Hello Dick Day! So straight off the bat, I want to know what made you enter The Gold Rush? 

Hello! I entered ‘The Gold Rush’ as I needed a boost and a new challenge in my drag journey. I was feeling a bit under motivated with the amount of opportunities I had going for me in Brighton. I figured it was a good move to have a whack at the London scene just to get my name out there a bit more and give myself a new experience. I was very excited to network with a new batch of performers and people I’ve followed online from London for a while.

Did you feel like you had to change yourself for the competition? 

I didn’t change myself for the competition, however the competition did change me and the way I perform. The weekly challenges made me think of new ways to create content, they gave me new confidence to explore different sides of Dick Day that I probably wouldn’t have done outside of the pressure cooker of a competition.

What was the best part of The Gold Rush experience? 

The best part of the whole experience for me was the finale, I loved winning: but the run up to it was a week of excitement and potential. From preparing a group number with the other finalists to spending endless hours making a cable tie dress. I finally felt that I could win the whole thing and that made me so proud of myself.  Achieving that level of confidence in myself was the reason I entered in the first place. I will always be thankful to The Gold Rush for getting that out of me.

You travelled down from Brighton every Monday for six weeks to compete – was getting to The Glory the most challenging part of the competition, if not what was?  

It at times was the most stressful part but I had a friend that was driving me most weeks when they could. This was something I made SURE I sorted before I entered, I had asked them if this was something they could do for me and if they had said they couldn’t I probably wouldn’t have entered as the stress of travelling is something that fills me with anxiety, mostly due to getting home afterwards. On other weeks if I couldn’t get to and from location other competitors let me stay with them. This in a way became a sort of blessing: for duos week I stayed with Petty Nonsense, but as I wasn’t leaving it meant we had plenty of time to choreograph and practise our Kath & Kim Routine which I then won the week with. It also meant I was spending real time with other contestants and we started to create stronger bonds, which is always fab!

Since the release of the web series, how has it been watching yourself back?

It’s been great being able to watch it all back. I love that it’s something that was one of the best experiences of my life and I have all this footage to forever have and view, I still laugh every time I watch myself get caught in the curtain in Divas Week. At times I was a bit apprehensive thinking that if people watch it after rather than being there on the night then they may not agree with the results. But Drag is subjective and that’s just my inner monologue nagging me. We all have self-doubt and it makes us better at what we do to try and prove things to ourselves and others. It’s funny how I still feel the self-doubt I felt at the time when I watch it back. I was so nervous every week!

The Gold Rush Season 1 cast, 2019

How has your relationship with your fellow competitors been since your time there? 

I adore each and every one of them, it’s so beautiful to watch what they are all achieving in their careers. I wish I could see them all more and I’m going to make more of a conscious effort to come to more in London in 2020. Watching how everyone is growing and evolving fills me with joy.

Is there anything you would’ve changed about your time there? 

Looking back, I wish I would have prepared a simpler bottom 2 number. Every week I got changed in case I was in the bottom 2 performance but my act involved changing into a wetsuit and blowing up an inflatable mallet. I never landed in the bottom but every week I was running about to get into the wetsuit, so I am glad I was always prepared but it would have been nice to have some more self-belief so I didn’t need to clamber into a skin tight suit. Oh, and maybe I would have blended my forehead contour more.

Dick Day x Dragon Dreams shot by @ScallywagFox x @postTEENIDOL

Since winning, I’m dying to know, what did you spend your £1300 on? P.S. that’s still more money that Drag Race UK!  

I wish I had a fabulous answer for this but in reality, I had to pay people back for money I had lent for the competition. I got myself a wig and purchased a lot of meal deals as I was up and down from London a lot from October-December. I got myself a tattoo and enjoyed the freedom of having a nice amount of money in my account for once! Looking back, I wish I was a tad more responsible with it, but I was excited!

Speaking of winnings – did your 13 paid gigs come in handy? And how did you find getting bookings after the competition? 

