Zine 30: Tiki Vonte
Tiki Vonte is sex. Tiki Vonte is alt. Tiki Vonte is quirky. Tiki is Vonte evocative. Tiki is a beautiful blend of old and new school drag; and as a result they can do it all. You want camp? Get ready to pitch your tent 😈 You want sex? Might as well bring a slip ‘n’ slide. The devil is in the detail and Tiki has plenty of both to go around. They can paint for the gods; more specifically, Aphrodite and Eros. Their creations are a resulting Cirque de Soleil like sexy bizarre that draws you in and keeps you close.
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Bb: How would you describe your aesthetic?
Tiki: I’d say my aesthetic is very much if Zendaya starred in The Little Mermaid, but as a musical... and was sponsored by Hot Topic! 😂 I’m very much a fashionable and sexy queen, but very inspired by mermaids, anime, and grunge aesthetics!
Bb: I love that!! I covered a 5 Seconds of Summer concert for Billboard once where they did a signing in the hot topic afterwards and when I walked in, I immediately walked out cuz I was like “welp, no ones gonna believe i press because I look exactly like everyone here, might as well go get a smoothie.” Lololol how did your love for fashion begin?
Tiki: Omfg I probably would’ve done the same hahaha! And I initially started getting into fashion as a kid; my little sister had a LOT of Bratz dolls and all of the movies. I’d always try to talk her into wanting to watch them because I just thought they were sooo fierce. They had a passion for fashion and so did I! Lol I also had a brief stint as a kid where I’d watch The Devil Wears Prada over and over whenever I’d visit my grandma. So I kinda didn’t have a choice. I was also obsessed with shows like Totally Spies and Sailor Moon. So there were a lot of fashionable influences going on during my impressionable years lol
Bb: Those are definitely shows that also really tie soft feminine fashion with underestimated badasses. Being bratty is a power move, no explanation needed for Anne Hathaway and totally spies and sailor moon like the PERFECT example of that soft feminine fashion against young and powerful figures which was really game changing looking back on it. Proving that what some people called subtle was actually just underestimation of strength. Is there something about that aspect that spoke to you?
Tiki: Oh absolutely! I was a pretty quiet and lonely kid. So seeing all of these strong feminine figures that were also so powerful and strong in their own ways really spoke to me! I hadn’t come into my own queerness, but I knew that there was something in them that I could resonate with. Like yes you can be this cute and colorful being that values bonds with loved ones, but at the same time you can do whatever you want, no matter why anyone else says.
Bb: Yeah, I’ve never understood why people think being empathetic and being a bad bitch are mutually exclusive. Like yes, I cried when Ben Stiller’s character had to leave his job to protect his friends in Night at the Museum 3, but that just powers me to be the person who will also make your life a living fucking hell if you fuck with anyone I care about. To use your phrasing, when did you begin to come into your own queerness?
Tiki: Right??? You get me! I actually didn’t even really realize that I was queer until I started going into chat rooms and roleplaying in middle school. And it was fully appropriate, just FYI. I’d do chat rooms on Flipnote Hatena, the old Nintendo DS social media. And then i started role playing on Gaia Online... and just talking to more people and hearing different experiences I got to understand what all of the things I’d been feeling really meant, ya know. And building this community for myself online, I really got to explore who I was with people that I trusted.
Bb: I feel you there, most of my social life growing up was online. It’s how I learned to interact and process. But there were dark enabling trends on tumblr that I could’ve done without but for the most part, helped me stay. What’s your chosen community like? What kind of values or love does it subsist on?
Tiki: Well now my chosen community is much different than it was back then, but it’s still based on pretty much the same values I guess. I’ve always appreciated communities that always be down to help each other no matter what. Now because of drag, though, I’ve found that with people in my irl life; that’s not something I had a lot of back then. Now I have a lot of people that I can both physically and digitally surround myself with.
Bb: Looking back, what’re some of the things you didn’t even realize you needed until you embraced yourself and found a support system?
