More Than a Transition: Liam Lazore on Truth, Transformation & Living Authentically

Welcome to Club Nurse. I'm Colton Lord, your host. By you being here today, it shows me that you are someone who wants to learn, grow, laugh, connect, and just let your emotions flow. We are here to share real stories and hear real life experiences from real people. You are not alone in this, and Club Nurse is here to show you that. Don't forget to follow the show and share today's episode with someone you love. Now let's dive into today's conversation.

All right, everybody. Welcome back to Club Nurse. I have an amazing guest here with me today that I'm super excited to chat with you guys about. Uh, but this is Liam. Liam has been breaking social norms since his coming out in 2017, a self-made transgender man born and raised in Syracuse, New York, where he grew up navigating the complexities of identity, faith, and community. A former athlete and lifelong competitor, basketball was his refuge throughout childhood and college. Until a deeper calling led him to embrace his truth and begin his gender transition in 2019. After nearly a decade and a half of personal evolution, Liam completed his medical transition in 2025 and now uses his platform to inspire, educate, and empower. As a social media influencer, he shares his journey not only as a transgender man, but as a human committed to self-growth, mental resilience, and authenticity. Liam's story is rooted in contrast from being raised in the church, combating negativity and hate on a daily basis. Growing up both popular and quietly struggling with his gender from a young age, his voice is raw, real, and deeply personal. Backed by a strong, outspoken, and loving family, he brings honesty and heart to every conversation. Through storytelling and fitness, Liam has become a source of strength for thousands, showing that transformation isn't just possible, it's powerful. Everybody, welcome Liam. Thanks for being here with us today.

Yeah, thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Of course. Yeah, I'm super excited to kind of dive into this, into this conversation. As I mean, the podcast is called Club Nurse, so it's not only based around nursing. Obviously you're not a nurse, but I like to have people on just to share their experiences, their life, their stories. And I think you specifically can really offer the healthcare community kind of a lens into what it's like being on your side, getting these medical treatments and going through these transitions and how, you know, the healthcare community, as far as doctors, nurses, or anybody can better support people like you that are going through these transitions a little bit better. So if you don't mind, if you could just kind of start from the beginning, give us a sense of what it was for you growing up. And I hate the cliché question of like, when did you know? Like, I hate when people ask me that about just being gay. Like, when did you know? I'm like, I don't know. I don't— I didn't have this just like moment where I woke up in the morning. I was like, oh, I'm so gay. Like, I just— So just kind of tell us, like, when did you start to kind of feel like, oh, maybe something's a little bit different about me? Maybe I feel like Like what I'm feeling and how I'm presenting outwardly is not really matching up. So yeah, talk to us about that.

Yeah, that's valid. So basically, like growing up, as you stated, I went to Catholic school for a little bit until that closed down. Even like my earliest moments I can remember from childhood are probably around like kindergarten, just like some moments here and there. The ones that really stand out is more just about going to Catholic school, like the girls kind of have to wear like skirts and everything, and you had to dress a certain way. you have a uniform and stuff. I personally would refuse to wear that skirt. I always wore pants or shorts, like whatever the boys were wearing, I would wear that plus the polo or a t-shirt. One day, like, I know the nun wasn't the biggest fan of me because I went against this norm of not wearing the uniform. She was a big fan of my brother, but me, it was like a little different just because I could not wear that.

Right.

I did get in like A few arguments with my mother growing up just due to like having to wear, not wanting to wear dresses and skirts like for special occasions. Like we would get in some arguments. It's not that she would force me to wear certain things. It's just more like for those special occasions, she wanted me to dress accordingly. And I just couldn't do it. I would have meltdowns, I would cry. It doesn't seem like it's that big of a deal, but It just really makes sense looking back on my childhood and the way I acted and presented. I always cross-dressed, so I was dressing as a tomboy at the time. I just felt so comfortable wearing those types of clothing. And then I also was mainly friends with all the guys growing up. I was big into sports, so I would be at like playtime playing with them. I wouldn't be like really be playing with like the girls with whatever they were doing, like hopscotch or stuff like that. It's just— wasn't things that I was really interested in. I played a lot of video games. I hung out with my brother and his friends. I was like latched onto my dad's side a lot. Like my dad and I were pretty close growing up. In a way, it was kind of hard for me just to like kind of come out to him because—

Yeah.

