What Do You Do When You Meet A God Named Apollo?

I got to meet a God today! Seriously though have you taken the time to look up at those photos? This Tampa native is taking the stage by storm in his own unique way. Here is what he had to say when asked what his earthly life is like.

Tell us a little about yourself! I’ve been performing in drag for around five years, where I originally gained my experience through the convention scene and through cosplay. I was very new to cosplay and had only had Catwoman under my belt until I was asked to crossplay (cosplaying a character that is opposite of your gender identity or not of your gender) Ciel Phantomhive, in which the day I debuted that look I was on stage performing a comedy and dance routine. When it went over successfully I continued to get asked to perform this character at multiple conventions, and I developed a stage name Fèlin LaPaige, and traveled Florida to emulate him for four years in a troupe. In 2017 our troupe retired the show and through that experience in cosplay, drag, Boylesque, and the acceptance of being genderqueer, I was able to focus my craft on developing what I really wanted to see in myself. I was adopted into the House of Infiniti and my mother Power Infiniti helped me change my stage name to what it is now.

What attracted you to drag? As a kid I had always known I didn’t fit in as a girl, I was bullied consistently through my life because of my inability to really have strong friendships with girls, and thus isolate myself a lot because my school separated boys and girls from interacting. When I was growing up the trans scale and gender really wasn’t something people knew about, anyone who was weird was “gay/lesbian” and heavily spited for it. It made me very confused to be labeled something that didn’t represent anything that my feelings were, until I started to meet trans individuals in which things came together in my head as to my personal identity. I had used drag to fill the void and the denial I had about being genderqueer. However as of recent I am content with myself and happy to have the freedom to express my gender more openly, which I never would have without drag.

How long have you been doing drag?

Five long years! 

Do you have a lot of support?

I started off with a heavy amount of support, which I was fortunate enough to encounter, many of the people who followed my work from the beginning transferred over to enjoy what I do now, which is vastly opposite of how I started. I feel very lucky to have also developed a lot of friendships and great business relationships with other kings and queens.

How would you describe your drag style?

My style used to be very androgynous, femmeboy as I didn’t have much room when needed to match the characters style. Now that I have established my own look it has become very hyper masculine, kinky, video-game inspired, and futuristic. Who did you/do you look up to?

A lot of my inspirations happen to be female identified or genderfluid persons. Dita Von Teese has ultimately made the biggest impact on my life, her humbleness while being a celebrity and how hard she works is something I strive for in myself. Her beauty matches inside and out. Miss Fame, as I have met her, also inspires me because she is starting conversations about genderfluidity in the drag community and she is one of the kindest entertainers I have ever spoken too. Spikey Van Dykey has inspired me from their hard work and dedication to the rise of kings is awe inspiring, and been a pleasure of mine to witness in person. What are your biggest accomplishments in and out of drag?

I am proud of everything I have done so far in drag, I was able to make a career out of being an entertainer to the point that I was able to put on shows for charities such as True Colors Fund, and though I wish I had not needed to, when the Pulse shooting occurred I was able to sell merch and match funds from what we sold to donate to the victims of the massacre. I was able to hire people as a show director and showcase others talents. Being able to have had enough stance within myself to return and help my community is the best accomplishment I can do.

Do you regularly preform somewhere? When can people catch you preforming?

I am a cohost/host for UndHERground once a month on a Wednesday for an all king competition in St Pete Fl. Otherwise you will frequently see me traveling in Orlando, Tampa, St Pete and Miami as predominant spots. I usually perform 6-9times a month at the moment.

Would you like Drag to be a full time career?

I am trying to get back into it being full time, because I felt truly connected to myself and my overall happiness. However I want to be versatile enough that I can be regularly booked for conventions and clubs/bars.

How different is it from your every day job?

It’s very different! I’m currently a server for a chain restaurant because it’s easier to transfer out to different towns, as I forsee that I may be moving again soon with my fiancé. Whats your favourite performance you’ve done? (Provide a link to video if you have it)

I wish I had a full video of my favorite one! My favorite performance to do is my pitbull terrier/who’s your daddy remix, but I seem to not get good video of it because my friends drink (lol).

Who’s your favourite Drag Performer?

That’s difficult but in my hometown J’Staria Sherrington (a fellow Infiniti member) throws the place down and always had my jaw gapped open. She’s phenomenal. Last night at an event I was performing at, a contestant from the show MysTreeHugga had me near tears, I think that performance is going to haunt me for awhile on how emotional it was.

Favourite catch phrase?

“The only thing bigger than my dick is my ego” I’m getting that printed for my merch ok? I want everyone to have that confidence.

Favourite makeup brand?

MAC Cosmetics has never failed me!

What advice do you have for drag artists that are just starting out?

The hardest thing to do is stand up for yourself and get respected in the community, especially as a king is so hard to gain. Be assertive with yourself, rejection may want to make you give up but you have to tell yourself that you deserve what you are working for. Show up to events and help, get business cards so people have your social media and booking email. Sometimes accept free gigs but not every gig, especially if you’ve done 5 free gigs under the same club with the same manager, if they are starting to consistently want you, don’t be afraid to say your rate. The only way you are going to start improving is having the money to invest in your craft, and if they like you, they will be willing to put that forth.

What should we expect to see from you in the future?

 Right now I have some secrets up my sleeve on what’s to come next, but I do imagine that I should soon be getting to a point that I’ll be able to focus less on myself and more on what I want to do to continue this process of advancing and educating the world on Kings.

I can't believe how much I've learned just in the last few days being able to talk to these incredible people. You can really learn things from the gods if you just listen. Thanks so much Apollo for speaking up and helping kings and performers everywhere! Until next time!

xo Flint