Kilyo, a drag performer from Columbus, Ohio, moves towards dollar bills awarded to performers during their drag sets during the SoHud Collective’s Pride event in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. The SoHud Collective is a group of fashion vendors who pulled their resources to create a flea market experience in the parking lot near the intersection of East Hudson St. and Summit St. in Columbus, Ohio when faced with the economic insecurity of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Adam Bialek, 31, of Columbus, Ohio adds glitter to his drag look inside his house in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. Bialek is a drag veteran who performed at SoHud’s Pride event under the stage name Stevia Nicks, but hadn’t performed in drag for about four years because, “it just became exhausting trying to…pull myself in all these different directions.”
Drag participants (Left to Right) Nxthing, Rikki Sins and Taylor Grindle, the performance organizer, watch drag performances from a tent during a pride event put on by the SoHud Collective in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. “We all started it pretty much out of necessity during the pandemic because we lost our jobs…” said Collective member Adam Bialek.
Fyyrestorm prepares for their drag performance to the song “I’m still Standing” by Elton John in a building adjacent to the drag performance area in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. Nick Wolack, a local businessman owns the building, and allowed SoHud Collective performers to ready themselves in the stripped down building before the show.
Nakita Neato performs in drag atop the SoHud Collective bus during a pride event in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. Even though the Collective has only be in operation for about a year there has been a lot of support for the SoHud community, “Columbus pride is, is very capitalized, and I feel like sometimes it's almost like marketing endorsement,” said founding member Adam Bialek, “what we're doing is, is just, it's just more grassroots and genuine, and whatnot.”
Adam Bialek puts glue on his eyelashes to finish off the his costume for his first performance as Stevia Nicks in the SoHud Collective’s weekend pride event in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. “No matter where you go,” Said Bialek, “we have to kind of just work with like the grittiness. And that's just part of the gig.”
Michael Gray, 36, of Chicago, Illinois, sits with Adam Bialek, 31, of Columbus, Ohio as Bialek prepares for his performance in drag at the SoHud Collective’s pride event in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. Bialek’s first cross dressing experience was being a part of the Rocky Horror Picture show to which he said, “Who knew that— Yeah, adorning some fish nets, some lingerie and some pumps will do wonders for one's like self esteem and like self awareness.”
Taylor Grindle, 26, of Columbus, Ohio poses for portraits in Columbus, Ohio on June 21, 2021. Grindle was responsible for organizing the SoHud Collective drag show, and is one of the four founding members of the SoHud Collective. “We're kind of just like doing something that we love, and doing it a little bit out of necessity,” said Adam Bialek.
A dog that has been colored purple and turquoise stands in the “backstage” area of the SoHud Collective’s drag show where Glittertits, a bio queen, prepares for her next performance in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. “…it’s Pride Month and pride isn't happening this year…So let's let's see what we can do or see what if we can get a little festive,” said Adam Bialek.
Kilyo performs in drag during the SoHud Collective’s pride weekend events in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. “The whole idea of like drag…it's sheer entertainment,” said Adam Bialek, “Oh! It's a man in a dress…in our culture that's something that’s…not been the norm, so like doing that is, is already like an act of rebellion.”
Stevia Nicks holds the crowd’s attention performing on stilts during the SoHud Collective’s pride event in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. “…if I'm on stage as a character behind a mask then we can do whatever we want,” said Nicks, “It’s…allowing me to explore and express other parts of my like personality or identity that had like maybe, maybe suppressed.”
Adam Bialek uses makeup to complete his transformation into his drag persona, Stevia Nicks, for SoHud Collective’s pride weekend in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. “I did it to kind of like to play with gender,” said Bialek, “…showing how performative gender actually is.”
Adam Bialek fixes his makeup in his home before he heads to the SoHud Collective’s stage to perform in drag for a pride event in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. “…it's allowed me personally, to…break away my own little stigma of trying to be like one thing or another, and just, and just be,” said Bialek.
Adam Bialek, 31, of Columbus, Ohio sits on the steps outside of his home in Columbus, Ohio on June 15, 2021. “At the end of the day, we're all human first and everything else second…” said Bialek who has seen his journey into the LGBTQ community as one of exploration, safety and acceptance rather than of, “titles, labels (or) pronouns.”
Taylor Grindle walks to his seat in Bialek’s back yard during a friendly get together of SoHud founders where they watch a projected viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show in Columbus, Ohio on June 28, 2021. The Rocky Horror Picture Show holds sentimental value specifically for Bialek’s journey, as Bialek first cross dressed during a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show during his undergraduate experience.
Adam Bialek layers his outfits for dramatic reveals during his second drag performance of the day as Stevia Nicks inside a property next to the SoHud Collective in Columbus, Ohio on June 13, 2021. “If we don't have to worry about, you know, putting gender on clothes then maybe we can worry about other things that actually matter,” said Bialek.
