Contributing Author: Alex Powers
Tia Wanna is a fierce and fishy California queen. She has opened for Bianca Del Rio in San Fransico, and performs weekly at the West Hollywood gay club, the Abbey. Her drag idols include Raven, Sharon Needles, and Manilla Luzon. However, you won’t be seeing this queen on Drag Race next year. Rather, she has her sights set on another race, specifically CBS’s The Amazing Race.
That’s right! Tia, whose boy name is Te Jay, will be starring on the show with his boyfriend Tim. The two will join ten other teams in a race around the world performing challenges and tasks in exotic locations, all with the hope of reaching the final leg of the race and winning the million-dollar grand prize. Te Jay cited his father as the primary inspiration for going on the show. Te Jay explained, “He was the biggest fan and then I started watching because of him. It was our plan to become a team on The Amazing Race when I turned 21. When I went to college I met my boyfriend Tim, and then my dad ended up getting an injury. Tim was kind of the perfect substitution I guess! We turned out to be a great team!”
Te Jay has been in a relationship with Tim for five years, something he says “takes a lot of hard work and dedication.” He describes himself as being “blessed and lucky” to have a boyfriend who is so supportive of his drag.
“He (Tim) is actually my number one fan! He calls himself ‘Tia Wanna’s’ manager. He is my biggest judge as well.”
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Te Jay started drag two years ago, fresh out of musical theater school. He was cast in an original show in downtown LA as a drag queen. After two months of performing in the show, he fell in love with drag and Tia Wanna was born! Te Jay describes his drag as being “classy, pageanty, and fishy,” and likes to keep it “as close to female impersonation as possible.”
When asked if he was a big Drag Race fan, Te Jay happily exclaimed that he was one of the show’s biggest fans, stating “Whenever I need some type of inspiration, I look to those queens.”
So will this queen be racing to Drag Race anytime soon? It’s safe to say that it’s definitely a possibility.
[quote]The minute I got into drag I said ‘I have to be on RuPauls Drag Race, I have to show the world Tia Wanna!’ The Amazing Race was a great experience for my boyfriend – for us together. But Drag Race is something I would like to do for myself. The show is seriously the epitome of what a drag superstar should be and what others should be, and I think Tia Wanna would make a great contestant! Shes fabulous, curved for the gods, and shes humble.”[/quote]
For now, you can still watch Te Jay and Tim compete on The Amazing Race, which premieres tonight 9/26 at 8pm EST on CBS.
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Marceline Valmore
What a beautiful performer in and out of drag!
Marceline Valmore
Keep an eye out for Te Jay!