Ely Malik: Meet Cuba’s First Officially Recognized Trans Athlete

Cuban society is becoming more inclusive, but it’s a slow process fraught with tension. Ely Malik Reyes carries the weight of being the first trans athlete to be officially recognized by the Cuban Sports Commission.

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández sat down with Malik to talk about how he became the man he always was.

TRANSCRIPT

“You have to learn to face the world, because the attacks are atrocious. So why should I feel bad, when that person doesn’t feel bad about attacking me?” said Eli Malik Reyes, a Black trans man and martial arts athlete in Cuba. “I am Eli Malik, resilient and a dreamer of life.”

“As a Black woman, I learned early how to defend myself,” said Liz Oliva Fernández, journalist with Belly of the Beast. “As a journalist, I learned how to speak up for myself and for others. What I didn’t learn was how to stand back up after being knocked down. Malik was the first person who taught me how to fight back.”

“Eli Malik Reyes is the only trans athlete officially recognized by Cuba’s sports league,” Oliva explained. “It took years for him to compete as who he has always been: a man.”

“I had never fought a woman,” Malik said. “In martial arts, you don’t see many women. Before my transition, I always fought with men.”

“I even remember my coach telling me we weren’t doing anything we hadn’t done our whole lives,” he recalled. “But we had to meet certain parameters and specific tests and be prepared.”

“In order to compete, one requirement was hormone treatment,” Malik explained. “The other was that it had to be physically clear that I could take that step.”

“One of the things we considered when I started training after my transition was that I would stop competing. That I’d continue my training as a coach and simply devote myself to teaching,” he said.

“I told my coach the world was very convulsed around the trans community,” Malik recalled. “That it was very difficult for trans people to enter the competitive world, and that we should stick to the plan to avoid problems.”

“But in the league we were competing in, there was a missing weight,” he added. “I said, even though the situation was difficult, the only 60–65 kilo athlete ready was me.”

“Malik officially competed for the first time in the men’s 60–65 kilogram MMA division in June 2024,” Oliva noted.

“The preparation was intense and uncertain because I trained without approval,” Malik said. “We trained four or five months without knowing if we would be approved.”

“I stopped everything, even work,” he added. “I trained twice a day.”

“After two or three months, my coach told me we had approval,” Malik recalled.

“I said, this is my moment,” he said. “No nerves. It was my moment to show who I am.”

“Malik lost that fight, but he made history,” Oliva explained. “He became the first trans athlete to compete.”

“It was a happy day,” Malik said. “My family was in the stands. My partner was there. My teammates were there.”

“Even though I didn’t win, I felt satisfied,” he explained. “Standing there and letting people see a trans man competing at the same level gave me peace.”

“There were many transphobic comments,” Malik said. “People speaking from ignorance.”

“That didn’t make me shrink or feel fear,” he added. “I focused that anger on training.”

“In 2025, Malik had five or six official fights,” Oliva said. “He placed on the podium in all but one and won gold at 70 kilos.”

“There’s no distinction here between men and women,” Malik said. “There is respect.”

“This space is safe for everyone,” he added. “Frank is the creator of all this. He’s my idol.”

“The first time I stepped into the ring as Eli Malik, it felt like the planets aligned,” he said. “I was fighting as who I truly am.”

“I feel free,” Malik added. “I am happy.”

“Being the first puts pressure on you,” he said. “I can’t fail, because what comes next depends on me.”

“When you recognize who you are, everything that isn’t in tune with that makes you uncomfortable,” Malik reflected.

“My mother is very loving,” he said. “When she understood what transitioning meant, she stayed silent, but she never stopped loving me.”

“On July 18, 2025, Cuba passed a new Civil Registry Law,” Oliva explained. “Now trans people can change their gender marker without surgery.”

“Being trans doesn’t mean having surgery,” Malik said. “Why should I have to reach points that are not who I am?”

“Transphobia and machismo are still barriers,” he added. “But whoever they put in front of me, I’m going to fight.”

“If I could tell my younger self something,” Malik concluded, “it would be to move forward without fear. Everything is going to be okay.”