I felt like I was kind of taking away his little girl from him. So that was like really difficult for me. But there's never like a time where I knew that I was transgender.

I didn't even know.

what like being trans was until high school, like senior year of high school. But there's definitely times throughout my life, especially puberty and stuff, where I just struggled so much going through like changes and like being different. I was definitely an outsider outside of like all of my friends and stuff. I couldn't really talk about how I was feeling with my friends. I couldn't relate to anyone. And then it was very difficult. Like, I didn't really open up to my mom about stuff either. I just didn't want to be a burden on her, basically. So yeah, there's never like really a time where I was like, oh yeah, I'm definitely trans. But like, there's definitely moments throughout my childhood where it just really makes sense if you go down the line as to like—

Right. Hindsight.

Yeah, right.

Hindsight, you can look back on those things. And I totally relate to what you're saying as far as your parents, like not wanting to be like a burden or change the way that they view you if you had the certain relationship. And I think what you were saying, how it may not seem like a big deal, just the way you're wanting to dress it, you know, it may not seem like one, but it, it is, you know, that's how people— it's one way we express ourselves is through the way we dress and through the way we outwardly present ourselves to the world. And I think what people may not understand is even just looking in the mirror and, or seeing a picture of you dressing how you want, or just like feeling good that way, it makes a huge difference on just the way you view yourself and your confidence in the way that you portray yourself into the, into the world. So I think it sounds like at an early age, you, like I said, you maybe didn't have the, the intellect to be like, I feel like I'm identifying a certain way. You did know like there was something, like something was not feeling aligning as to what the typical little girl is supposed to be, be doing, right?

Yeah, exactly. I had like a lot of internal thoughts that I kind of pushed down until Obviously, eventually, I couldn't hold them down anymore.

Yeah, my gosh, I totally relate to that. So yeah, you say you came out in 2017. So how does that look for you? Like, how did you— did you confide in a couple people first? Because for me personally, I didn't come out as gay until I was 24, 23, 24, and I'm 29 now. So I understand that part. And for me, it was I confided in a couple people finally. I had never spoken a word of it till I was literally probably 23. It's when I first told a couple people in my life. So is that kind of how it started for you? Like slowly started to tell people you trusted? Were your parents someone that you were— people you were able to confide in from the beginning? Or how did that go for you?

Yeah, so I technically came out twice, per se. Like I came out as a lesbian at first. And I just, I couldn't really connect with the terminology of or the label a lesbian because internally, I felt like I was just like straight. That's like a different conversation, I guess.

Yeah.

I came out as, as gay when I was 18. It was still 2017. It's the same year. And then I came out to just like my close friends. It's not like I really had to come out because I would say everybody already knew that I was like attracted to girls and everything just based off like how I dressed and everything. You could assume that, but then I came out as trans a few months later to my best friend, Claire Leo. And then I had a girlfriend at the time, so I told her. And after that is when I basically, I couldn't like physically tell my parents. It was just too hard of a conversation to kind of have. So I'm definitely better with getting my words out as a writer, I feel. It's just easier for me.

Sure.

So I wrote a letter on the computer. I printed that out for my mom to read before she went to bed that night. And then She actually came out to my dad for me because I just couldn't. So I'm assuming we didn't— we haven't really had that conversation, but like, I'm assuming she shared the letter and just like explained what was going on in a way. So.

And this was 2017?

Yeah, 2017.

How old were you?

I was 18.

You were 18.

Okay.

Yeah, I was a senior in high school.

Okay. I, again, I really relate to that part as well because I, I also did not know how to put this into words. And I think for me too, I didn't, I didn't want to—

my parents specifically, I didn't want to know their reactions.

Like I didn't, I didn't want to see their faces like before, like whenever I told them, uh, I grew up in a very small conservative town. It just wasn't normal to be gay. Even to them, just their, their view of the world. They still to this day where they live, just don't see that as often. So I sent them, I literally sent them text messages just to tell them and was at the end of my message. I just was like, when you wanna talk to me, just call me. I just, I don't wanna see that reaction. Um, and not. To like put them down or any fault of them. That was on me. That was just something I didn't want to have to face or see. And also I think I put things better into words as well, uh, writing it down versus trying to like verbally process it. So yeah, let's, so let's kind of talk about, so how did you, well, first of all, I guess my question is when you, when you came out as transgender, was there some, was there somebody that you saw that you were like, oh, that's how I feel? Or was it just something that you just knew inside of you? Like how, how did you come to that? that conclusion of like, that's, that's how I'm feeling, that's how I'm identifying.

