Vicki Lix is Canada’s premier campy comic quirky queen of all trades! People call her the Drag Beast of North. Cheeky, sexy, muscular, masculine, feminine, flashy and playful. This is Vicki!

Originally from the small mountain town of Smithers, B.C., Vicki packed her nuts up and moved to Canada’s entertainment hub, Toronto, where she has been a fully alive act since 2007. With a background in theatre from the Canadian College of Performing Arts and as a Comedian/Writer at Humber College’s Comedy Writing and Performance Program, she is one of the few drag artists in Canada who’s act is entirely written by herself; bringing stand-up, parodies, and improv to her audiences.

She is also a TV Actor (Princess SparklyButt and the Hot Dog Kid, TeleToon), Podcast Host (Squirrel Talk!, Nominated by NOW Magazine for Best Local Podcast), Drag Coach (Drag Heals, OutTV/PrimeVideo), Recording Artist (May Contain Nuts, EP), YouTube Vlogger (Queer Comics), Male Model/Bodybuilder, Outspoken Activist, Comedic Writer (Vice Canada), Animated Voice Actor (D.N.Ace, TeleToon), Mother of the House of Lix (HOLE), Certified Llama/Alpaca Trainer, Great Dane Mother (Una), and you best believe she’s just getting started! Having performed all throughout the GTA most notably Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Fringe Festival, Buddies in Bad Times, Comedy Bar, Yuk Yuks, Second City, Woody’s, Crews & Tangos, Sheridan College, Dundas Square Mainstage, Pride Parade, and the cheese section of Loblaws! If she’s peaked your interest shoot her a message!
#queenoftrades

YASS Magazine met Vicki Lix and this is everything you need to know!

How do you describe yourself and how do you identify?
She is Canada’s loud, large and legendary Drag Beast. You can call me she, he, they, bae, it really doesn’t matter to me, because what other people think of me is not my business. Just don’t call me late.

How would you describe the style of your drag persona?

My drag persona is really an extensive and exaggeration of myself. I’m a comedian, writer, actor, podcaster, bodybuilder, singer…you name it I’ve probably done it, so I’m a queen of all trades kinda gal. Doesn’t mean I’m good at any of them, but she’s done them. At the end of the day I’m a campy comedy queen who loves her high-fashion fantasy and protein farts.

Why did you choose this drag name?

I always wish I had a better story behind my name. But I just liked the name Vicki because it tickles me that it’s short for a beautiful name like Victoria, and Lix is because I wanted to have an active verb on there and my most active of verbs is licking. But to be clear it’s Vicki with an “I” not Vicky with a “Y” because Vicky’s with a “Y” do meth. I’m kidding Vicky’s with a “Y” put the knife down…

Canada had a big year in drag this year with Drag Race and in comedy with Schitts Creek. How do you feel about this and how has this affected you?

People have been sleeping on Canada for it’s entertainment forever, including Canadians. We have this preconceived notion that the quality of our programming is not to the standards of our American counterparts which is primarily the entertainment provided to and watched by Canadians from coast to coast. There’s a number of reasons for that, namely the lack of funding provided by our government for our arts and culture, and also our own lack of representation in the global media for us to claim an entertainment identity. As an actor I’ve been taught to use an American accent for commercials, tv, and film work because when we hear our own Canadian accent on tv it’s off-putting. I’m ecstatic that this year has been such an amazing year for Canada with shows like Schitt’s Creek, which is an entirely Canadian cast and production crew, sweeping every category in the Emmy’s and to also have the first ever season of Canada’s Drag Race do such a fabulous job of representation different types of drag and cultural diversity which is what this country is built upon. As someone who’s worked in Canadian entertainment for 10+ years this shows to me that we can stand on our own to trust our entertainers and not have to export them to other markets for them to become successful, which I’ve always felt that to be successful in my chosen profession I would have to get my green card/visa and work in the states to make that a possibility. This year is now proving otherwise, and frankly I love this country so I would love to stay in Canada!

What role does bodybuilding play in your life?

I’ve been taking bodybuilding more and more seriously over the years. Just this fall I’m now working with a coach who is helping me with new workout plans each week and diets. I had an eating disorder when I started doing drag because I felt like I had to portray a woman in a certain way to be taken seriously and have opportunities presented, but it took me getting really sick to understand that I was wrong in that notion. Woman first and foremost come in all shapes and sizes and are beautiful in every body they represent, and I personally wanted to challenge myself to work towards a different body representation that is not seen or understood by other women or men; female bodybuilders. Now this bodybuilding journey has become a job unto itself for the time and commitment required to be dedicated to reach my goals, but I’m happier and healthier than I’ve ever been in doing so.

