“I went to a really rugby based secondary school, so it wasn’t a good place to be open.”
This week we chat to one of Ireland’s most famous drag queens, RuPaul Ryder, about the effort and hard work that goes into being a glamorous drag queen, as well as growing up as a queer kid in a rugby focused secondary school.
Paul stared dancing a performing from a very young age. “I was that typical stage school brat,” he tells Her.
“I went to the Helen Jordan stage School. I was always bullied as a kid so going to stage school was like my escapism, it was really the place I could be myself and enjoy who I was.”
Tying to fit in when you’re growing up is not the easiest so for Paul. “Having a space to get into performing was such a relief,” he says, “because I went to a really rugby based secondary school so it wasn’t a good place to be open, so it was kind of tough.
“Going to dance school every Wednesday was a really nice escapism and that’s how I started performing.”
Paul did whatever he could to get a chance to perform when he was younger. “At that age you’re either going to love it or hate it, and I loved it!” he says.
Drag, he says, is not an easy career. You have to be willing to work really hard to make a name for yourself.
“I think drag teaches you pretty quickly once you get into it not to take yourself too seriously, that you are a big giant clown in a big giant circus and the more you take serious the more you’re going to get burnt,” says Paul.
“That works for all aspects of performance.”
Paul says that taking part in Ireland’s Got Talent taught him a lot about himself and to not take things too seriously. “It took that experience to go ‘Lighten up on yourself,'” he says. “You’re not Lady Gaga in Vegas!'”
Unsurprisingly, it takes most drag queens a few hours to do a full face of makeup, there’s a lot of work that goes into those pretty faces you see on stage.
Paul jokes: “Drag is not attractive, drag is hard work. But when you do it and when you look good, you’re laughing!
“I’ve had some of the best times of my life in drag and I’ve met some of the best people.”
And his parting words for anyone looking to follow in his glamorous footsteps? “Don’t take yourself too seriously and take every single gig you can all while wearing big boobies!”