Tiki: Honestly, I think I’ve always needed to be around other artists/creative people. I went to performing arts schools growing up, and even went to college for arts programs. But it wasn’t really until I started surrounding myself with people who do my art, did I really know how important it was. And it doesn’t make it any easier that it took me a while to find that art for myself, to begin with. But I think the whole journey of it all is what makes me appreciate more now, ya know?
Bb: How did your drag persona come together?
Tiki: It’s honestly changed a lot since I started lol. My original idea of who I thought I wanted TiKi to be was like a slutty housewife; very PTA mom in super short dresses and a lot of blond hair. But once I really got started and began figuring out what I really enjoy doing and performing, I was able to see that that’s not really who I am. I realized that I can use my drag to bring all of the original characters that I’ve thought of, for anime/comic books/ and other stuff, to life! Plus pretty early on in my drag journey, I did an alt drag competition which really pushed me to find my own aesthetic and fit it to different themes! But also outside of that, my drag persona is really just me. Like i don’t really act any different. I definitely have more social energy, but I’m not completely a different being. I found that the separation of the two takes away the authenticity of it. For me, at least!
Bb: Why do you think you started with such a different image of that PTA soccer mom? On your journey to circling back to a persona that amplifies your authentic self?
Tiki: I think, at the time, I thought my reference pool was a lot smaller. I had only just learned about what drag was and had such a limited view of what all I could do. Once I broadened my horizons, I realized that I could include all parts of myself. I could portray my weirdness, my sexuality, my creativity, everything. Also, when I first started, I was still REALLY into theater, so that also played a big part on how I viewed my own art.
Bb: Musicals and theater and performing are obviously very dear to you, as a former theater kid myself (but unlike you, I was the obnoxious kind, not the talented kind lol), what was your dream role to play when you were younger?
Tiki: Oh no I wasn’t talented either lmao! That’s what took me so long to grasp! I REALLY wanted to be Lola in Kinky Boots, though! My really good friend, and I, decided our senior year that we would play those roles on Broadway! 😬😬 This was around the time that Billy Porter was playing the role, so he was a huge part of that haha
Bb: Ahaha I’m here for a petition to get you in that role. It needs to happen. Speaking of Billy Porter, who’re some of your icons? And what did they represent to you?
Tiki: Haha maybe when it’s time to go for my EGOT 😜! I’ve always said that Nicki Minaj is my first drag mom, tbh. She came into such a masculine dominated industry but was so unapologetically herself; it really spoke to me. Plus, when she first started rising into fame, her whole aesthetic was alternative Japanese style, so I had something to connect to. She’s always been so strong, yet embraced her own sexuality, too. Nicki is one of my biggest inspirations and is a HUGE component of what my drag is even based on. I’ve also always looked to Rihanna too. She’s so fashion forward but also SO smart. If you look at her career, before starting any of her own businesses, you can see that she did her research. I’m the kind of person who can’t do anything without some sort of plan or background knowledge, and it’s really cool seeing how successful she’s been, but also how smart she’s played the game! Basically any strong, successful black woman is someone that I can find inspiration in.
Bb: Yeah they’re definitely two stars who took hold of their narrative and didn’t let go. And i may or may not have cried while stoned and watching the first Fenty show/special. I’m seeing the house of effort, I love that name, can you tell me more about it? Is it you or you and other queens/kings?
Tiki: Omg same though! That fashion show lit such a fire under my ass, when I first saw it! Yeah House of Effort is the drag family that I’m a part of! Our mother is Duchess, then there’s Helena Handbag, Moxxi Mayhem, myself, D’Cameron May, and Fabrielle! We’re all queens and a king. But we all are just friends who love each other and drag! Moxxi and I actually started together our freshman year of college, so we’ve always had each other lol.
Bb: Amazing names across the board. For those whose knowledge of drag stops at the popular tv franchise, what does a drag family mean, not conceptually but as a family member, what does it mean to you to have this house and these friends as they are?
Tiki: Yeah! So a drag family/house/etc is a chosen family that do drag together. Duchess, being our mom, she’s done drag for a while and is an overall super talented person and she saw stuff in all of us that she wanted to help us cultivate and grow with our art! