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Trans hockey star Harrison Browne on his new film, scootering around L.A. & being a cat dad
Browne is writing a trans-positive short film, "Pink Light."
Harrison Browne made history as the first publicly out trans pro hockey player in the U.S. Now, the trailblazer wants to break ground in another way: providing trans kids with a cinematic depiction of how good life can be post-transition.
Browne, who’s pursued a career in acting since hanging up his skates in 2017, is producing a trans positive short film called Pink Light. The move is centered around the protagonist, Scott, who travels back in time as his pre-transition self and takes viewers along for his life-saving journey.
A former hockey player, Scott gazes into a pink light in his apartment, and is transported back to a pivotal frat party, where he experiences male bonding for the first time.
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Scott’s story is also Harrison’s. He’ll be taking on the role himself.
“When I see trans characters written, it’s usually a trans character going through a transition at a younger time,” he said. “That younger character going through a transition is important, but I really just wanted to show a 30-year-old trans person just having a life, and having the transition not be part of their mind.
“I don’t really think about being trans anymore, only when it comes up.”
When talking to Harrison, it quickly becomes apparent that he’s found personal peace. Though he loved playing hockey, and won two championships in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), his athletic career prevented him from fully transitioning.
Nowadays, Harrison is the man he’s always dreamed of. His most blissful moments come when he’s just living his life, such as when he’s scootering around Los Angeles, or rocking his favorite baseball hat with his dirty blonde hair poking out.
Above all else, those are the experiences he wants to highlight.
“I wanted to see that when I was younger. If I had seen something like this when I was in college, it would’ve given me some sort of blueprint for this future that was so elusive for me,” he said.
Ahead of Transgender Day of Visibility, Queerty caught up with Harrison to talk about his motivation for writing Pink Light, life with his partner and his newfound cat dad status. Here’s what he had to say…
QUEERTY: What is your intention with Pink Light?
HARRISON BROWNE: Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about trans youth and sports, and the impact sports had in my life. It made things easier for me, but it also made things hard, because I couldn’t physically transition. I was just thinking back to that version of myself that I felt badly on. It’s based on my college experience, and I remember thinking back to that version and feeling like “cringe.” We all have that kind of feel about our younger selves at times.
I just thought how much that younger version went through, being a Division 1 athlete, dealing with gender identity, dealing with growing up in a religious household, and just kind of had gratitude for this version of myself that brought me to where I am today. I’m 30 years old now, I’m physically transitioned. I’m in a new phase of my life, and I’ve just been practicing a lot of gratitude for that time. I’m thankful that version didn’t give up, and I really wanted to pay some tribute to that time in my life.
You’ve been visible and outspoken about your experience for years. What are some correspondences you’ve had that have really jumped out at you?
I’m writing a book right now with my sister, and we’ve interviewed people from all over the world, different ages. But I think the biggest interactions I have are with youth. There’s a young trans boy whom I spoke to–he lives in Boston–and just talking to him, he’s 12 years old, and knowing that I played hockey and went to a Division 1 college, he has dreams of going to [Boston University], and being on the Terriers hockey team. His mom sent me a letter after the Zoom interview, saying he couldn’t stop talking about it. So I sent him one of my jerseys, and he has it on his wall now, with his favorite NHL players. I just think having a positive role model, and seeing a blueprint for the future is so important. If I had seen somebody like that when I was 12, it would’ve blown my mind.
What are some moments that have stuck out since you’ve transitioned that made you think, “I’m being me?”
I think at the beginning of anyone’s transitions, it’s the big ones: getting top surgery, being out for the first time with your shirt off. Those were amazing moments for me. But I think I’m five years on [testosterone] now–almost six, which is crazy–and I’m finding a lot more comfort in how I look now. I feel like I look my age. I feel like I’m getting some legit facial hair that I have to shave every few days. There are moments when I see myself in the mirror having to do this. I think now that it’s become the norm, it’s not that it’s not still shiny, but it’s not as new. It’s those quiet moments of, “This is me, I’ve grown into the man I’ve always dreamed of.” It’s those little moments. I took a video of myself on a scooter yesterday in LA to show my partner–I was scootering around–and I looked at it and said, “That’s me.” It’s not the crazy reveals. It’s this underlying piece.
Though you’ve retired from hockey, you’re still in great shape! What’s your workout routine?
I do CrossFit now. I used to be like, “Oh, CrossFit.” It had some negative connotations. I think not as much anymore, because the workouts have become more accessible for people. But I have this really great gym that I go to in Toronto. It’s right by my place, and it’s so queer friendly. It’s such a nice environment. It’s the closest kind of workouts to hockey workouts that I’ve been able to find. We do squats, bench press, crazy circuits. I can’t get away from working out. When I retired, I was like “I don’t have to workout, I don’t have to do cardio, I don’t have to do anything.” I had like a year where I was like, “Sweet, I don’t have to push my body at all.” Then I started getting antsy. I’ve been doing CrossFit since then!
What do you do for fun?
I love movies, I watch movies with my friends. I hang out with my cats. I love my cats! But yeah, I love hanging out with my friends in a way that I never have. I’ve never had the time to just sit and hang and settle. It’s really nice to be able to lead a “normie” life. We call it “NARP,” non-athlete regular person. It’s just nice to live a NARP life!
Would you consider yourself a cat dad?
I’m 100% a cat dad! My background on my phone is my two cats. They’re my babies. I had ferrets before, and I actually had a viral ferret video. I had a YouTube video that had like 2 million views on it for ferrets, and I made $900 one month on ads. I still make money off of it passively. I’ve always loved animals, but I could never have a dog or a cat. But now that I’m a 30-year-old man in my own apartment, it’s just really nice to have. I have two bengal cats, Mike and Donnie, and I love them so much.
You’ve mentioned your partner a couple of times. How did you two meet?
We were really good friends for like a year and a half. We’ve been each other’s best friends for a while. But we recently moved from friendship to dating about five months ago. So it’s still pretty new; but yeah, we’ve been traveling together and writing together. It’s been really nice. I’ve never dated a friend before, and it’s a great transition. It’s a scary transition, because there’s a lot more at stake, but it’s nice to have that kind of foundation when you’re dating.
What else do you have planned for this year?
Just writing a lot! Really hammering that book home, and then I have a script that I’ve been working on that’s just gotten optioned, so that’s really exciting. So just working away, and auditioning when I can. But obviously, working on this movie and getting funding for that is going to be the next few months of my life.
To contribute to Pink Light‘s kickstarter, click here.
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