So there's 2, like, I guess you could say influencers in the trans community at that time that I like just stumbled across randomly. One was Sam Collins, he's on YouTube. And I ended up just like going through his social media, like deep diving on stuff. And then I came across someone else named Wes Tucker. He's not really as open regards to like his journey and stuff. But like, just knowing that he's transgender and like he looks like that, like, I looked up to him in a way because I was like, I want to like go through this process and literally look like this guy. So I basically went on like a rampage of research, like every single night on YouTube, just Googling everything, just trying to learn more about stuff. I'm big into doing my own research and just trying to figure things out for myself. Until I actually share the facts with like other people, because I want to make sure like this is truly like what I want to do and like what I identify as and stuff. And just like it falls into line with how I'm feeling too.

So the first steps that you're taking to make this transition, when exactly did that start? And what do you— how does that work? Do you go to your primary care and say, this is what I'm wanting to do, and they refer you? How does the very beginning first stages of Transitioning? How does it work?

So it really depends. Everyone's like journey is different, obviously, like you're not going to go down the same road that I went about it. For me, I lined it up in regards to what was most important. So I figured out, like, I wanted to get on hormones first, and then I wanted top surgery, like those were the top 2 things. And then I knew like bottom surgery was definitely something I wanted. But that's going to be like the last step, because that's probably the most like intensive thing to go through, which it was. So for getting on hormones and stuff, I had to find a primary doctor. And then I also needed like, you need like letters from a mental health specialist. So I went to therapy for a couple months just to make sure like, I am like struggling with gender dysphoria and stuff like that, that I am transgender. And I did that, I acquired some letters from therapists along the way. And then I was able to kind of get on hormones, but I didn't start like my journey until 2019. So I came out in 2017 and I gave myself, but also like the people in my corner, a grace period to kind of like understand what I was about to do.

Gotcha. Okay, so you, so you go to the therapy, you get, you get the documentation you need, and then you go to your provider and they started you on— was it just testosterone? Um, then you start that process before you do any kind of Top surgery?

Yeah, so I went on testosterone. You don't need to go on testosterone to get top surgery. That's just the way I went about it. I went on testosterone. And then right after I was during this time period, I was figuring out like legally changing my name on everything. So that was a process in itself during this time. And then on top of that, I was looking for a surgeon for top surgery during this year and just like setting up consultation with them. Figuring out like things were going to align correctly in regards to what I was looking for and that he was going to take care of me and do a good job.

Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, that's important, obviously. What— so when you first start taking— I'm just curious, like when you— how did it feel when you first started taking testosterone? What kind of— I don't even know if you'd call them symptoms, but what kind of changes were you experiencing that you were like, well, this is wild? Or was there any? Or was it just kind of like, oh, I started getting a little bit maybe more hair? Or what were those big differences?

Yeah, I was extremely nervous to get on testosterone. That's also like another reason why I pushed it off for a little bit. Just, you know, I really wanted to make sure like this is what I wanted to do.

Yeah, yeah, of course.

So eventually when I got my first shot, like they showed me how to do it myself because I do it every single Friday. It's— I didn't feel anything. Like I was excited after the fact, but I didn't like start to notice changes until probably A month in, I would say like the first change I started to notice was just like my appetite. I started to become like extremely hungry. Yeah, it's— you're basically going through puberty like a teen.

Yeah, yeah, that's what I was about to— that literally was about what I was about to say, was it's probably just like the— that teenage boy, like you're just ravenous.

Yeah, that's literally what it's like. And then I, I would say the first 3 months, um, One of the physical first physical changes is like, your clitoris like grows when you're on testosterone, especially like if women take steroids too, like their clitoris is going to grow.

Wow.

That was like one of the first physical changes. And then my voice started cracking a little bit more. And within like a 2-year grace period is when it started to drop here and there. But I would say it's definitely the appetite. And then the physical change was My my bottom area started to grow a little bit.

