“There was an event in Nimbin in October 2015 called Nimbin goes Queer and Maude Boate and Saphira Von Wilde were performing. I was dressed in drag, but I didn’t really know what I was doing. I’d seen Maude perform before and I thought she was brilliant. I won best dressed that night and just before I went on stage Maude walked past me and she bent down and whispered in my ear… ‘You look sensational’. That boosted my confidence so much. Maude is iconic and everything she does is amazing. After watching the show, I thought…’I think I could do this’, and that’s how I started. In December I performed at Soiree at City Hall and then again at Tropical Fruits New Year’s Eve.
I chose the name Foxy Brown-Eye for a couple of reasons. I’m drawn to strong black women in movies and music. Actress Pam Grier plays a character called, Foxy Brown, in a 1974 movie of the same name. Although I hadn’t seen the movie until this year, I was besotted by images of Foxy Brown’s big black afro and 1970s fabulous fashion. She was my first reference in creating my drag persona. The surname, Brown-Eye is a double entendre. I have brown coloured eyes and I like the silly reference to mooning. I will usually end a performance by bowing to the back of the stage and my bottom facing the audience as a nod to my drag name.
I’m especially inspired by black women. I adore singers like, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin. Other drag queens inspire me like, American drag superstars Sasha Velour, Aquaria and Australian drag queens, such as the fabulous Maude Pearl Boate, Philmah Bocks and Art Simone. They are part of the driving force behind the Broken Heel Festival in Broken Heel, NSW. I competed in their ‘So You Think You Can Drag’ competition in 2018 (placed in the middle) and again in 2019 where I came Runner-Up. I also won the Nimbin Inaugural Drag Fest in 2018.
I think I have a unique sense of style in my daily dress. I don’t like main stream menswear. I really love finding treasures in op-shops. I adore up cycling and recycling. My mother and grandmother are huge inspirations. They both had great style and they were strong Maori women. I enjoy tapping into my feminine side in drag. I’ve always been quite effeminate which didn’t really go down well growing up. Similar to a lot of young gay boys, I was bullied at school, but you know what? What doesn’t break us, makes us stronger. I’m definitely a stronger person because of the bullying I encountered. I let negative, snide remarks wash over me, because I realise those nasty comments are more about the other person’s issues than me. I just happen to be on the receiving end. I now use my effeminate energy to my advantage.
I made all my accessories for the costume I’m wearing today, the hat, gloves and earrings from an old shirt I loved. I bought the heels and leotard on line and I was given the jacket by lovely Roz in the Star Court Arcade. I also have a fabulous seamstress in Lismore – Miss Mildred in the Star Court Arcade who is a consummate professional – her work is excellent and she is lovely to collaborate with.
I grew up in a place called Whanganui on the west Coast of the North Island, New Zealand. It’s a Maori name. ‘Whanga’ means mouth and ‘nui’ means large. It refers to the mouth of the Whanganui River. When I was 17, I went to Brazil as an exchange student and it completely changed my life. When I returned from Brazil I went to University and studied Law, Maori and Linguistics. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Maori language and culture, I flew to South Korea where I taught English for a year. I then flew to Japan where I taught English as a second language for 2 years.
After teaching in London at an English Language School for 18 months, I moved to the Middle East where I met my partner, Josh. He is Australian and was recruited from Adelaide University. We had flown from opposite sides of the world, me from the United Kingdom and Josh from Australia. We met on our first day at work. Two weeks later we were officially together. We’ve been together for 16 years. When I started doing drag, he told me he thought drag queens were scary, initially, and he didn’t really enjoy drag shows. After dressing him up in drag for a party, he loved the experience and it was interesting for me to see how he behaved – he sat up straighter and his mannerisms softened. That’s part of the beauty of transforming into another side of one’s character. Drag offers the opportunity to realise another character inside oneself. It’s fascinating!
After five years of living in Doha, Qatar, we decided to leave the Middle East and settle in Australia. Josh’s family are from Tasmania, so that’s where I thought we would live. However, after spending a holiday there together we realised it was just too cold for me, even in summer. This is one of the main reasons why the Northern Rivers is so appealing. It’s lovely and warm for most of the year. Winter is not as harsh as where I’m from in New Zealand.
Josh had a history with the Northern Rivers when he was in his twenties. He had moved here from Sydney and lived and worked in this area. While still in Qatar, Josh returned to the Northern Rivers for a holiday. It was on this trip that he saw a property which ticked all the boxes. It was a bush block with remnants of a raintree forest, a large paddock and a creek. Tropical Fruits was also a huge draw card for us as it was important for us to live in a gay friendly area. We bought the property and moved here in 2008.
We had been living in the desert for 5 years, surrounded by lots of sand and where it had only rained a handful of times. We moved onto our block of land which had two hippy shacks. The land had been badly trashed – weeds had overgrown and the block had been a dumping ground for a lot of rubbish. It took us 8 months of clearing and cleaning all the rubbish from our property. It was Josh’s dream to build our home. He has done a magnificent job. Our home is a sanctuary in the bush.
We live quite a sustainable life style. We are not on the grid. We have a spring for our water, which miraculously didn’t dry up last summer during the drought, we have solar panels for electricity and hot water, chickens for eggs, a large fruit orchard and vegetable garden. The house is stunning with large glass windows facing the rainforest. We have also helped regenerate the rainforest by weeding and maintaining the grounds. It has been hard physical work and the payoff far exceeds anything we could ever have imagined. We live in paradise and couldn’t ask for anything more. We are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the world. I lived and travelled to many countries and although I was born in NZ, I consider the Northern Rivers home. I became an Australian citizen after 5 years of moving here.
I feel very fortunate to live in this area where we have access to stunning rain forests, waterfalls and beaches. We also have the Tropical Fruits organisation which I love being a part of. There are also many creative people here – wonderful artists, musicians and performers. I feel privileged to live here and to be a part of such a diverse community.
With many critical issues facing the world today, such as COVID19, droughts, floods, climate change – it can become all-consuming and play heavily on my mind. This really is the time for action in whatever form it takes. For me as a drag queen and performer, it’s about bringing some light relief and entertainment to people in order to forget about our troubles, even if it’s only for the length of a track.
I work in Lismore and I have noticed a big change for the better in people’s attitudes. Every now and then I see or hear people pointing at me because of the way I am dressed or the way I walk. I choose to dress the way I feel comfortable – it’s part of my self-expression. I am very confident and comfortable with who I am as a gay Maori man. I know what it’s like to be an outsider having grown up as gay and Maori. What doesn’t break us.”