Venture Out
“I was working this corporate job, and, every day, I looked out the window and thought, ‘Man, those mountains are so beautiful, I wish I was out there’,” remembers Perry Cohen.
Growing up, Perry was an outdoorsy kid–hiking and cross-country skiing in rural New Hampshire. He was thrilled when, as a teenager, he got to sign up for an Outward Bound course. But the experience left him disappointed. For the first time, he didn’t click with the group.
Perry reconnected strongly with the outdoors in his late thirties, as he transitioned from female to male. Being outside helped Perry have an appreciation for a body that he had felt alienated from. Looking out that window, he realized that he wanted to help other transgender folks get outside.
“I thought there must be some queer outdoor organization leading trips that I could go work for, but I didn’t find one. So, I got despondent for about twenty-four hours, and then I thought to myself, ‘I’ve led a corporate HR department, I understand how to run a business, maybe I should just start one’. And so I did.”
Learn more at ventureoutproject.com
Music: Tension Drums by Bradley Carter • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Red Rocks by Bradley Carter • Gotta Keep Moving by Publish the Quest • Then What?! by Publish the Quest • Shine by Publish the Quest • Monsoon Rains by Publish the Quest
Tracks provided with permission from the artists.
I find it strange that the large group of hikers felt threaten by the single hiker in the shelter before them. Because he was acting “strange”. I think he was the one that felt threatened by this group that said them self they appeared strange during their transition. How did they not consider his feelings? Sounds like he was asking questions to evaluate the risk to himself. Pretty selfish of this group in my opinion to assume it’s all about them.
When you look at the well documented violence, and hate crimes committed against the LGBTQ+ community I believe they were 100% justified in their apprehension to the individual in question. He was outwardly aggressive to them in confronting their gender identity openly. “Selfish” is hardly the word I would use to describe these extremely brave individuals.
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