PHOTOS BY FRANZ SZONY
COVER DESIGN BY JACK ROWE

Hi, did you know that Gigi Goode is better than you? That was a reference to her opening line in the Droop commercial by the way, so don’t get mad. But statistically speaking… The 22-year-old performer, birth name Samuel Geggie, made history on the 12th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race earlier this year when she became the third performer to win four maxi-challenges on a regular season after Sharon Needles and Shea Coulee. Although she didn’t take home the crown, Gigi cemented herself as one of the fiercest queens to ever sashay into the werkroom thanks to her high-fashion runways and unconventional style of comedy – take her bonkers impersonation of Maria the Robot, for example. (Fun fact: Gigi became the first queen to win Snatch Game, the Ball Challenge and the Rusical in one season.) “I could not be any happier with how it all went down,” Gigi tells me over Zoom from her surprisingly nonchalant childhood bedroom in Woodstock, Illinois. “Nearly every single concept was mine and mine alone… I’m very satisfied with my performance.” 

My drag, ultimately, is to put a smile on somebody’s face. I want to fall on my ass, eat my hair or just do something really stupid.

We’re talking with Gigi one day before she reunites with her season 12 sisters Crystal Methyd and Jaida Essence Hall for Drive N Drag, a one-of-a-kind, socially-distanced drive-in tour with several fan-favourites from the Emmy-winning series – including Asia O’Hara, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo and Yvie Oddly. It’s the first time she’s seen Crystal, the other half of Crygi – the most championed drag couple in recent memory – and Jaida, who ultimately “LOOK OVER THERE!” beat her to the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar and the hundred-thousand doollahz cash prize. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Gigi – and the rest of the season 12 contestants – haven’t been afforded the usual post-Drag Race rollout. Following the show’s finale each year, it’s tradition for the competitors to embark on worldwide tours and to prep their stalls and merch for the queer event of the year (DragCon), all before launching solo careers of their own; whether that’s in the world of fashion, music, television or film. Instead, she’s been perched on her sofa, like the rest of us, in her PJs. But unlike most of us (we don’t want to make assumptions), she’s been doing it in and out of drag. “I’ve hardly worn heels, because I’ve only had to do drag from the chest up!” laughs Gigi. “It feels like I haven’t done drag for four months when in reality, I haven’t done drag from the waist down in four months.”

The spread of the virus has resulted in queer venues around the globe being shut down, as well as Drag Race’s flagship convention, posing a significant threat to the drag community’s source of income. To combat this and ensure their livelihoods, countless drag entertainers have been flexing their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent for virtual extravaganzas, giving fans an opportunity to see their favourite queens from the comfort of their living rooms. While Gigi loves putting on a spectacle for her fans and the artistic freedom that comes with the format, there’s one specific part that she misses the most – being in front of a live audience. Her show with Crystal and Jaida will be the first time she’s performed to a crowd since the season 12 premiere all the way back in February. “When I got cast for the show, one of the first things I thought about was that moment in front of an audience,” admits Gigi. “Since being on the show, I have not heard applause, which is my favourite part of drag. I rely so much on audience interaction when I’m performing because I’m not a dancing diva. I don’t pull all those stunts!” True, she’s not a Kennedy Davenport-esque dancer, as you saw from her kooky Starships showdown against Widow Von’Du, as well as her genius lip-sync to A-Ha’s Take on Me in the finale. While she’s not much of a kicker or flipper, Gigi proved that she had several other tricks in her repertoire. Besides storming the runway each week, she subverted expectations for all of the ‘she’s just a fashion queen!’ naysayers with her comedic prowress in Gay’s Anatomy and her aforementioned Snatch Game, and blew away guest star Nicki Minaj with her clever wordplay on 2020’s hottest new rap anthem, I’m That Bitch. She also won both Rusicals. When we ask Gigi if it was her aim to break out of the ‘fashion queen’ label, a label that receives unnecessary contempt in relation to the show – and drag in general – she hesitates.