Yeah, yeah. So when you were so this point you were twenty when you started, correct? Is that how am I getting that timeline correct? So it's twenty nineteen.

Yes.

Okay. Okay. So were you were you in college or what what stage in life were you in? And that's that's one of my questions and kind of off topic of that. And you don't I'm not asking you to like give us numbers, but was is this something that insurance helps with? Or is this something that's all out of pocket?

So insurance for me is— I've had great insurance. I've been on my mom's plan, like under 26. I'm 26 now. So I've been on my own for like a year or two. But I was on my mom's during this time I was in college, I was going into my junior year when I started testosterone. So I was basically transitioning While I was in the midst of college.

Wow. Yeah.

How was that socially? Because you say— so you started college and then you started this transition. Yeah, that must have been— was that hard in your social circle or—

That was pretty hard. Um, I did go to like one college and I transferred to another college my second year, my sophomore year. So I played basketball my sophomore year at this college.

Oh, really?

I had a good group of like girls behind me, a lot of friends, I would say a social life was, was pretty good. And I already came out, obviously, in 2017, because I published like a YouTube video just to publicly come out. I thought that was the easiest way for me to do it.

Yeah.

So that was out there in the world. And obviously, like, all of us being on social media, like they came across that eventually.

Mm-hmm.

Um, we did like briefly discuss it and like people asked about it and like they were still so supportive of me. So I thought that was very cool. And they just made me feel extremely comfortable in whatever setting I was. So I really respect and appreciate like all of my college friends because they were going through the transition with me, um, during this time. So They were definitely the people that I fell back on during like these like first 2 years that were probably the most difficult times of my transition. But they were all pretty supportive. It was difficult at first and just like getting used to my name change, my pronouns change, like they were she to her and they went to he to him. So yeah, it's just like I, I have an understanding like these people are going through the transition with me, it's going to be difficult for them as well.

Sure.

So I wanted to be like pretty supportive on my side and have them understand, like, I know you're going to mess up on whatever, but as like you trying to make these changes and adjustments, that means the world to me. So I appreciated that.

Yeah.

Yeah. I think that that's huge having that support really. And what you're saying, I feel like it's great too, is not being so rigid with it. And as long as someone is Making that attempt and that effort and trying and seeing you for who you are. Um, I think that that's, it's huge. It takes both sides to kind of come together and go through something, a transition like that, especially people who had known you one way and then you're transitioning into, you know, your, your authentic self and feeling who you want to be. Yeah. I think that that's, that's important to have kind of both sides there. So let's kind of dive in. Were you, were you documenting this on social media from the very beginning or did you kind of hop in and do it as you were like, where did you get that idea to start documenting all of it?

Yeah, so I didn't, I wasn't really doing it in the beginning. I would say I started to really document it. Like, maybe I slowly started to post on TikTok. Like, I don't know, my second year, like towards the end of my senior year of college. And I started to receive, I had, I was growing a little bit of a following, but then I was receiving so much hate that I couldn't really— take it at that point. I wasn't as confident, I would say. So I ended up like deleting that account. And then I did start over again with the TikTok that I have now. And I've been doing it ever since, like probably 20— what, 2021, 2022?

Okay, so a couple, a couple years. And yeah, that's, that's one of the hardest things about social media is just the hate that people get. And I can imagine you're going through this transition, you're already very vulnerable. And all these changes and to have people feeding your head full of these hate comments and just anything is probably, it's just all noise. And trying to process all of that is probably like near impossible while trying to like keep your own mental health in line, right?

Yeah, 100%. My mental health was probably not in the best spot to be able to like be as vulnerable as I was. So it definitely needed some time to work on that.

Yeah, yeah, I feel that. Okay, so I'm trying to get the timeline straight here. So you did the testosterone and then at what point After how long were you on that before you then decided to do the top surgery? And then talk to us about that. How did that go? How was the recovery? Did you have to be hospitalized? Was this all outpatient appointments? How was that?

Yeah, so 2017, I came out. 2019, I started testosterone. And then I legally changed my name during this year as well. 2020, right before COVID I was able to squeeze in my top surgery. So I was grateful for that.

Yeah.

