In a garage?
We're at this place where a queer performer
is getting a Netflix show.
How does that feel?
I'm just truly
that we live in a time where
'Drag Race' is winning Emmys
and the queer community is being celebrated.
You know I've been all around the world
and ay-ya-ya. You know that,
you know that. And I feel like all of you
guys know
This is a triumphant story of
And I love the you said that,
because, when we just met I said,
'Hey Alyssa,' and then I was, like, wait no you're not in drag,
you're Justin.
You're more than just the Alyssa we know.
So who is Justin?
I'm actually a simple guy.
If you can believe that. As a little boy I was very introverted,
and it's what brought me to dance
and the character and the person that I am today.
I didn't know how to really communicate
with others, I was socially awkward.
The art of movement was my only way,
only form I should say,
What I know, what most of the fans know,
what most of our audience knows is the Alyssa
with the hair, the 401s,
flipping, kicking, and you wanted
to strip that back.
This is a docu-style series,
And that was the only way I agreed to do it,
if we can be raw
and real. You know,
don't tell me to say x, y, a, b, and c.
I'm not readin' nobody's script,
because I am me
I just think there's so much more to me than the
tongue pops and all that. Truth be told,
I love being on stage and my character. You know,
at the stroke of 12, like Cinderella, that washes down the drain.
But my love—
and I found my purpose early on in my life—
You know, we've been twirling in these competitions now
15 years. Can you believe that? I started
this studio in a garage.
In a garage!?
And now look where you are, though.
Started from the bottom
and now I'm here.
That's your willpower.
Dream, hustle, win.
For someone watching who thinks they might not be able to do that,
what is that strategy?
I wasn't going to say that, girl.
I was not going to give it away.
How tired are you of hearing that question?
I don't think I have the
cracked code
or the Maya Angelou wording.
I just think that I started working early
on at 15, 16 years old.
And I've never stopped.
And there's give me a lot of obstacles,
a lot of barricades. But where there's a will, there's a way.
You better find it. And
Those kids really look up to me so my job is bigger
than being their coach and their mentor
and their choreographer. It's bigger than that.
It's my job and my role,
especially in today's time,
to be good representation of what it
is to be
I know that's deep. We're getting into it!
Can I just say, thank you for that.
Kids aren't exposed to drag
queens, queer people.
You know, anyone different from them,
especially in the South.
Why is it that that's something that you are so passionate
about exposing these kids to? And being there for them as
this figure?
And I feel like I lived in a bubble.
I was raised when search engines were really just coming out.
For me, don't move the studio, don't move to LA.
You stay right here,
because there might be another Justin
What would young Justin say if you could see
where you are now?
There was many times in Mesquite that I would watch
TV and I thought, 'New York City,
skyscrapers, that's for famous people,
for important people. Hollywood, oh my gosh,
that's for stars.'
And here I am today, NowThis,
you know, NowThis.
Here, I have arrived.
What is the best thing
you've learned from teaching?
and different.
And the way I coach
and approach you maybe might be different from you,
you, or you.
But be strong,
be upfront,
be realistic.
These are the youth of today and the future of tomorrow.
And you have an opportunity to shape that?
I mean,
for me,
If anything comes out of this show,
I hope it's that people go,
'Thank you, and wow. Wow,
these kids are talented
and they have a fearless leader that's pushing them.
And this is a triumphant story.'
This is the hallmark of my life.
And if nothing comes of it,
I'll be able to say,
'It happened.'