We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Zackarina Jenny-hoe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Zackarina, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Yes and no. I think in my heart of hearts, I wish I had allowed myself to explore drag earlier in my life because it’s so right for me and it truly makes me feel energized. When I was younger, gay and in the closet, Rupaul’s Drag Race was what I watched by myself feeling my first real connection with the Queer community. I loved all of the performers’ confidence and liberation and thought to myself “Wow, one day I wish I could be like them.” The reason why I’m glad I waited is because I feel like I’ve grown into my identity more and become more confident in who Zack is, before I stepped into Zackarina’s shoes. Not to mention, finding stability and a purpose in my life was important to do before stepping into the chaotic world of drag. So overall, a part of me wishes I hadn’t waited so long but a bigger part of me doesn’t regret the journey I was on to get here.

Dr. Zackarina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been doing drag for a little less than a year now, and started back in North Carolina when I wanted to combine drag with public health activism. I had amazing support and mentors back in Raleigh who encouraged me to try it out, so I finally thought “f*** it” and went for it! I now am a pretty active performer, producer and activist in the Denver, Colorado and Summit County Colorado (aka Breckenridge, Silverthorne, etc.) areas. I’m a bit different from other queens and performers because I emphasize activism, advocacy and social justice in all of the work I do. Drag inherently is a political statement and the history of drag is rooted in social justice and advocacy; so, I’ve tried to bring more of that side into the work I do. All around Colorado I host shows and put on events to try and accomplish a couple of different things like providing more Queer activities in rural areas, or combining public health efforts like STI testing and PrEP appointments with the fun of drag to incentivize it more, to even speaking at conferences around topics like mental health, health equity and harm reduction! My brand is all about having fun and staying safe, so I try to connect the LGBTQ+ population with resources to help encourage that.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That drag, and art as a whole, has to be a certain way. Growing up in the North Carolina drag scene there is a huge push for “Southern Drag”, which can be very pageant-centered and have this idea that if you want to be a drag queen you have to look a certain way, act a certain way and perform a certain way. As a result, I really was slow to start drag because I was like “well I don’t look like these other people yet, therefore I can’t do it yet” when that wasn’t the case. Yes, there is still a certain amount of prep work for any type of creative project before you hit the stage. But the real tea is that you’ve probably already hit that “required” amount of prep work to be able to start performing or doing what you love, but you’re just holding yourself back! I once got to meet Pattie Gonia and she gave me the best advice which was to just start. You have to start at some point, and you can’t wait till you’re “perfect” to start that. So go out, look a bit busted, act a bit like a fool, and get started. Chances are, you’re going to learn way more by just doing the damn thing then you will by sitting in your bedroom obsessing over small details. North Carolina drag taught me some great skills, but it wasn’t until I moved to Colorado where the drag scene here really throws that rule book out the window, so I was appreciative I moved here so young in my career because it helped me realize there’s no right way to do drag, there’s no right way to do art! You just have to jump feet first at a certain point and learn as you go.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is brutal, that’s the honest truth. For my day job, my program runs a harm reduction social media campaign and I literally work with a social media consulting company and even then I’m super confused navigating the algorithms. One day I’ll go viral, the next I’ll barely get a like. It’s hard, but some of the key tips I’ve learned are: 1). market yourself in person so that you get followers who are local and can help support you in-person. I will literally walk around before and after a show for ~30 minutes and “tip out” as they say in the South and just introduce myself to audience members, connect with them and give them a business card with a QR code to my linktree. This way at shows, I’m gaining followers that are actually relevant to me. 2). Invest in an app/social media template so that you can plan out social media. Literally this is a job for people around the world, and trust me it feels like work, so if you can plan stuff out and automate it to help save yourself time and make sure you’re posting. 3). Find your brand and your voice so that you secure the niche! My brand is public health and drag, so that gives me just enough breadth to have fun, but just enough specificity where people know who I am. And lastly, 4). you have to post a lot and invest into it. Don’t compromise quantity for quality, but gaining traction requires constant engagement. Try to create content every time you’re in drag so that you can schedule it out and use it for days you might not be in drag! Overall, social media isn’t easy, but those are some tips how I’ve grown a solid following in a short amount of time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/dr.zackarina
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dr.zackarina
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.zackarina
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drzackarina
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@dr.zackarina_

Image Credits
Photography provided by Pat Gump Photography and Pride in Pixels Photography.