Bimini Bon Boulash on their name origins and the Drag Race queens that have inspired them
We catch up with the Drag Race UK star behind the scenes of their cover shoot for the Attitude Tea Time special edition, in association with TAIMI.
By Will Stroude
Bimini Bon Boulash is a queen who’s been very much in their own lane since they first sashayed into the workroom on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series two – but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been inspired by some of the greats of the dragworld.
As Bimini takes to the cover of the Attitude Tea Time digital special in association with TAIMI – free to download when you subscribe to the Attitude mobile and tablet edition (30% off for a limited time only), and available to download individually for £1.99 here – we catch up with the 27-year-old east London queen to find out more about their drag journey – as well as the origins of their rather unique name.
“The origins of Bimini is… ‘Bimini’ is actually what my mum was going to call me if I was born female – but then she didn’t call my sister that, so I don’t know what happened there!” explains Bim, whose drag career only began around 18 months before they were cast on Drag Race UK.
“‘Bonnie Boulash’ was the name of my first cat when I was very young, and I just chopped that up and made Bimini Bon Boulash.”
The Norfolk-born queen continues: “The funny story with that is when I was first doing drag, people were just not getting the name, so I just stopped being Bimini Bon Boulash for a while and was just Bimini.
Bimini Bon Boulash wears full look by Pam Hogg (Styling by Joseph Kocharian; photography by Denelle + Tom Ellis)
“And then on the show, it breathed new life into [the name], and everyone was making memes with the name and it was so funny to see.”
Bimini, who first tried drag after moving to London at 18 to study for a degree in fashion journalism, recalls: “I started dressing up in drag – not really as Bimini, Bimini wasn’t really born until 2017 – but I was doing a version of [her] and it was really fun at the time.”
Asked which queens have inspired them as a performer over the years, Bimini name-checks some of Drag Race‘s most beloved queens.
Bimini wears top by Miu Miu; headdress by Pam Hogg (Styling by Joseph Kocharian; photography by Denelle + Tom Ellis)
“Anyone who goes on [Drag Race], they’re iconic to me because it’s very difficult! I love fashion, so I love all the fashion queens; Miss Fame is gorgeous; Aquaria and Violet Chachki; I also love Katya for their personality”, they smile.
“There’s so many that do it for me: there’s Shea Coulee, who’s obviously phenomenal…”
The Attitude Tea Time digital special in association with TAIMI is out now.
Download it now for just £1.99.
