Ru Paul’s Drag Race star Trixie Mattel takes a step back

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By Riyah Collins, BBC Newsbeat

Getty Images Trixie Mattel performing a DJ set. Trixie wears an enormous blonde wig and exaggerated make-up, including bright pink lips and black eyeliner. She wears an embellished bright pink corseted dress — Trixie Mattel first appeared on the seventh series of Ru Paul’s Drag Race in 2015

Drag queen Trixie Mattel will be taking a break from work after “struggling” for more than a year.

Trixie became a world renowned star after first appearing on Ru Paul’s Drag Race in 2015.

Since then, the queen returned for the All Stars version and as host of the spin-off show The Pit Stop, as well as running a YouTube channel and make-up business.

Trixie told fans in a video that all the work was “not sustainable” and there would be “a hiatus” for at least three months.

“I need a complete reboot,” says Trixie, who uses she/her pronouns in drag and he/him when not performing.

It was a rare video where Trixie, real name Brian Firkus, was out of drag.

“I feel uncomfortable about telling so much of myself,” Brian says, before opening up about a tough year.

“Things happened this year that I’m not ready to talk about, it just really beat it out of me and taught me new lows of the human experience.

“When you feel like you cannot stop crying and you’re so upset and then you have to put on a wig and make people laugh – it is chilling.”

Brian says he’d been working himself to “death” as Trixie and had become ill from stress.

It got to a point where he “struggled to enjoy” drag, which “I feel weird complaining about because all my wildest dreams came true”.

Brian Firkus says his real life outside of Trixie became “squeezed out” over time

Getty Images Brian Firkus out of drag. Brian is a bald man in his 30s with brown eyes. He wears a maroon blazer over a patterned black shirt and smiles at the camera — Brian Firkus says his real life outside of Trixie became “squeezed out” over time

Brian grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has previously shared his experience of growing up in poverty.

“Growing up poor is traumatising,” he says in the latest video, saying it’s affected his work ethic.

“You can’t take a day off because there’s a pay cheque waiting.

“All I was doing was this. It was all work and money making and then my social life, my family life, my personal life… twigs. Frail twigs.”

Trixie often performs alongside Katya Zamolodchikova who is said to be supportive of the hiatus

Getty Images Trixie Mattel performs alongside fellow drag queen Katya. Trixie wears her signature enormous blonde wig and exaggerated make-up with a pink jacket over a white blouse. Katya also wears a blonde wig, paired with red lipstick and a sparkly red dress — Trixie often performs alongside Katya Zamolodchikova who is said to be supportive of the hiatus

As well as Drag Race, Trixie is well known for working with drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova – the pair often perform together and also have a Netflix series and online show UNHhhh.

Since 2022 Trixie’s also had her own show on Discovery+, Trixie Motel, which follows the drag queen as she renovates a motel in California.

Brian told fans: “I love doing all my little jobs” as Trixie but has realised “it’s a good thing to have boundaries”.

“Being a hard worker is fierce, being a hard worker at the expense of your real life and health is not,” he says.

“When you have the fortune that I’ve had, you shouldn’t be stupid and abuse it like I have.”

Brian says he’ll be visiting friends and family and will also be taking a break from social media.

“This break is so overdue,” he says.

“I don’t know what I’m going to come back as, maybe not even as a drag queen, who knows?

“I’m very excited to feel really into drag again and really into performing.”

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