WORDS Tara Crutchfield
PHOTOGRAPH Danielle Cecil
Trishelle Michaels Apart from the work they put into performing, drag queens have historically been champions of change for the LGBTQ+ community. Queens like Marsha P. Johnson, the transgender drag queen who was one of the first to resist police during the 1969 Stonewall riots, which are widely regarded as an impetus for the gay rights movement. Yes, drag queens can be campy and quippy and read you to filth while wearing 6-inch heels, but they are also powerful and positive role models for selfexpression and confidence – queens like Trishelle Michaels.
BEHIND THE GLAMOUR “Trishelle Michaels was born through MTV and audience decision,” said Reeves. After hearing the name Trishelle on MTV’s The Real World, he loved how unique it sounded. ‘Michaels’ was voted on by an audience at a bar when Reeves first began performing. He gave them options, the audience voted, and it stuck. “Trishelle is a role model. Trishelle is a promoter. Trishelle is someone that you could come and talk to, that you could message if there are any questions regarding gay life, regarding life in general, […] I think it’s important to make myself available to those people,” Reeves said. And there have been people who have reached out to Trishelle for advice. “Within the past ten years since I’ve been here in Polk County, I’ve really made an effort to be someone that can be looked up to without people feeling that they can’t talk to me.”
Terrance Reeves is a Florida native, born and raised in Central Florida. He moved to the Winter Haven area in 2009, where he lives with his husband of ten years. Reeves, a bowler for 35 years, works in the bowling industry at Kegel LLC in Lake Wales, manufacturing lane machines that clean the lanes. He’s been with them for 16 years. Reeves has been a highly competitive bowler for quite some time and was even on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour in the exempt field from 2008 to 2009. He was among the top 64 bowlers in the PBA at that time. His family built a bowling center in Brandon in the early 80s. Reeves described bowling as a serious side of himself and feels fortunate to work in the industry. “I enjoy going to work every day. Not a lot of people can say that, and I’m just really blessed and fortunate,” he said.
As for Trishelle’s style, Reeves said, “In drag, there are different genres. Just as there are in music, you have different styles of drag. [...] I’m definitely a businesswoman when it comes to my drag. I’m not the high glitz and glam. I’m very straightforward with who I am and what I do with it.” With years spent in the world of competitive bowling, Reeves wasn’t interested in competing when it came to drag. “I try to be myself,” he said.
Another meaningful part of Reeves’s life and work in its own right is his drag queen persona, Trishelle Michaels. When Reeves came out in his early twenties, he wandered into the world of drag. “I never said ‘This is what I want to do,’” said Reeves. Through friends at what was then Club Chambers, and The Male Room in Tampa, Reeves got to work alongside drag queens who were great at what they did. He found a niche, and the rest is history. Reeves began performing as Trishelle Michaels with the help of her drag mother, First Lady of Ybor, Joey Brooks. “She was a big influence. She gave me an opportunity to let me hone in on my skills, gave me tips, and made me better. Without her direction when I first started, we might not be having this conversation,” said Reeves.
Just as there are many genres in the community, so too are there many people and personalities. Drag queens are not a monolith, expressed Reeves. One misconception about the drag community, he said, is that they are all the same. “People might think that I’m flamboyant and all that, but they have to know, for me, that’s just a side of who I am. I’m super chill,” he said. Reeves is also very into sports. “This is where me and the other queens are completely different. They want to go to the movies, and they want to go out to the theme parks, and that is totally not me.” Lip syncing, killer costumes, and comedy are all part of what makes Trishelle Michaels dynamite on stage. “When I’m on the mic, I try to make people laugh. I think that’s one of my attributes and what draws people into me is my personality,” said Reeves. “I’ll be the first one to laugh at myself. I’ll make fun of myself because, at the end of the day of those shows, I’m a man in a dress. I am fortunate enough to be comfortable with myself.”
Reeves is thankful for the queens that paved the way and gave him opportunities throughout his drag career, noting that they “set the pathway for us to be where we are now.” Along with Joey Brooks, Reeves named Crystle Chambers and Kathryn Nevets as inspirations who have helped him with opportunities and guidance.
Preparing for a show is no small feat either. It can take upwards of two or three hours to get ready. Few outside of the drag community know the actual work that goes into getting glammed and ready for a stint in the spotlight. “We’ve got to
“You can’t do it alone,” he said. “You’ve got to listen to people sometimes to make yourself better.”
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