A trans man is inspiring people to overcome their fears - by posting videos of himself in uncomfortable situations.<br /><br />Ezra Butler, 21, started the online series in June last year to try and tackle an eating disorder.<br /><br />He posted videos of himself eating what he described as "fear foods" - such as pizza and pasta.<br /><br />His followers then started requesting more videos - pushing Ezra to branch out into more general fears.<br /><br />He has since posted more than 190 clips - to more than a million followers - including travelling on the tube and shopping as a trans person.<br /><br />Ezra claims his followers have since messaged to say they have been inspired by his actions - with one even deciding to move countries.<br /><br />Ezra, who is self-employed, from Brighton, East Sussex, said: “Making the videos has been a really lovely process, it made me feel a lot more confident in myself. <br /><br />“My TikTok began as holding myself accountable and trying to look after myself better and push myself out of my comfort zone as I had an eating disorder.<br /><br />“I just wanted to conquer anything that caused me anxiety to show others it’ll all be okay. Whether that’s social anxiety or fear around food.”<br /><br />Ezra believes conquering other people’s social anxieties helped him to finally face his own.<br /><br />He added: “While I was making the ‘fear food’ videos, I got a lot of requests to tackle other scary situations and eventually I branched out. <br /><br />“It felt really wild to start with. I was requested to go up to strangers around Brighton and compliment them, and I got an amazing response to that.<br /><br />"Then I’d take myself out to the cinema and for food - it was really lovely.<br /><br />“It’s now become the biggest part of my TikTok and it’s basically what I’m known for now.”<br /><br />Strangers have even started to spot Ezra in the street and tell him how his videos have helped them. <br /><br />He said: “I’ve had people come up to me in person, on the street - but mostly inside clubs around Brighton. <br /><br />“People have showed me tattoos they’ve got because my videos inspired them to conquer that fear. <br /><br />“Others have said they literally moved countries, all the way to Brighton on a whim because my videos have encouraged them to really live.”<br /><br />Ezra has also made a successful series about his gender transition. <br /><br />He sits down and talks through his experience with gender identity throughout his life and about reestablishing his pronouns as he/him. <br /><br />"I came out initially as non-binary while on TikTok," Ezra said. “I wasn’t quite sure yet who I actually was, but I think I knew I wasn’t a girl.<br /><br />"I went by they/them/she/her - but I was secretly so disappointed when people used ‘she/her’ - which they predominantly were. <br /><br />"I realised, eventually, that ‘he/him’ were actually my most comfortable and fitting pronouns.<br /><br />"I visited the GP in late March and was prescribed testosterone, which I’ve now been on for six weeks.” <br /><br />Ezra is hoping to undergo top surgery - in which his breasts will be removed - later this year.
