A hair and makeup artist from South London is on a mission to become the fastest male drag queen to complete the London Marathon, aiming to shatter stereotypes surrounding sport and the LGBTQ+ community. Ryan Walklett, from Bermondsey, is set to tackle the iconic 26.2-mile challenge in less than four hours, all while sporting a dazzling blue and silver bodysuit, rhinestone-studded trainers, and a 32-inch blonde ponytail, in hopes of securing a Guinness World Record (GWR).
Having first run the London Marathon in 2017, the 30-year-old is running this year in aid of the Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity dedicated to providing information on HIV and sexual health. He believes that his participation in full drag will help dismantle the stigma associated with sports and the LGBTQ+ community.
Mr Walkett said: “In my head, the connotation between sport and my job was never a correlation. It was one of those things at school where if you were a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and doing PE, it didn’t seem to correlate.”
READ MORE: ‘Make LGBT rights a foreign policy priority’ to mark same-sex marriage milestone
“I love the idea I’m pulling them together. It’s seeing somebody combining sport and being the member of the (LGBTQ+) community… just having that visual representation.”
His drag outfit, taking hues akin to the Terrence Higgins Trust logo, was inspired by RuPaul’s Drag Race UK alumna A’Whora and USA relay team running attires. Mr Walklett, who took on his maiden half-marathon donned in drag back in 2019, eagerly awaits the London Marathon though he wonders if his glitter-laden outfit might present hurdles mid-race.
He jested: “The glamorous problems I’ve had was how much glitter is too much glitter? How do I still be glittery, but then not have it running to my eyes? “.
Mr Walklett plans to host a string of wig sales to meet his £3,500 fundraising goal for Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity that stood by him during his school days.
“When I was in school, we had no education about being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community,” he elaborated. “I remember having an English teacher who came over and spoke to me once and said, ‘I know what you’re going through; I can’t talk about it’, because teachers weren’t allowed to talk about these things in schools.”
“It was charities like the Terrence Higgins Trust that educated me on leading a safe life and understanding sexual health. It provided education I was otherwise denied.”
He said the charity has been “really supportive” and praised the work it is doing to help young people within the LGBTQ+ community.
“Seeing their work, with education and providing knowledge, knowing that the small thing that I’m doing is helping educate kids in a way that we never had,” he said. “It’s really exciting to know that the next generation won’t have to go through what we did.”
Mr Walklett hopes to “put a smile on people’s faces” and said he will be “channelling” Olympic athlete Dame Kelly Holmes as he hopes to make a memorable finish line moment. “I will just try to summon up any energy that I’ve got left to have a big dramatic Kelly Holmes moment at the end,” he said.
He hopes his drag-inspired run will encourage the LBGTQ+ community to try new challenges and wants to see more drag queens running the London Marathon in the future. He said: “None of us are assigned to boxes and you can do whatever you want. Actually, I can do what I love and I can put those things together and they don’t have to be separate entities.”
He added: “And more queens doing it next year.” To support Mr Walklett’s fundraiser, visit his page.
Don’t miss out on the biggest South London news. Sign up to our MySouthLondon newsletter HERE for all the latest daily news and more.
