Entering the Drag Race Down Under Werk Room as the daughter of Season 3 winner Isis Avis Loren, the magnificent performer known as Max Drag Queen immediately was the focus of both competitors and fans alike. After a stunning (and emotionally challenging) run on Drag Race Down Under, I sat down with Max for a chat. We dished about her experience on the Drag Race Down Under main stage, her bonds with her Season 4 sisters, and how she dealt with tremendous grief during her Drag Race Down Under experience.
Michael Cook: You had a stunning run on Drag Race Down Under. How do you feel about your experience?
Max Drag Queen: That is such an interesting question, it is so tied in with grief and emotion. Ultimately, I would look back on my sisters and say that it was great.
MC: How did you push through the Drag Race experience while experiencing tremendous grief at the same time?
MDQ: I don’t know, I think I had been performing all of my life and this just felt like another thing that I had to do. It was like, my Mom would want me to keep going and experience it the best way that I knew how. My body though, was literally telling me to stop. There was definitely a bit of give and take there (laughs).
MC: You are a very familiar name in the Down Under drag scene. What was it like walking into the Werk Room and knowing that many people in there would be gunning for you?
MDQ: The expectation and the pressure is a whole different factor that comes into it. Something that Isis (Avis Loren) wanted to gift me as some information and knowledge going forward is that the only pressure you have is the one that you put on yourself. I thought that that was genius; why would I carry that unnecessarily? The only thing that people want you to do is your best and ultimately, I think that I did that?
MC: Is there anything that Isis Avis Loren has taught you as a performer that has been a bit of an “a-ha moment” and changed your perspective as a performer?
MDQ: It’s very funny with Isis and I, every few months we will have this thing where we sit down with each other and have this like, “You are my inspiration” and it’s exactly reciprocated. I think the best part about our relationship is that we are constantly learning from each other which reassures me that we are family. I have always thought that the learning doesn’t go one way, it is always a two way street. One thing she has taught me, and just from watching her, the movements in your body when you are performing a song, it’s actually in the fingertips.
MDQ: What do you think your rose and thorn are of your Drag Race Down Under journey?
MDQ: My rose would probably be the relationships that I’ve formed. If I had to be specific with a rose, it would be Vybe just as a whole human being. I already had relationships existing outside of the show, but one person that I became really close to was Vybe, so she would be my rose throughout the competition. My thorn would probably be the makeover lip sync, I think that was my thorn and it left a weird energy with me; my spirit really broke that day. Just because I didn’t think that I should be there and it was just a whole thing for me internally.
MC: You were very open about how emotionally challenging Drag Race can be. Was it hard to be that raw about that specifically?
MDQ: I think that my biggest strength and weakness is my heart on my sleeve. I don’t want to go through life hiding how I’m feeling about something. If something is hard, I want to talk about it. If something is great, if something is bothering me, if I love someone or something-I want to express that. I think my biggest challenge was the fact of what I was going through and I recently had just left a relationship also. There were many factors that went into my Drag Race experience, I also had a knee injury at the same time. I was having health and emotional problems, but for me, it was “The show must go on”; I mean, you get this opportunity maybe once.
MC: What do you want to do post Drag Race Down Under?
MDQ: I have always said that the biggest win is getting on the show. it doesn’t matter if you win the show, your placement on the show does not matter, it’s what happens what you do afterwards. Afterwards I just want to continue to perform. Drag has always been about exploring my creativity, gender and exploring performances. I would love to tour and am basically in the middle of a tour now, I am in a different city in Australia every weekend. I am basically living what I wanted to do right now (laughs)!
MC: What advice do you have for other people who are going through what may seem like insurmountable challenges?
MDQ: Listen to your body. You know you best. I feel like when you need to take a break or stop doing something, no extrenak force should have you do otherwise. If you know that it’s time to rest, listen to your body; your body knows what you need.
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