Since her third-place finish on Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race, Alexis Mateo has traveled the country representing the show and promoting herself. As Season 4 fast approaches, Mateo still finds she's recognized in hotels, malls and airports throughout the country”and she's excited that the same national television exposure is about to be unleashed on her friend, Alisa Summers.
“She's like a little sister to me,” Mateo says from her home in Tampa. “I used to help get her ready for newcomer pageants and I'd be in her talent. So to see her get onto Drag Race makes me very proud.”
Mateo attributes her successes on television”and her successes since”to her ability to market herself. She says that this season's cast of drag hopefuls should remember that the Logo television show is a marketing tool first, and a competition second.
“Always have it in the back of your mind that the main goal isn't to win, but to put out a great image,” Mateo offers current and future contestants. “Sometimes in a competition you forget about what you're doing and what's going on. But remember, it's on TV and it will be broadcast everywhere.”
Thanks to the “boy interviews” on Drag Race, Mateo says that she's recognized both in and out of drag, and that was something he wasn't completely prepared for.
“I'm so surprised to have such a great response in the straight community”especially straight girls,” Mateo says. “They know your name, they love what you do and they ask you for tips. It's so much fun. You have to be approachable.”
Summers and the other contestants of Season 4 are beginning a life-changing experience once the show debuts on Jan. 30. It's a journey Mateo experienced first hand and she says she wouldn't change a thing.
“If I had to go back [on the show] I wouldn't change anything,” Mateo laughs. “I was never wrong, in my own little mind. I was happy with my outcomes and with the way I was portrayed.”
While Season 4 is just starting, Mateo is already eyeing her next professional television appearance”she's vying for a spot on next year's Dancing With the Stars.
“I was a dancer at Disney for many years,” she says. “My fans have been voting every day to get me out there. After Chaz Bono and others on there, I think the world is ready for a drag queen on that show.”