So it was just like, I went into the hospital, I got top surgery. And then I was out of the hospital like same day. And I was just resting and recovering during this time period. And then I was going to my surgeon's office, which was like, it's a plastic surgeon. So I was going to his office for just like checkups, just making sure things were kind of like healing as they should be.

But yeah, this New York City, or is this where you live in?

No, this is where I live. So in Syracuse.

Okay. Okay, so you didn't so you didn't have to be hospitalized for it. It was just you went in, had the procedure, went home.

Yeah, I did not be hospitalized.

Okay, and how was that? Was it was this like a specific to it was just plastic surgery, so it wasn't specific to gender transitions. It was just anybody going in for plastic surgery.

The way I'm able to get it covered by insurance is that it falls under my gender affirming care. All of the surgeries I've gotten have fallen. Under that, which my insurance does cover. I'm grateful for.

Oh, nice. That's amazing.

That's how I've been able to get everything covered. And just, you just need like your mental health letters and just like your doctor letters as well. Um, like notes and stuff.

So how, when you go in, when you went into this appointment to have this done, how, how was the, the staff? Were they, were they accepting of you? Were they, did they ask you questions or did they just, was it just like another day at work for them where they weren't even thinking twice about it? Or did you have, did you ever have nurses or doctors during this this time that you felt judgment or maybe they said things to you that were inappropriate? Did you ever have any of that or no?

I would say no. Like I've been through— I'm grateful for my experience. Of course, I've been through like so much within such a short amount of time. So I feel like I've kind of like it's all a blur at this point. Yeah, but my, my top surgeon, like he's dealt with top surgery for trans individuals for many years.

Okay.

So he made me feel extremely comfortable just in the room himself. He's cracking jokes and stuff and just like complimenting me and just making sure that I was comfortable, which meant a lot to me. And then just the nurse practitioners and stuff, like they were all very nice, very friendly. So I appreciated everything that I've been through with them.

And I feel like that's huge to have, especially when you're going— I mean, that's, that's major. You're going in, you know, for surgery, you're essentially like chopping things off or making it, you know, whatever it is that you're doing as far as the surgery goes. And that goes for really any any kind of plastic surgery, I imagine. I've never had it, but not even just, um, like gender transitions. Um, I think that it has to be important to just feel comfortable in the setting that you're going into. So I'm glad that you had that because I don't, I don't think that— I feel like maybe for people that are going in for specifically for gender transitions, I'm sure that the, these places are mostly accepting of that and making the, the patients or the clients feel comfortable, or else why would they be doing what they're doing, right?

Yeah, exactly. I also, I think I would say like I was pretty anxious in the beginning stages. So definitely around like top surgery, and when I had to get a hysterectomy, I was pretty anxious just to kind of like meet with these people because I wasn't as confident in my body. But along the years, as I've gotten more confident, more comfortable in my body, like, it's just like, oh, whatever. Like, I know there's people out there, especially in this line of work, that probably aren't too educated on the trans side of things when it comes to surgeries like this. So That's why I'm just like a bit lenient when I go into these appointments. I'm just like, oh, maybe this person doesn't really— isn't too knowledgeable on this stuff. So I'm willing to answer whatever questions they have, but also like try to make it so casual of a conversation so that we're both comfortable.

Yeah, I think that goes back to what you were talking about with your friends when you went through this transition is I feel like as long as people are willing to learn and be educated about these topics and not not make it seem like it's so taboo or so, or make you feel alienated for who you are. Um, I think again, that's like the meeting in the middle of, of you from your standpoint being like, I understand that you don't know everything about this, or you don't know exactly maybe how to approach talking to me, but I'm going to meet you halfway and we can learn from each other on how exactly this works or how, how to make us feel the most comfortable would be, I think, the most important in that. So you never, so during this, you never, you never had any times where you stayed overnight in the hospital?

No.

I did after my hysterectomy, but that's just because like, I ended up getting out of my surgery so late that I— they asked if I wanted to stay overnight. I said, yeah, sure.

Okay.

But the people that would check up on me, like the nurses that were working the station that night, they were so nice. And like, I was just cracking jokes with them because I was, I was bored at that point. And I even eventually, I remember I got out of bed and I was like asking them if they wanted to hang out, if They had time because I just, I needed to pass the time. But no, I've basically, I think everything that I've been through, it's been a good, like, smooth ride for me. So.

