, alongside the trans experience, their friendship is a glorious, and everlasting connection.
“Thank you for a decade of wonderful friendship, one that has seen us both grow in unpredictable but astonishing ways,” Sam writes. “You’re an absolute blessing in my life and someone I’ll always look up to. I can’t wait to see you soon.”
You can read Sam’s love letter below.
To one of the most pivotal people in my life, this is a letter of thanks for all you’ve done for me,
Josh, we met online almost a decade ago now (can you believe it’s been so long!), while we were both young and struggling to find a place for ourselves in this world. I thought you were so cool – the only person I knew at the time with neck tattoos, eyebrow piercings, and an even bigger collection of Golf Wang clothes than my own (difficult to beat).
You’ve always come across so warm and open, and in becoming friends you spoke to me about being transgender and what that meant for you. You told me about your family, your medical transition, your feelings towards your body. I think I was about 13 at the time, I’d just cut all my hair off because Miley Cyrus had suddenly made it acceptable, and for some unbeknownst reason all I wanted to do was wear baggy denim shorts and skate tees.
Puberty had spun my head into a catastrophic mess, and my relationship with my body had become incredibly strained.
Yet, whenever we spoke, you created a safe space for me to talk with someone whose experience of life and materiality mirrored that of my own. It turns out you were precisely the person I needed to meet at that point in time; you were the first person to tell me what being trans meant, and your willingness to share your story with me prompted my own coming out as a trans man.
Although it’s still been a journey, I’ll never forget the fact that your openness and authenticity allowed me to achieve greater peace within my body, perhaps years before I may have stumbled across a trans person elsewhere. Not only did you enable me to develop self-assurance in my identity and confidence in myself, but you continued to be someone of huge importance in my life, acting somewhat as a Trans Guardian and supporting me through referrals, waiting times, and recovery (whilst also progressing in your own transition).
You became a pillar of stability and reliability, one that I am still endlessly grateful for ‘til this day. You deserve the biggest thanks from myself, and the countless other trans folk you’ve given advice and guidance to over the years. Despite your own delays and mistreatment within healthcare, you continue to be recognised within the community as someone that will go above and beyond, and will always make time to answer queries and ensure others have the best experiences they possibly can.
I’m so proud of you for your work with the Trans Active community group in Sheffield; I know first-hand how phenomenal you are with trans youth needing a small nudge during such a tumultuous and transformative period. Thank you for a decade of wonderful friendship, one that has seen us both grow in unpredictable but astonishing ways. You’re an absolute blessing in my life and someone I’ll always look up to. I can’t wait to see you soon.
Love,
Sam
Through the coming weeks you will get to know more GAY TIMES chosen family member in even more vibrant depth, and in even more Calvin Klein designs – online and across our social platforms.
They all undoubtedly have different superpowers connected to love, but the universal message is the same: Love never stops.
It’s all around us and everywhere we go. Queerness is love. You are love. We are love. This is LOVE.
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