Alexis Stone says Michelle Visage advised her not to go on Drag Race

Pictures: Mateusz Sitek

Alexis Stone says she was “commended” by Michelle Visage for making it on her own, without the need for a show such as RuPaul’s Drag Race, and that Visage actually advised Alexis against appearing on the show.

Appearing on the cover of the Attitude Body Issue – out now to download and to order globally – the self-described visual artist also talks about her relationship with her body and how she discovered drag.

“I have always been one to self-produce myself”

On establishing herself amongst the hype of a show like Drag Race Alexis says that journey has come with obstacles, but that she wasn’t willing to give up control.

“I have always been one to self-produce myself. Whilst the show serves a purpose for a lot of people that perhaps need help or a platform, I think with my background of trial and error of life it’s helped me build my own sort of career.

“When I met people within the world of Drag Race, such as Michelle Visage, she commended me on how well I’ve done doing it on my own and actually advised against me going on the show; because when you sign your life away for a show like that, that narrative of being self-produced gets taken away. And it’s just not something I’m willing to risk.”

Alexis wears motorcycle corest by Selfhood Official for the Attitude Body Issue, out now to download and to order globally (Photography: Mateusz Sitek)

Alexis – whose name comes from a combination of Alexis Meade from Ugly Betty and Sharon Stone of Basic Instinct fame – also explains that the legendary Dame Edna was her introduction to the art of drag, saying she was “mesmerised by the camp-ery of it all”. Then seeing the likes of Julian Clary as an outwardly queer person was inspiring

Telling us about her first time in drag – aged 17 – she says she went to a Jodie Harsh’s ‘Circus’ night, which she says was “a moment”.

“I put on a thong, a bra, a blonde wig a bleached brow […] went out, heads were turning. It was a different time back then, drag wasn’t as commercialised as it is now. It was almost a shock factor; it was a political statement. Now you got to a club and there’s a drag queen in every corner.”

Alexis wear underwear by Rufskin (Photography: Mateusz Sitek)

Moving on to discuss her past work and well-known projects such as the ‘Plastic Surgery’ project, which lost her 100,000 followers on social media, Alexis says she was able to “turn the mirror around on people” describing it as a social media experiment.

She says it’s fun to have been wearing masks for a year without anybody knowing or that her body double was her on OnlyFans and it gives her inspiration to see people guessing. On what’s next, she says “I know what I’m going to do next, it’s just picking which one I want to do.”

Changing her image and face through the use of prosthetics Alexis says gives her pleasure, likening it to upgrading an iPhone when the old one still works. “The idea of having the same face for 60 or 70 odd years is just not it for me. So, when I feel I’ve achieved my current idea of beauty, I change it.”

Read the full interview in the Attitude Body Issue, out now.

Subscribe in print and get your first three issues for just £1 each, or digitally for just over £1.50 per issue.