Nice. That really is great to hear. So after how long was the recovery from, from the top surgery? And at what point did you— because I've seen on your page you've really gotten into fitness. At what point did you start taking that a lot more seriously and start getting a lot more into fitness and health?

Yeah, so I played college basketball for a year, and then I started my transition. And after playing ball, I ended up resorting to like strength training, lifting, just being in the gym because I really wanted to, to build the body that I've always imagined. And then going through top surgery, I recovered during COVID So I recovered for probably a month and a half. And then I started to like integrate some at-home workouts 'Cause that's all I could do. And then I tried to get into running again during this time, and then I slowly got back into the gym. So this is like what, 2020, towards the end of 2020. And then I started to really focus in on my fitness in 2021. I moved down to Florida and that's when I really like did a heavy bulk. And that's like when I've been able to put on my most muscle mass. And then I took like I got like my certification to be a personal trainer. And that's really when I learned all my knowledge on stuff. And since 2021, like I've really focused on my, my health and just my fitness, because just by doing this, I'm able to build the body that I'm comfortable in, and that I'm confident in. And then obviously, that just falls into line with everything else in my life and just how I go about my life. And carry myself.

Yeah. Yeah. How important is it for you to now, like you said, you finally are getting this body that you, that you want, you feel most comfortable in. So how even now when you look in the mirror, do you still catch yourself like, well, that's me. Like, I, you know, I feel so good. How important has that been for you in this process? To look at yourself and just be like, that's, that's me.

Yeah, it's extremely important. I would say just seeing what I look like in the mirror now, I'm actually like, I'm happy of what I'm looking at. Before, it was very hard for me before my transition. Like I always say this, like I used to cry to myself because I was not happy with what I was looking at. And I just hated my body and just the image that I was seeing. It just did not fit what I was like feeling internally. So being able to internally feel this way and just look at myself and feel this connection, it's very soothing. It's definitely a huge weight lifted off my shoulder. So it's definitely a great feeling. And I also want to like mention, you mentioned this earlier, like, I hated how I looked. So I hated taking pictures.

Yeah.

Now I love how I look. And I'm taking pictures of myself all the time. People, maybe it comes off as like, a little cocky. But in reality, I'm just, I'm confident with who I am. I've worked hard to be where I'm at today. So I'm not gonna like be afraid to show it off and stuff.

Right. And you should not be. I mean, it's, again, that's, you are comfortable in your skin and who you are. And you, especially for somebody like, like you who spent a lot of your life not, I mean, of course, I mean, flaunt it. It's, you've worked hard for it. You've gone through these. I mean, it's not like these procedures you're going through are just like, Simple procedures. I mean, they're extensive. And so I, yeah, I think that that is great. And I think that you, anybody out there who's, you know, wanting to should feel comfortable, you know, posting themselves and all the fitness things that you do without a shirt and all that. It's important for people to see. And is there anything else you'd like to leave? Any parting words? How can we find you on social media? How can people follow your journey?

I'm on social media, obviously. Instagram's just Liam Lazore. TikTok's Liam Laz 23. I would say I just, I share so much on both platforms. So it really depends on like, whatever people are looking to get into, whether it be you're trans or not. I just try to like inspire other people, provide like comfort in a way, just knowing like you are valid as in regards to like whatever it is that you're feeling. But the biggest thing is just patience is what I always advise to anybody. I've learned a lot. I've gone through a lot, and time is everything. Time heals all. I've had to really take a step back and figure out who I was during all of this. So it really is like you you want so much to get done, but you can only control so much. So it really is comes down to like patience and just trusting the process. And yeah, everything does fall into line. So. Patience is key.

Yeah, I love it. Well, thank you so much, Liam. I appreciate you sharing your story with us here. And yeah, just thank you for being here, and thank you for being such a light in in the world.

Absolutely appreciate you for having me on.

From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to thank you for being here at Club Nurse. I hope you gained something valuable from today's episode, and if you did, remember to share this episode with someone that you love. Follow me on socials at. @NurseDaddies or @ColtonLord17, and be sure to follow nurse.org to stay informed with all of the hottest healthcare topics. Until next time, take care of yourself the way you take care of everyone else. Love ya. Bye.