What were your impressions regarding the cast on the first drag race in Canada?

What a slew of sluts! I have a podcast that I’ve been producing for the past 3 years (Squirrel Talk!, available everywhere podcasts are.) where I review each episode of Rupaul’s Drag Race and now this year our first ever Canada’s Drag Race, and I go into better detail with my feelings of the cast this season overall. To sum it up, I’m incredibly proud of each and every queen who walked into that maple studded Can-con werk room. For me what made this cast stand out was feeling like there was representation for different types of drag and cultural diversity in that as well. I love that there was an almost obscure underground drag clown from Victoria, BC cast who is now a global drag superstar and I’m absolutely thrilled to have Priyanka represent so many different things in drag and have the fortitude to back it all up with her talent! Like I’ve said, representation matters, so moving forward I do want to see more talent cast from the west coast, the prairies, and the east coast because they deserve this platform as well.

Would you participate in a future season?

You bet your bottom I would! It can change your career opportunities forever. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get a working visa for the American Rupaul’s Drag Race, and now that Canada’s Drag Race exists and is a proven success and I don’t have to leave my home country to do what I love? Sign me up! I truly feel that what I represent as a person and in my drag has not yet been seen on any of the franchises I’ve got a wide variety of skills to offer. And listen, if ya’ll are Queens of the North, I’m the queen from behind the wall having grown up near the Yukon. If you haven’t taken a shit in an outhouse surrounded by wolves, are you even doing drag?!  

Who was your drag mother?

I don’t really have a drag mother as I started doing drag in comedy clubs telling dick jokes, but the closest I would have is my official unofficial drag mother Wilma Fingerdoo. Wilma of course  is a popular YouTube personality, but I know her better as her counterpart Richard Ryder, who was (and still is) a headlining gay comic in Toronto who gave me my first opportunities and stage time in drag doing comedy, eventually setting me up with my own weekly show that I hosted and produced for 2 years. We’re still close and I’m always very grateful for the support and belief she has in me. Check out Wilma’s Fingerdoo Review online!

When was the first time you performed in drag?

I think the official first time I performed in drag was when I was nominated for a comedy award through Second City after doing a handful of stand-up sets and I decided to put my drag and comedy together for the first time. I did not win.

How would you describe the drag scene in Canada?

Canadian drag first and foremost is exceptional. It’s also VERY different from coast to coast and everywhere in between, and there isn’t as much cross-pollination between major drag hubs in Canada as there is in the states, so there are almost specific pockets of drag and what they represent. I’m seeing for the first time now that we’ve had our own Drag Race an expansion in variety in these pockets, which for myself is a good thing because the type of drag I do is very live-theatre cabaret in style and there aren’t really any of those venues set up in Toronto currently, unless you create those spaces yourself. Whereas Montreal is almost specifically live-theatre cabaret in style, which I love–but my French is très merde.

Who are the people you admire and consider role models?

My major role models are from the drag explosion that happened in 90’s New York. Queens like Sherry Vine, Jackie Beat, Coco Peru, Varla Jean Merman, Hedda Lettuce, Joey Arias, I could go on. For me whats been the most incredible thing to watch outside of the Drag Race phenomenon is how these queens are still working and gigging and more relevant than ever even in the sea of celebrity drag race girls. They are lasting because they have the talent to back it up and deliver a full show. I admire that and try to reflect that in my own drag. My comedy is also heavily influenced by Margaret Cho, Joan Rivers, and Bea Arthur.

Do you feel there is enough representation in your field?

In what I feel represents my style of drag in Canada? Not really. I know a lot of talented drag artists and comedians who often get overlooked by “more popular lip-synch drag artists”, which isn’t a dig towards what they do, they are just generally more popular and given more opportunities I’ve found. I think Jimbo was a great and unexpected addition to the cast of Canada’s Drag Race this season for that reason and was one of the most popular, which I think may have surprised a lot of fans of Canadian drag, and proves that the audience is hungry for more like-minded queens in that genre.

Are you in love at the moment?

Happily single.

How did the pandemic change your life?

2020 is going to have it’s own chapter in my memoirs when I get to writing them.

What are your future plans?

It’s very hard to make future plans in the world we are in right now, because situations are changing day to literal day. We’re currently in yet another lockdown in Toronto so I’m having to put my bodybuilding on hold yet again alongside my being able to perform in venues, so staying motivated is definitely a challenge through this year. But I can tell you a secret I’ve learned; that we are all much stronger than we think we are. So I’ll continue to do what challenges me and what scares me because it reminds me that I’m grateful to be alive! Stay tuned for what comes out of my HOLE (that’s House of Lix Entertainment) cause you never know what I had for breakfast that day! Probably a carton of egg whites.