Growing up in a Filipino-American family, Christopher Hayden Cox was taught to be proud of who he is and where he comes from. And that’s the root of Pride Month for the clinical research nurse at Baylor College of Medicine.

Cox, a nurse in the Clinical Research Center in the Office of Clinical Research, said Filipinos have an abundance of country pride. Raised on a culture of watching Filipinos and Filipino-Americans compete in the Olympics and beauty pageants on TV, he became interested in representing his community in pageants for men.

Men can compete in a variety of pageants, like weightlifting or bodybuilding (think Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Mr. Olympia pageant). Cox competes in LGBTQIA community-based pageantry, like USofA Pageants, under the stage name Hayden Anthony Crawford.

Christopher Cox is a clinical research nurse at Baylor College of Medicine.

“There are various heteronormative male-presenting pageants that have nothing to do with the LGBTQIA identity,” Cox said. “And then we have pageants specific to our community. I found myself wanting to participate in the USofA pageant system where a large percentage of scores are for talent.”

Last year, Cox dusted off his dancing shoes and began rehearsing choreography before he competed in his first pageant. Male entertainers perform under the umbrella of drag, alongside drag kings and drag queens.

He won the Mr. Gay Space City USofA at Large 2023 crown, his first pageant title, and was the runner-up in the Mr. Gay Texas USofA at Large pageant later that year.

As runner-up, Cox competed alongside the title-holder for Mr. Gay USofA at Large, the national pageant in his category, and took fourth place. In the state competition, he won the interview and formal wear portions.

Earlier this year, he was crowned Mr. Gay Houston USofA at Large and will represent the city in the state pageant in September. Cox loves the “transformative and body positive” aspect of competing in the at Large category, which is for men who weigh more than 200 pounds.

“Since I was a teenager, I’ve been a fan of the pageantry of the LGBTQIA community,” he said. “Since I was focused on my nursing career, I put (competition) on the shelf for a bit. Being at Baylor, I felt comfortable enough to pursue more outside ventures where I can be creative.”

With the support of his community, family and friends, Cox built confidence to compete in pageants, including Mr. Revelation 2023, one for those who are new to pageantry. He currently holds that title and said the experience helped him ready for Mr. Gay Houston USofA at Large.

“To me, Pride is about love: love for yourself, love for your community, love for your chosen partner, love for your chosen family. It’s about how you live your life and about your truth,” Cox said. “When you combine love, life and truth, you can fully realize your total potential and use that without living in fear. You can use that to overcome any challenges.”

For Cox, feeling fulfilled in his nursing career was the key to pursuing his passion as a performer. He is happy he took the opportunity to show the world what he can do.

“Pride made me realize that I’m so much more than I ever thought I could be,” he said.

By Julie Garcia

Hayden Anthony Crawford is Christopher Cox’s stage name.