Meet Brisbane’s Drag Race Down Under queen Mandy Moobs

Drag Race Down Under season four kicks off this week with Queensland’s own Mandy Moobs competing.

Queensland Drag Race Down Under fans rejoiced when the cast was announced for season four. For just the second time, there will be local stars in the line-up.

We spoke to Brisbane’s drag mother Mandy Moobs ahead of the season four premiere. 

Tell us about the moment that you found you’d be on Drag Race Down Under.

I actually missed the call, I was at work sewing away, totally in my own little creative world and I looked at my phone and noticed I had a missed call from New Zealand. I thought oh that’s probably the rejection call again that I got last year. How very wrong I was.

They called back and said ’We would love to have you be a part of season four.’ Let me tell you, I thought my heart just fell out of my asshole! It’s a mixed feeling of excitement and terror. Instantly called the husband and went “I’M ON!” and that was it. Went straight into game mode and began to work. 

Filming Drag Race Down Under

How was Michelle Visage as host and what’s she like in person? 

Michelle was a glowing presence on set. Honestly made you feel like you were the most important person in the world and was genuinely interested in who we were as performers. Which, at first, I was a little taken aback.

Before meeting them I felt I had this stigma of Michelle having a harsh attitude when they judge (just going off some earlier seasons) but nothing could have been more wrong. They are the perfect host for this season. 

What was something about filming Down Under that you were surprised by? 

I was surprised by how mental the actual process is and how very much a race it is. You are constantly on, from the second you arrive on set to the moment you leave. You can’t speak unless a camera is on which I get, we are making a TV show here, I just wasn’t ready for that!

Normally if you get a gaggle of performers together you can’t shut them up, but on set it’s completely the opposite. 

What were the challenges of taking your drag that local fans know and love and translating that to a TV environment? 

What challenges? I don’t think I had any. I’ve been performing for over 15 years now in Brisbane.

I know who I am as a person and who I am as a performer. So I just brought that to the competition. Me. 

Queensland representation

You’ve been labelled as the “Mum of Brisbane” – how do you feel about that description? 

What a gorgeous label “Mum of Brisbane” – although the correct title should be “Mother Pig of Brisbane”, I feel that title does represent who I am and what Brisbane is. It’s warmth, kindness and honesty.

When you watch really any drag show in Brisbane you will walk away feeling these. So I’ll proudly take on that title. 

There hasn’t been much Queensland representation on Down Under so far, did you feel pressure to represent the scene here?

We know Brisbane drag is fully capable of being shown on a world stage: We are raw, refined and fully realised.

We just needed the opportunity to showcase our talents. This time around, I just won the lotto and was chosen to showcase my skills.

You ask if I feel the pressure to represent my state, absolutely not. I’m not new to this fun adventure we call drag and if you know me, when I’m in a competition I don’t hold back. Bring it on. 

What has the support been like from the Drag Race community since your announcement, particularly fans in Queensland? 

The support has been overwhelming, a lot of emotions all at once. very humbling to have the scene behind me.

But it’s more than that, past contestants both from Down Under and internationally have reached out welcoming to the little Drag Race family.

It’s a whole other level of drag family. Everyone just wants a great season and I know every one of these performers I competed with brought their absolute best! 

Support the show

How can fans best support you and the queens of this season?

It’s really simple. WATCH THE SHOW, BOOK YOUR TABLES AT VIEWING PARTIES, BUY MERCH FROM EVERYONE, SEND LOVE TO EVERYONE. But also go out and watch performers in your area cause you never know who will be chosen next to be on the telly.  

You can follow @mandymoobs from Drag Race Down Under on Instagram. The fourth season of Drag Race Down Under premieres Friday 1st November on Stan with episodes weekly. 

More on Drag Race Down Under:

Watch Drag Race Down Under with Mandy and Freya at Sporties

Meet the new cast of Drag Race Down Under season 4

Drag Race Down Under unveils guest judges for season 4

Isis Avis Loren’s simple message to Drag Race Down Under critics

Rhys Nicholson isn’t ‘the new Michelle’ on Drag Race Down Under

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Dale Roberts

Dale is a journalist and communications professional with just under two decades of experience. With a journalism degree from UQ, he returned to Brisbane after working at non-profit organisations including Stonewall in the UK. Dale runs the award-nominated Eurovision podcast and site Aussievision, and co-hosted the SBS podcast Why is Australia in Eurovision?