Tell Shelley Anne: Interview With Fallon Fox

An interview with Fallon Fox

Fallon Fox is a retired professional Mixed Martial Arts Fighter specializing in the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, wrestling, and Muay Thai. In 2008, Fallon debuted as the first openly transgender professional fighter and was instantly pushed into the limelight. Her courage and resilience earned her an induction into the National Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. Fallon completed her career with a record of 5-1-0 in MMA. Since then, Fallon has continued to train in various sports, while shifting her focus towards an advocacy role for the future of trans people in sport and the rest of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2021, Fallon was named Outsports Pioneer Triumph Award winner. Fallon will be the subject of an upcoming biopic produced by Mark Gordon Pictures and was recently featured in Stack the Deck Against Hate, the inaugural set of transgender athlete trading cards designed to raise awareness and combat the anti-transgender legislation that is sweeping the U.S.  

What attracted you to martial arts fighting?

Back in 2007 I was looking to get into shape and lose weight. I ended up meeting an MMA trainer at a fitness gym who directed me to MMA training. He told me that the training would get me into shape and help with self-defense which I thought was really cool. After I started training, I looked up professional women’s MMA fighters and found them to be inspiring. They were courageous, tough, and completely badass. And I wanted to be just like them.

Now retired, what sports are you active in?

Since I retired, I really haven’t been active in many sports. The pandemic and injuries have kept me inactive lately. However, hopefully my injuries will heal in the near future. I plan to start training martial arts again in some capacity whenever that happens. Until then, I am doing physical training and getting myself in shape to prepare for that.

Talk about the upcoming biopic.

I am so happy that the film is being created. It’s really needed at this time when we have so much negativity aimed at the transgender population, especially in sports. The biopic is in development by Mark Gordon Pictures and will be based on my life. The production company has done amazing films such as Saving Private Ryan, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Day After Tomorrow, Speed, and many other well-known films. So, this should be a project that ends up producing that kind of quality. I am working as a consultant on the film and the writers are T Cooper and Alison Glock. T Cooper is trans and I think that it is excellent to have a writer who is trans helping create the script.

The transgender athlete trading cards sounds like an interesting project. How did it get started and are there more featured athlete cards in development?

I believe the project was started because there are bills that have been introduced enacting or attempted to enact legislation banning transgender kids from sports. The project Stack The Deck Against Hate recycles bills designated to bar transgender and nonbinary kids from playing sports. If one donates, they get the chance to receive a deck of trading cards featuring one of 4 transgender athletes. In the future, the promotion plans on adding other transgender athletes to the trading card series. It’s really exciting to be involved with it and I hope that we raise lots of money from donations as it goes toward our community through Lambda Legal in a positive way.

How can TGForum readers get their hands on the cards and contribute to the project?

It is quite easy to throw your hat in for the chance at receiving a deck. All you have to do is go to stackthedeckagainsthate.org and select the donate option.

You appear to be in excellent physical shape. Can you offer any tips about diet, and daily physical activity? How often do you work out?

Thank you. Well, I am working to get back into shape after my injuries and layoff because of coronavirus closings. At the moment I am working out 5 days a week for a couple of hours a day. This is nothing like my old workout regimen as an active professional fighter training martial arts for around 4 or so hours a day. Currently I am doing weightlifting and cardio when I work out and I am on a low carb diet which is typical for me when I want to get a boost in losing fat.

I’m certain you’re proud of the transgender athletes who competed in the Olympics in Tokyo.

Yes, I am highly proud of all the transgender athletes who competed or attended the Olympics this year — especially Laurel Hubbard who endured the vast majority of hate.  It was truly historic to have so many trans athletes. I think that their visibility will inspire other trans athletes to double their efforts to up their game and get on the same level to get to the Olympics themselves. And it’s really inspiring for trans kids to see these athletes compete. Heck, I think it’s inspiring for cisgender people as well!

What irks you the most about the lack of government intervention around transgender issues?

I think what irks me the most is that government doesn’t seem to be treating transgender issues and transgender people as seriously and with as much respect and validity as other minority groups. We are gaining ground on that front but there is still a long way to go. 

Have you ever thought about running for political office either at the state or federal level?

Running for office is not something I am interested in. I prefer the entertainment industry.

At the end of the day, what makes you laugh?

I am a sucker for 90s comedy movies. For some reason movies like Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, UHF, and Mallrats split my sides on almost every view.

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Tags: Activist, Fallon Fox, featured, interview

Category: Interview