Austen O'Hara, raised in a fundamentalist family in the Midwest, turned to the military for liberation from his restrictive upbringing. Growing up with strict gender roles, O'Hara felt lost after failing to fulfill his family's expectations as a pastor's wife. Joining the Air Force in 2014 marked a significant turning point. During his military service, he discovered his transgender identity but faced obstacles when Donald Trump announced plans to ban transgender people from the military. Despite this, O'Hara resolved to transition, driven by a need to express his true self.
"If [music] had anything but piano and organ, like if it had electric guitar or drums, it was considered Satanic or bad," he says, highlighting the extremism of his parents' beliefs. "We weren't allowed to go to movie theaters, we weren't allowed to watch movies, we didn't have TV. All the girls in our house had to wear skirts ... even to bed, I had to wear skirts."
"I've always wanted to join the military - and thank goodness I [did] because, I mean, joining the Air Force was my ticket out of the cult that I grew up in," he says.
"It wasn't until 2018 where I kind of started to discover myself," he explains.
"Feeling 'panicked' at the idea of not being able to start his transition, or possibly have to wait another six years until his contract was up, O'Hara decided to push forward."
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