Meet Twitch’s reigning drag trailblazer bringing a touch of love and resilience to the platform. An antidote made up of equal parts glamor and guidance, Elix is an example of a once wilting flower that now has roots strong enough to stand tall. “I never in a million years thought I would be where I’m at and have so many supporters or be on billboards in Times Square,” they said in a phone interview with Lifewire. “I want to thank all my supporters, but, and this is gonna sound so ugly and selfish, I mostly want to thank myself because I didn’t give up. I was resilient. I’m very thankful to myself for not succumbing or submitting to all these barriers.” A viral sensation with their high-octane gameplay and drag-influenced antics, Elix has amassed a following of 200,000 across platforms. They have a dedicated viewing audience who find their vivacious brand of campy fun the perfect salve for a dull world.
Live By Daylight
The Mexican native came to America as a child with their family where they settled in sunny Southern California. Elix was an early adopter of video games. Gaming was their sanctuary away from the confines of their conservative Catholic family and community. It was a little sliver of freedom for the siblings. “I’ve always been very different and very feminine. Even as a kid who didn’t know what masculinity or femininity meant, it’s instilled in you that that’s shameful and you shouldn’t behave that way. You need to correct the way you’re talking and the way you’re moving,” Elix said. Virtual stories fascinated the young queen even though they didn’t know English at the time. These fantastical worlds were more than translatable. Video games became their own language for the future drag queen. Apart from video games, scary movies also served as an escape from their own horrors. The strong, prominent female protagonist taught Elix one of their first lessons in self love. Seeing these women take on the big bad was revolutionary for the effeminate Elix. “Learning to love myself, my body, and who I am is what liberated me and made room for me to be successful in what I did. Even though I always tell people my life didn’t start until I was about 24 or 25. Once it started, I was not slowing down,” the drag star said. Working as a corporate public speaker allowed Elix to develop skills that perfectly translated to the world of streaming. Streaming seemed like a natural next step in their journey toward self-discovery. Starting in 2017, the future drag star would fall in love with the medium.
Radical Rediscovery
Elix is a long-time fan of horror, so Dead by Daylight seemed like the obvious game choice for the drag star. It offered a diverse array of character choices and an inclusive fan community. It’s been the guiding light for their stream, and now they’re Twitch’s number one horror hag. “I think a lot of people within the LGBTQIA2S+ umbrella go through so much trauma. Maybe they like experiencing it again through a horror game.” they laughed. Elix has carved out their own niche community of fellow drag artists and a dedicated following across social media. A key component to their success was TikTok, when a string of viral videos quickly grew their stream. But with positive growth often comes negative pushback, notably for people of marginalized identities. Elix and other drag artists on the platform have become an unfortunate lightning rod for harassment. “I’m not a white, cis, straight man. I am a Hispanic, voluptuous, feminine drag queen who also happens to be pretty amazing at video games,” they said. “Us breaking those ceilings have caused us to be a target for some people still in that primitive mindset.” Sharing their story about the harassment they and other people receive on Twitch has been an important part of their mission. But they refused to let it stop them. Elix continues trekking along, folding every aspect of their identity into their work, hoping to free anyone watching from those shackles of self-doubt and loathing that once caged them. “That’s why I show off my Mexican heritage. I came to this country where I wasn’t wanted. I take pride in who I am because of how people wanted to erase it from my identity,” they said. “I started streaming to play games and make people laugh, but that’s not why I continue streaming. It’s my community. I went from entertaining to focusing on giving people the confidence to be who they are.”