I had the best few months post ‘The Gold Rush’ with my winning gigs; Taylor is always helpful to all of us putting names forward for gigs and I loved every second of it. One of my favourite times was doing Stell’s Bells on a Friday night at the Glory (Home of The Gold Rush) followed by the Iconic Cybil’s House the next night! I got to spend loads of time with Wanda Whatever and other fab people. We had so much fun!

I had a lot of fun doing our shoot together with ScallywagFox! Dragon dreams supplied some amazing pieces of clothing – how would you describe Dick Day’s style? 

The clothes are all so amazing and I felt very cool in them! I wouldn’t say Dick Day is known for being or looking hip, trendy or cool so I loved the feeling the clothes gave me! My usual style is more like a camp, sassy toddler that’s found their way into mums’ makeup bag and wardrobe. Since the competition I am learning how to sew and making moves to elevate my aesthetic to the next level. So hopefully soon everyone will see a new side to Dick that they didn’t expect!

Gold Rush is now on its third season, how has the competition changed since you’ve been in it? – and, how do you think you would fare in the current season? 

I think with every season the competition gets more and more of the recognition it deserves. And with every season the contestants know what to expect and really push themselves making every week a show worth watching for all the unexpected shenanigans. I’d like to think I would fare well in other seasons; I am so uniquely myself that I could take a theme and make it Dickified and hopefully get the audience on side with my silliness no matter the season.

How did it feel when you had to pass over the crown to the season 2 winner?  

It was such a lovely moment, and made it all so very surreal that the time before it was me in that position. It really made me feel so lucky and humble to be a part of the winners’ circle that will just keep growing and growing, I will always be part of the winners’ crew and that is super special. I love meeting all of the contestants and seeing ‘The Gold Rush‘ family get bigger and bigger each season. There is a real sense of community between everyone and I am so so proud to know and be involved in the supportive Gold Rush family.

What is next for Dick Day – where do you hope to see yourself in the future? 

I am currently really working on elevating and improving my aesthetic. The jelly shoes are no more, the moustache is gone and I am learning how to sew! Along with this I am going to make special effort to get better at networking and come up to London a lot more. So hopefully I’ll get myself some bookings come 2020 and I’ll be turning heads with my new looks!

Are you planning to release any of your music online? – I know you’re very close to Psychofag so I’m sure they’d help you launch your debut! 

I do have some ideas up my sleeve for some campy tunes along with all the gear and skills to make tracks. I love making silly comedy tracks. Psychofag is great and helped me with ‘I’m Dick Day’ from the S1 Blue Ribbon Babe Pageant P.S which was judged by Crystal from Drag Race UK! Me and Psychofag actually before they returned to the scene with ‘Acid Tung’ created and recorded a track together about Aldi that we never released to the world. It’s a really silly comedy track and I forgot all about it until now. Maybe I’ll speak to them about us doing something with it!

Dick Day x Dragon Dreams shot by @ScallywagFox x @postTEENIDOL

Where can we find you online? Anything you’d like to promote while you’re at it?

I am on Instagram and Twitter under @dickdaydraghag

On YouTube I have some content under the channel Dick Day. Hopefully I’ll be producing some silly comedy content soon.

Hopefully I’ll see some happy, familiar faces at events next year! 2020 will be another fabulous year!

 

Watch Dick Day compete in The Gold Rush web series available on YouTube.

They could be back, who knows!

Follow and The Gold Rush on Instagram and Twitter, find them @thegoldrushldn

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CREDITS:

Styling, Post-production & Interview: postTEENIDOL
Photographer: ScallywagFox 

Image 1 clothing credits: Dragon cap by Jackalopeland, Dragon top by Jackalopeland, Gold Earrings made by @postTEENIDOL, Clothes supplied by Dragon Dreams.

Image 2 clothing credits: Pink bow by Roxie Sweetheart, Purple sequin coat by Loonigans, Purple bodysuit by Loonigans, Clothes supplied by Dragon Dreams.

Image 3 clothing credits: Purple bodysuit by Loonigans, Tinsel hood by Lipsticky pig, Clothes supplied by Dragon Dreams.