One of the many things that has pulled Loverboy the last few months is re-watching RuPaul’s Drag Race from the beginning – it has been our ‘living our best lives on the dancefloor’ moments, it has been our ‘getting messy with friends on Absolut’ moments and it has most definitely been our ‘Yes, gawd, let’s get sickening, mamaaaaa’ moment.

But what have the queens from the show been doing? Two of our favourites, Laganja Estranja & Milk have been spending time learning to pole dance and taking up the piano respectively. Now they have come together to create a short film. The pair tell Loverboy about how it came to be…

LAGANJA ESTRANJA

Hi Laganja, what’s been getting you through the last twelve months?
So many things have brought me love and light during these trying times, here are a few: my family, my best friends, my dog, my art, my daily hikes on Runyon Canyon, India Arie’s Testimony: Volume 1., Life & Relationships, the film on my windows that when hit with light— rainbows appear, the jobs I have booked, the meals I’ve cooked, the meals I’ve ordered in, countless Netflix shows, the list goes on and on… I think it’s important, now more than ever, to find inspiration in everything.

One thing you have taken up in the pole-dancing. Is this something you have always wanted to do?
I’ve always admired pole dancers. I remember in college, when I was a freshman, seeing this beautiful artist by the name of Steven Retchless perform, who later competed on America’s Got Talent. He was the first male pole dancer I had ever seen in person, and I was so mesmerized by the way he moved his body. Since then, it’s been a goal of mine to be able to do this. While I have taken classes here and there, it was definitely quarantine that allowed me to get serious about learning the skill. I am so lucky to be close friends and trained by Candace Cane, a world renowned pole dancer who you’ve seen in every salacious music video—trust me, she’s in EVERY. ONE. And I am also fortunate enough to be trained by my friend Miles a.k.a. Yung Pole Master, who actually helped get me ready for and choreograph this video. Thanks to Xpole I was able to get a home pole installed as well, which made practicing more accessible.

Tell me about your section of the video. It looks extremely zen….
It was definitely not a zen experience filming!  I actually broke my windshield (a lovely $300 fee I’d pay later) trying to transport the pole, and then I had to carry it down a mountain… and eventually back up again. The pole all together weighs 209lbs. So honestly, by the time we started to film the video, I was exhausted! But somehow I think the struggle of creating this zen piece makes it that much more beautiful and real. I truly believe all my projects are SO WORTH IT!

Looking at the way RuPaul’s Drag Race has progressed since Season Six, you have really been a vanguard for the show. You brought the first entrance catchphrase. You really brought the first ‘extra’ looks in terms of boy drag. I wondered if you feel the same and how you have seen the show develop from there?
I am truly grateful to have left my mark on such an iconic brand. When I look back, I’m just so proud of the 23-year-old me. But I’m even more proud of the person I’ve become and the lessons I learned from that experience. I think the show has developed in many ways, but my favorite is how mainstream it has become. I think it is wonderful everyone knows what a drag queen is these days and usually has a favorite.

The show’s iconic memes, phrases and references were already the gay vernacular pre-2020 and now we are mostly living digital lives, even more so! Which phrases do you find yourself using?
Well as the queen of catchphrases… C’mon—yes gawd, mawma honey boo-boo—OKKKKURRR, let’s turn the party and werk the haus down boots! Periodt.

Have you ever felt trapped or limited by that 2014, Season Six version of you that is still being watched by so many or even being experienced for the first time?
Sometimes I feel trapped, but for the most part I am just grateful for the exposure. Love me or hate me, I’m still out here making great art and becoming a better person every day. The only limits I see are the ones I create, and I work every day to break those down.

Who would you like to see on the next All Stars?
I would love to see Delta Work on All Stars. She is such a kind queen with the quickest sense of wit and humor I’ve ever seen. I think what she brings to the Drag community is always packed gorgeously and followed by an enormous amount of class.

We are named after the biggest selling single of 2001, so we always ask what is your favourite Mariah track and why?
‘Migrate’. The beat is infectious and her high notes are POPPIN!!! 

Click image to watch the video….

MILK

Hey Milk, what’s been getting you through the last twelve months?
Music, sunshine, and marijuana! <3

One thing you have taken up in the piano. Is this something you have always wanted to do?
I played piano for most of my life until I left home at 17. I grew up in a very musical family. My brothers and I all sang, played piano, and got to choose one other instrument to play (required lol). I chose trumpet. Bump it like a trumpet, they say. I only started playing piano again during quarantine and it has brought me a lot of joy!

Tell me how the video came to be. The whole Patrick Church vibe is super-fierce!
Patrick had shared images of a piano he bought and customized with his art.  I knew I must play it, and wear his chic fashions while doing so!

How has your relationship with creativity changed throughout the last twelve months?
It has been a return to childhood joys of mine tbh. Piano, skating, singing. I loved those activities growing up, yet as an adult I wasn’t engaging with them much until recently.

I’m sure lots of people have been watching Drag Race again or for the first time during the last twelve months. Have you noticed any knock-on effects from people doing the same?
Lots of straight people watching it now. Hi straights. Welcome to our stories!

The show’s iconic memes, phrases and references were already the gay vernacular pre-2020 and now we are mostly living digital lives, even more so! Which phrases do you find yourself using?
Three simple words. Song, Bong, Dong.

Have you ever felt trapped or limited by that 2014, Season Six version of you that is still being watched by so many or even being experienced for the first time?
Right?? As the years go by, yes I am the same, but because of that experience am different.

Who would you like to see on the next All Stars?
I would love to see an All Stars with all the international queens!

We are named after the biggest selling single of 2001, so we always ask what is your favourite Mariah track and why?
‘Hero’. I heard she wrote it hella fast, for a different project, and then they said it was too good and she had to keep it and record it for herself. Lol. (That may be an untrue story but I like it).

Laganja Estranja Instagram / Facebook / Twitter
Milk Instagram