Today we’d like to introduce you to Zanny Ex.
Hi Zanny, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Zanny Ex, but my government job calls me Zach. I grew up in Biloxi, MS right outside of New Orleans, La and moved to Kansas City in early 2014 with my ex for a few years, but moved back south after we split.
The night we split up was shortly after my 21st birthday and I decided to go out with some friends at Missie B’s to celebrate the new beginnings of my life. My ex and I had frequently watched Rupaul’s Drag Race together, but when it came to the art itself, he was pretty against it. I had just come from a pretty conservative southern environment so that type of mentality seemed normal to me and I never questioned his feelings. That being said, that night was the first night I truly felt connected to something, that night was so magical to me because it was the first time, I felt something besides the pain I was feeling internally. I remember watching one of the performers take stage and they were so mentally and visually captivating that I thought to myself…this is what I want. To be able to distract people from their daily struggles and give them a sense of home and a sense of security in a safe queer space was something I craved. I then moved back home and began to practice the art itself. Shortly after I got my first performance opportunity and then became a house queen at a local bar. This opened so many doors for me career-wise. It connected me to queer family and most importantly it gave me the ability to discover myself through a lens I never thought I’d see myself through. A few years later I transitioned to another bar and got to direct a few shows there for about a year before I decided to move back to Kansas City earlier this year. I had spent years building myself down south, so coming back was definitely a jump and a career change… but it was so worth it. The art and the talent here is unbelievable and Kansas City has such a beautiful sense of community. The layers of growth and support is inspirational to me and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were a few struggles last year, especially when it came to the drag scene and local politics. Performing in south Mississippi had some beautiful moments of unconditional love and support, but there were also some layers of deeply rooted issues that surfaced with the political climate of 2020. I found myself losing a lot of friends with my beliefs for equality and the support for BLM. I can’t say 2020 was the first year I witnessed racism in Mississippi, but it was the first time I witnessed close friends turn their backs on our community when POC addressed their concerns with their lack of support and the underlying racism. To say that I came from a place of privilege to not experience the same pain and struggles they were facing would be an understatement, and I used my privilege and my voice to call it out and ask for corrective behavior from the leaders in my community. A few weeks later I was blacklisted by 2 bar owners and a show director from my scene. A few weeks after that people stopped associating with me and supporting me because I was too vocal and too political to be around. I was also told from many leaders in said scene that I needed to learn how to be quiet and take a check when it is offered. I lost a lot of friendships in the process but those type of people aren’t necessarily people I want to be attached to. I decided shortly after to move and with the timing of everything, Kansas City seemed like the best option. I already had friends in the community and my heart will always have a special place for the scene here. I know every community has a past and has their secrets but I’ve greatly enjoyed my time here and it’s nice to see such diverse representation within the community and within the roles of leaders.
Growing up in Mississippi as a queer man, there were a lot of times I doubted myself and my worth. I come from a strong religious family and my existence questioned a lot of the moralities we were taught. I’m thankful that I had support from my family unlike other youth in my community, but the journey was far from easy. Diving into drag headfirst was something that really taught me about gender identity and the fluidity of being non-binary. It taught me to appreciate the spectrum of gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine. Drag was the first time I got to explore myself in a way that had no judgment and no stigmas attached. I created Zanny as a way to connect to other people, but I underestimated the way it would allow me to connect to Zach. It gave me clarity and sanity over traits I tried to hide from and it also gave me a platform to take pride in said traits and appreciate them vs locking them away and trying to deny it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I do drag full-time but I also write poetry and do traditional art/digital art as well. Growing up, I was always attached to creative outlets whether it be writing or drawing. I found a romantic calling to creating. Art is filled with emotional expression and it’s a was a good coping mechanism for my internalized trauma. Growing up, I didn’t have health insurance and mental health wasn’t the best outlet for me. My family always did what they could to provide, but we were far from fortunate. Art gave me the chance to express myself in a way that I could share it with the world and I found that feeling therapeutic. I was accepted into SCAD in 2016 but was also granted the opportunity to go on tour with Miz Cracker from Rupaul’s Drag Race and took that opportunity instead. A lot of people questioned my decision but it was such a full-circle moment to share my life and my stories with someone who came from a platform that pushed me to discover myself. It also connected me to some of the closest friends I have to this day. (Besides, SCAD was beyond expensive and something I couldn’t financially afford in the first place) While drag has taken the driver’s seat in my life, I still practice my other crafts frequently and hope to do more serious projects with it soon. I have a show coming next month and have been in network with a publishing company to promote a project I’ve been working on for a few years. At the end of the day, I just want to share. I’ve always been an empath and although I hate showing emotions physically, I love to share them in an artistic way that helps someone not feel so alone with what they’re going through.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I try not to look at time as a timeline anymore. Before my ex and I split I was such a structured person. I wanted to be married by 23, kids by 25, etc. I had every part of my life written out and planned and used 5–10-year plans as motivation. I did everything I could to control my life in the way I wanted and had it taken from me by the actions of someone else. At the time it destroyed me mentally and pushed me into one of the darkest moments in my life. He was my first love and I sacrificed so much to be what I could be for us, but I’ve learned that you can’t heal broken people. A good friend of mine once told me: it’s better to watch someone you love fall, so you can help them up when they hit the bottom VS trying to help them from falling and getting pulled down too. Sadly, I allowed myself to get pulled down. That being said, the universe is beautiful and every moment has symbolism. Through this I learned how to love myself, I learned how to be free, I learned how to trust the process and not force a schedule on myself, I met someone I truly love and who loves me equally. I’ve learned that time is not something you can use to calculate your growth, but it can motivate you to do said growth. We should focus less on time and more on patience. The universe will gift us what we need when it’s time for us to have it. Without all that pain I would not have achieved the things I love the most and for that, I am forever grateful.
My advice to anyone reading this is to love yourself and learn yourself. Appreciate the past for pushing you to the future. Do not dwell on the hurt or the pain, it is temporary and it is motivating. I’m so thankful for the opportunities I have and the connections I have made. I look back at my journey and can’t help but find the beauty in everything. Time is temporary, feel everything.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Instagram.com/zanny.ex
Image Credits
Zanny Ex
Zachary Quinn
