It’s Friday night and class of 2002 alumnus Andrew Forrest is getting ready for a glamorous drag scene in a Berlin nightclub. Decked out in a dramatic dress, he finishes off makeup with a fierce rouge on his lips and puts on iridescent jewelry. Within moments, Forrest appears in the spotlight and kicks off his show.
Embracing his sexual orientation as a gay, Forrest started attending various LGBT events as soon as he moved to San Francisco in 2005. He became particularly fascinated in drag shows. When his friend offered him the opportunity to get paid for doing a drag show, Forrest immediately grasped the chance and began his life as a drag queen.
“The shows just looked like a lot of fun,” Forrest said. “I felt like I had transformed into someone else entirely when I first started getting dressed up. I felt like I could say and do whatever I wanted, because I wasn’t Andrew anymore. I was someone else. ”
During his time in San Francisco, Forrest typically dressed up when he went out for shows or special occasions. On a show, Forrest typically lip syncs and dances to popular songs. As an accomplished drag queen, Forrest once appeared on the cover of the San Francisco Guardian and performed at the Folsom Street Fair.
Forrest transferred to UC Berkeley in 2010. Inspired by the German classes he took at Temple City, Forrest chose Berlin as his study-abroad location in 2011. During second semester, he met his husband and decided to move there as soon as he finished his degree. After settling down in a new city, he started working as a hairdresser instead of going into the career field of his major, Media Studies.
In Berlin, Forrest continued to frequently perform in drag costumes at places like the Friedrichstadt Palast, a large Vegas-style venue. However, he is now focusing on his career more intensely, reducing the number of drag shows to once a month or once every other month.
“Getting dressed up is still a lot of fun,” Forrest said. “I still feel like I can act out, or be outrageous. But as time goes on, the mental transformation into a different character isn’t there anymore.”
Today, students in TC have the LGBTQ Equality Club, creating a safer space for LGBTQ students. Once in a while, two boys or two girls go to Homecoming together. But during his years at TCHS, Forrest describes the atmosphere as hetero-normative, in which many people look down upon gay students. Insults and prejudice crushed his feelings and urged him to move away to bigger cities.
“Live your truth and go for the jugular,” Forrest said. “Don’t put off for tomorrow something you can do today. Don’t let the expectations of other people determine your happiness or self-worth.”
