Transgender activist and entrepreneur raises awareness as his recreation of iconic naked photo of Adam Levine goes viral

• Aydian Dowling, 27, was asked to recreate the iconic photo of Adam Levine for female-to-male transgender magazine FTM
• The original photo of Levine was published by Cosmopolitan in the UK in 2011 to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer
• Dowling and FTM publisher Jason Robert Ballard hoped to create awareness of issues facing transgender individuals
• 'We've received almost unanimous support for it and our attempts at creating visibility for the trans masculine spectrum,' said Ballard
• Dowling documented his own transition on his YouTube channel and is also the owner of a clothing line that supports trans causes
• The manicured hands belong to Jenilee, his wife of three years

By Oliver O'connell For Mailonline

Published: 23:27 EST, 23 February 2015 | Updated: 00:51 EST, 24 February 2015

A transgender model who recreated an iconic naked photo of Adam Levine has caused a sensation online when the image went viral.

Aydian Dowling, 27, an advocate for transgender issues, vlogger and entrepreneur, worked with Jason Robert Ballard, publisher of transgender-focused magazine FTM, to recreate the image for the magazine's April 2015 issue.

Ballard had seen similarities between Dowling's physique and that of Maroon 5 singer and 'The Voice' coach Levine and suggested they did a version of the 2011 pose.

Levine's picture was originally taken by Ben Riggot and published by Cosmopolitan in the UK to raise awareness of testicular and prostate cancer. His genitals were covered by the hands of his girlfriend at the time Anne Vyalitsyna.

Aydian Dowling recreated the pose made famous by Maroon 5's Adam Levine. He is quoted as saying: 'Some areas of my body used to remind me of everything I'm not, now they represent everything I am'

Dowling's recreation comes with the quote: 'Some areas of my body used to remind me of everything I'm not, now they represent everything I am.'

As the photo went viral, the response Ballard and Dowling received has been incredibly supportive.

'[W]e've received almost unanimous support for it and our attempts at creating visibility for the trans masculine spectrum,' Ballard told The Huffington Post.

'We by no means mean to say that this is what all transgender males look like, but this is what one of us looks like and it's no different from our cisgender counterparts.'

'We've had comments saying "he doesn't look trans" which brings up a great point on what does trans even look like?' he added.

'Perhaps we're struggling so hard for our rights here because people have a false sense of who we are. So besides the entertainment factor of a sexy naked man, there is a element of positive visibility too.'

Dowling, orginally from Patchogue, Long Island, admitted to being nervous about the shoot but was keen to challenge people's assumptions of what a trans man might look like.

'I’m a pretty vulnerable guy, so I was a little nervous about it. I asked my wife how she would feel and we thought the cause was better than the insecurity,' Dowling, who has been married to his wife Jenilee for three years, told Metro.

Jenilee took on the role of Levine's girlfriend, and those are her manicured hands covering up Dowling's private parts.

Dowling is on the cover of the April 2015 issue of FTM magazine, which focuses on the female to male transgender community

Dowling talked about the photo going viral on his YouTube channel, A Lions Fears, on which he also documented his own transition (videos below).

In 2011, he was chosen as one of three LGBT persons to have their stories showcased on the Emmy Nominated It Gets Better Project on MTV.

Dowling and Jenilee, who live in Oregon, spoke at the time of their soon to be wedding and the challenges transgendered couples face when planning to wed.

In 2011 he also launched Point5cc, a clothing company designed to highlight transgender pride.

The company also supplies free binders to those in need and offers scholarships, annually, for individual surgery funds.