Start your engines! After a five-year hiatus, "Drag Race Thailand" will return on Sept 17 via Wow Presents Plus, beginning with the "Meet The Queens" episode. It will serve as a prelude where audiences get to know each contestant before the first episode launches.
While Pangina Heals will return as the main host of Drag Race Thailand Season 3, this time around, the Thai spin-off of Emmy-winning RuPaul's ‘Drag Race’ isn't produced by Kantana and no words if veteran stylist Art Arya, who co-hosted the first two seasons with Pangina, returns in the third season.
Guru By Bangkok Post sits down with Pangina to find out what she has been up to lately (spoilers, she's been very booked and blessed) and what tea she can spill on Drag Race Thailand Season 3 (if at all).
What was performing on 'RuPaul's Drag Race Live!' like? It was a dream stage for me because, to be on Drag Race Live, you have to be an official Rugirl [a term for queens who have competed in the Drag Race main franchise]. There are so many girls all over the franchise, I think, like over 600 of us and for me to be the first and only Thai queen on that stage feels like an honour, a privilege and a dream. Every day going to work was so much fun because of the crowd. Imagine you look out and see audiences that filled two storeys of a hall so big and being on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. It only means that drag is so mainstream and so appreciated, especially in America, while drag last year wasn't so popular due to the political climate. And drag is such a political statement that for it to be there says a lot about how we have to go on with this fight. I became super close to Derrick Barry [who's best known for impersonating Britney Spears] and she will visit Thailand later this year. Nicki Doll [who appeared in the Paris Olympics opening] became my friend and sister. My fellow cast Kennedy Davenport, Coco Montrese, Kahanna Montrese and Latrice Royale all made me feel welcome and, to be able to share the stage with people whom I idolise, feels like a full circle moment. As far as a drag queen's goal, having a Vegas residency is one of the highest achievements.
You're quite a mogul now. Besides House Of Heals, you have opened two gay bars in Silom. Tell us about them. I opened Beef last December, which has become so popular that we're moving it to a bigger location to reduce the long queue. Beef is, first and foremost, a house for bears [a term for men with cuddly and hairy bodies] and their community in the same way that House Of Heals is a safe space for drag queens and those who love them and their art. My third place, Rush, is unapologetic and kinkier. It's a place where we explore a certain culture that is considered darker and sexual. Being sex-positive is very important to me as we co-opened Rush with Pulse Clinic so you can have fun while being safe. I want to create a nightlife in Bangkok where people can go out, have fun and be safe.
What can you tell us about the third season of ‘Drag Race Thailand’? This time World of Wonder is taking over the reins and taking it back to where it all started, in a sense. During the five-year hiatus, I feel like I've learned so much from being a lipsync assassin, being a guest judge on Drag Race Philippines, and competing on RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World, I think you're going to be excited to see how my looks evolve and what kind of judge I will be given what I've learned.
How do you feel being referred to as one of the ‘robbed queens’? (A term for queens who are doing well on the show but get eliminated due to unexpected twists)It's a blessing. I think it's great that you've got the crown and I congratulate the girls who did but my story isn't over and I think a lot of people can resonate with my journey. RuPaul said losing is the new winning and I'm doing better than fine without a crown so I do not mind being referred to as a robbed queen at all.
How do you feel being nicknamed 'Asia's RuPaul' by Eva Le Queen? It's a big compliment because RuPaul is my idol who started this global franchise. She makes drag mainstream while spreading so much joy and messages of love. I feel very thankful to be compared to someone whom I love and in a way she inspires me to be the same through my club and my role as a Thai RuGirl.
What do you think about Asian drag excellence?With Nymphia's winning season 16, Marina Summers's placing high in UK vs. the World (series 2) and Eva Le Queen in Global All Stars, I do think there is a movement within the drag culture for us and our culture to be seen. For our stories to be told. It's important to take up space in this world because for other people to know that they can have space and belong to this world they have to see other people similar to them do it first. Drag has different meanings to me now, from something I love, it progresses into a movement. When people ask why I have to show my Thainess to the world — even if I don't have to — my answer is because I simply want it. Because, as a Thai person, I'm so proud of where I come from. It's about legacy and what we can leave in the world.
What else are you working on? I'm taking over another club and brewing a new batch of younger queens to make the scene even bigger and louder.
Reportedly, a new crop of 11 Thai drag artists will battle it out in the third season. If the rumoured cast is true, you can expect some fierce and sickening competition.
