Exclusive Interview - My Little Puny
How and when did you discover you wanted to do drag?
I come from a background of theatre, I actually did a show which I made with two other friends, Keta Minaj was actually one of them, the performance group was called Blush and we did a show on the theatre festival De Parade which is like a Dutch traveling theatre show and we make shows which always kicks against the boundaries of male and female. Which people always were very confused about because we started the show for example very manly, very nude dance performance and then it switches very hard to a very female on high heels kind of thing where people were like what the f*ck is happening here. So that's actually how I got much more comfortable with my…let's call it the female energy and i actually wanted to explore that more so then at a certain point in 2019 with pride i got asked to host at the door in drag and back then i did it with a moustache and short wig with a very manly body but then still on high heels and of course femme makeup and that's actually how My Little Puny started! From that night i was like okay let's open an Instagram account i'm gonna be called My Little Puny and from there the ball started rolling and people started booking me and because I have a performance background people liked that I could give a show so you know, one booking went from the other and then Drag Race Holland started.
“Of course it's a pity that I didn't win but I'm really proud that I came so far and that I got to show what I got to show, I couldn't ask for more”
From your time on Drag Race Holland, what was your favourite memory and how was your experience of being on the show?
I think my favourite memory is that I got to do the show with my best friend, that for me, i will never forget that. I mean we've been friends for so long and to do this together was a moment, i'm really thankful for that. What else… my Sister, getting to experience the whole show and what i do from a performance side, it was very beautiful to share that with her after the rough year that we had. Also to do something on such a big international stage and for her to get recognized after the show when we are going somewhere and people want to talk to her. I think it's very cute and and sweet that she gets to experience that as well.
On the show you had some of what some of the best looks in my opinion, how did you go about creating those?
Basically you get the list of looks that you have to prepare for the concept of that week and then i actually started to illustrate everything so i got some inspiration from whatever the themes were and then tried to come up with a look. It then goes back to production to see if it's good enough for the show and then I actually found…
My Little Punys dog then takes centre stage!
Sorry, my dog wants to come in.
What’s her name?
Her name is Mika she's a beagle.
Oh adorable!
Sorry… erm, then because of my theatre background I knew already some people that made costumes and that know more about designing and finding fabrics etc, then I was trying to find people that I thought would fit with what I wanted to make. For me it was also very important that I gave them the creative freedom to also put their layer on top because I don't believe in you know me just saying make this because I want them to feel creative and be happy to make something for me. It was intense because you have a very short amount of time of course to make everything but it was an amazing experience. When you're doing a club booking you're not gonna get this gigantic costume made for yourself every time, so to then do it for a show like Drag Race was realy cool.
I spoke to your drag sister Miss Reggy B right after she was eliminated and we had a good little chat and spoke about her edit in the talent show, when you watched the show back was there anything that didn't air that you wished it did or was there anything that came across and you thought oh i didn't think it would come across that way?
I was a bit afraid of the episode that Keta was leaving because I was so tired that day and I was very off my centre let's say, I cried and was upset and I didn't know how that was going to come across but when I saw it back I was like okay, it's fine it's not too bad because I had a huge meltdown when she left backstage, I think I cried for 20 minutes, I was just so off and a bit afraid of that episode I guess but for the rest, no I think my edit is fine. I'm very happy I stayed very true to who I am, so I didn't really have any regrets on stuff I said like oh maybe that was super shady.
How did it feel to come so close to the crown but just miss out?
Of course it's a pity that I didn't win but I'm really proud actually that I came so far and that I got to show what I got to show, I couldn't ask for more so I had a very positive experience from it and I look back on it with a positive eye. I got to show so many sides of myself.
Do you think you would return for a Holland or International All Stars?
If you started crowdfunding for me I would be happy to you know, no i don't know maybe I would yeah. It depends on where and when and if I still want to put myself into a corset in five years, we will have to see how my body is holding up.
What is next for you and are you going to come see us in the UK?
I would love to go to the UK and do a tour that would be amazing, I’m definitely up for that. For the future I am releasing a song together with Keta, we're working on that at the moment, I’m going to keep on performing but I would also love to do more television or acting stuff not per se as Puny but as myself. I will have to see what the possibilities are opening up.
Shout out time! What one other Queen, King or queer performer deserves a shout out from you?
I would give a shout out to Miss Vanity Love she is a Brazilian queen that's here in Holland who came into the scene basically with nothing and taught herself the whole shebang and now she’s blooming. Her makeup is becoming so much better, she's a great performer, she's a great host, she's really become somebody I really look up to because she created her own space out of nothing. She made space for other younger queens to perform on her stage and she tries to include everybody in her journey. I think that's a very special talent to have.
Catch My Little Puny in Drag Race Holland S2, available exclusively on WOW Presents Plus. Subscribe here.
Photography - Courtesy of World of Wonder
Note: Some of this interview has been edited from the original transcript to help with readability.