It’s the truth. Not “her truth,” but THE truth, and if someone doesn’t like the truth, she doesn’t care because it is her truth, too.
“Brandon” is now “Amy,” the owner of Essington Creative, a small multimedia firm based out of Shadyside, Ohio. Amy has experienced several transitional steps over the past few years to begin a journey she knew she would take as a five-year-old Californian, and she could care less about who cares about whatever, and she feels the senseless names often tossed in a transgender person’s direction are stupid, too.
Sports controversies have led to a heightened awareness across the country about the lifestyle decision to transition from one gender to another, and the election of the first-ever transgender female to Wheeling’s city council brought it home to the Upper Ohio Valley. There are sides to the issues, too, that have been argued on local and state levels, and laws have been passed in some states like West Virginia to preserve what majorities have determined as traditional competition.
And that is how Essington competed as a college student, as the male version she believed she wasn’t meant to be, because that’s what was forced to be.
What so many people don’t realize about Amy, though, is that “Brandon” actually was the “transgender-version Essington” and boy did she play the part all the way through her college football career. “Brandon,” #72 in your Bethany College program, also once was one of our beloved coal miners, too, until venturing into a completely different line of employment.
Initially, it was “Brandon” guiding Essington Creative, but these days it’s Amy who’s answering the phone.
In your opinion, what is the one thing about promoting a business in a digital world that business owners do incorrectly?
Having a digital presence is huge.
We walk around nowadays with a device in our pocket that gives you direct access to your business, your hours, your menus, your specials. If you’re a new business, there are cheaper alternatives to designing websites by yourself that are pretty straightforward. This may not look as clean and professional as hiring a web designer to build your site, but it’s a good start.
The age of your website is a contributing factor to search engine performance, and taking advantage of that fact early on is only going to help your business’s digital presence in the long run. Then, when you’re able to take advantage of a web designer to bring your website to the next level, do it.
What is the one football memory you’ll hold onto the rest of your life?
I joke that nothing is more gender-affirming than playing college football and having a coach tell you that you hit like a girl.
I played left offensive tackle in high school and college. But one memory that stands out to me was in high school. I played at Mt. Pleasant, Pa., and we had a game against Uniontown, Pa. Watching film the week leading up to the game we all felt confident that we would come out with a win.
But Uniontown scored on the first kickoff, and then they kicked it off to us, we fumbled, and they took the ball down the field and were up 14-0 within the first few minutes of the game. No one on our sideline seemed concerned about this. We all knew our offense hadn’t even stepped on the field yet to prove ourselves.
I believe the final score was 42-14 and we ended up winning the game. That game taught me confidence and to trust the process.
How long have you known the person you were was not the person you are?
So, one of my very first childhood memories I have was when my family lived in California and I was 5 years old, trying on my mom’s lipstick and my dad immediately yelling about it and me wiping it off.
My entire life up – until a few years ago – I had a stash of clothes I would hide somewhere in my room. My siblings or parents would end up finding that stash and getting rid of it. So, at a young age, I was taught what I was doing was wrong. In my teens, I found a website called urnotalone.com that I would sneak and visit on the family computer when no one was around. I would read about others’ experiences and just live vicariously through them. I had to come up with a username for that website in order to access more content and that’s when I chose the name “Amy”.
In math class in junior high, I would write down names I would give myself and then scratch them out. I admired the style of this girl who sat in front of me whose name was Amy and I started writing that down and liked the sound of it.
I decided if I ever could live the life I wanted, I would go by “Amy”.
When was it when you began your research into your gender transition?
I guess I could say when I had access to the internet is when I started researching. It wasn’t until 5 years ago I started seeing a therapist and finally started having discussions with a professional about my feelings.
That’s when I started to admit internally, I’m transgender, but I never knew if I’d have the strength to come out.
The first time I ever presented as “Amy” in public, I spent the weekend in Columbus. A friend of mine suggested that as a place where I would feel comfortable and welcoming. When I lost my job right at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, that was when I started presenting as “Amy” locally and also when I started focusing on where I could feel comfortable and welcomed being myself. I lived in St. Clairsville for years and not being from this area, I never knew how welcoming Wheeling would be for me to start living my life as my true self.
With feeling comfortable and now with running a small business, although I live in Ohio, I call Wheeling my home—I feel welcomed there. I can’t express how nice it is to have an area where you do feel comfortable to be yourself and not have to drive hours away to feel that comfort.
What is your advice to others reading this?
I think we all need to be more empathic, especially to people going through something they don’t understand. There’s a lot of anti-trans rhetoric in today’s world, and I think it comes from not understanding what someone else may be going through. Trans people have been around since history has been written. There’s evidence of trans people existing in ancient Greece and Rome.
The first transgender woman on record in the U.S. to get gender-affirming surgery, in 1952, was a WWII veteran. Today it’s becoming more acceptable, and it gives the illusion there are more people transitioning now more than ever, but the reality is, people are starting to feel more comfortable with living their authentic lives.
Personally, I started letting my health go before transitioning and I feel like if I didn’t make that decision to finally live my true self, I wouldn’t be around today. Transitioning was life-saving for me as it has been for so many others.
