With one of the most arresting looks of all the Drag Race queens, Trixie Mattel – aka Brian Firkus – is a comedian, musician and all-round drag icon. We spoke to her ahead of her stint at G-A-Y Porn Idol.
So, how come we call you Brian and not Trixie?
Brian’s fine. Trixie’s fine. I don’t really care either way. Trixie’s my drag name. Originally, I was going to be RuPaul but it was already taken.
That bitch always gets in first. Are you looking forward to coming to London?
Yes, I am! I love to perform there. I’m doing G-A-Y and I think I’m doing something else.
You like thick dicks, don’t you? So that’s what you’ll be looking for in Porn Idol?
Thick dicks? I’m kind of old-fashioned. I’m usually traumatised by nudity. I’m not your typical drag queen. I’m not going to blow off a dick. I don’t need to see people strip naked on a pole but I’ll do it. I’ll be fine, I’ll just give them a rating, one to ten, whatever, and everyone gets a one from me.
Is there nothing they could do to impress?
Something a little fancy, some dancing, a little two-step…
Talk us through this look…
I was always interested in dolls when I was little but wasn’t allowed to have them until I was an adult, and then I thought, I’m going to have the hair of My Little Pony, the proportions of a Polly Pocket and the skin of a Barbie. I like the way it worked to have adult comedy coming out of the mouth of a child’s toy.
That’s quite sick really.
Men and women have a warm fuzzy feeling for Barbie so I feel that audiences are very willing to go with me on my journey because they’re comfortable with the look. It’s something from their childhood.
How do children react? Has one ever seen it.
I avoid children at all costs! Do you know why I decided to do drag? Not to fucking fraternise with children. I don’t like children. I hope that children are scared of me. And dogs are scared of me.
Who’s your drag-spiration?
I love Lady Bunny, I really like Jackie Beat, I really like Amanda Lepore, I’m a fan of Farrah Moan in this series and Kim Chi is one of my best friends. Stunning! I’m not very good at aesthetics and there are always really good drag queens to inspire me because they’re visual artists.
You’re more in it for the comedy than the look, aren’t you?
Drag queens used to be responsible for performing live and it’s kind of weird because if you’re not a performer, why do you get booked as a performer? Unless I’m a plumber I’m not going to fix pipes, so if you’re just an Instagram queen and not a dancer, actor or singer, what are you doing?
So where do you live?
I grew up in Wisconsin but live in LA and until I was about 18 I wanted to be a folk musician. Then I started doing comedy and drag and that was a bit more lucrative because there’s a million and one white guys with guitars; there’s only one Trixie Mattel.
You describe yourself as ‘the ultimate dark place’…
I like to go to dark adult themes but present them in a digestible way. Comedy can be therapeutic for the audience as well as the performer. For Trixie, it’s a licence to kill. I can talk about race, social issues, whatever I want and people are happy to go on that journey because it’s a chicken suit, it’s a clown suit, you can go places. As a white man in America, I’m pretty bound as to what I can and can’t talk about. As Trixie I can do whatever I want. Trixie comes from a place of oppression and abuse and not knowing who I was and hating myself turned positive. I had a not-great home life. I’m not afraid to talk about things like that.
Trixie is the name your stepdad used to bully you with, right?
Yeah, but I don’t think about it much. As people we choose to be victims. You run things from the past over and over in your head by choice. Bad things happen to you and it doesn’t matter.
You did an Anne Frank thing that people thought went too far…
Yeah, I did an Anne Frank thing, but if a drag queen can’t make fun of a child who by the way isn’t even alive anymore… What’s worse? Me making a joke about it or someone picking up her diary and making millions off of it? Think about it.
Trixie’s folk album Two Birds is out on iTunes now.
Entry is £1 with a wristband from the G-A-Y Bar.
If you want to strip at G-A-Y Porn Idol send a message to 07789 553 868 or email [email protected].
G-A-Y Porn Idol is at Heaven, Under the Arches, off Villiers Street, Charing Cross, London, WC2N 6NG.
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