The venue is sold out, Brian Firkus stands on stage while fans watch in adoration. He strums a chord on his auto-harp, while behind him Brain McCook gracefully begins a dance. You probably pictured two middle-aged men, and while you’d technically be right, they aren’t wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Firkus & McCook are Drag queens known by the stage names Trixie Mattel & Katya Zamolodchikova respectively.
A drag queen is typically a male who uses fashion to transform into an idealized version of a woman. Drag kings are the same, but reversed. Drag queens and kings make up a majority of this community, but drag is considered non-binary by many. Drag is essentially playing with traditional gender concepts to make an exaggerated or artistic persona. Drag has been a recurrent theme throughout history in many ways. In Shakespearean plays, men played both male and female roles, leading to a form of early drag. Throughout time, the term female impersonator fell off and drag queen became prevalent.
Trixie and Katya both started performing in drag at local bars and venues. As they grew in popularity, they started auditioning for “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” This is a reality TV competition that is hosted by RuPaul Charles. Katya and Trixie were both finally cast on season seven of the show. Trixie placed sixth, and Katya placed fifth. Katya was invited back for “All Stars” season 2, which is a season of only past contestants. Katya was ultimately runner-up. Trixie was invited back for “All Stars” season 3 and ended up winning the competition. “Drag Race” serves as a stepping stone for many drag queens.
After the show, they started a web series called “UNHhhh” on Wow Presents’ YouTube channel. Every episode, “UNHhhh” explores topics that Trixie and Katya both have hilarious stories about. Some notable episodes are Episode 31: “SPACE”, Episode 125: “Toxic Masculinity Part 1” and Episode 126: “Toxic Masculinity Part 2” . This series was the main launchpad for the two’s success. They have continued with, “UNHhhh” through five seasons, and shortly had a spin-off on Viceland called The Trixie and Katya Show. You can find the entire UNHhhh series here.
Personally, “UNHhhh” has been one of the constants throughout my college experience. I always look forward to when a new episode is released because I know I will laugh at every second until it physically hurts. They give some good advice, while also being hilarious. The episodes have topics and are usually heavily edited. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to laugh-cry.
Together they have written a book called “Trixie and Katya’s Guide to Modern Womanhood.” Trixie has also released three albums. The first two, “Two Birds” and “One Stone,” were country/folk albums. Her latest work is “Barbara,” which is more electro pop with an 80’s inspiration.
Trixie has started her own makeup company, Trixie Cosmetics, which sells products made by Trixie. Trixie also collaborated with Katya to make a lipstick called Red Scare. Check them both out in their new reveal.
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Edited by Zoë Skvarka