Over the last few years, Leyna Bloom has been the first in many categories. In 2017, she became the first trans woman of color to grace the pages of Vogue India. In 2019, she became one of the first trans women to walk Paris Fashion Week. And most recently, she broke barriers again as the first trans cover model for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

On this crossover episode with our sister podcast “Asian Enough,” Bloom talks about her ties to ballroom, her Black and Filipina identity and reuniting with her mom after decades apart.

More reading:

How Leyna Bloom became the first transgender actress of color to star in a film at Cannes

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit goes bold: Megan Thee Stallion, Naomi Osaka, Leyna Bloom

Review: Luminous performances elevate trans romance ‘Port Authority’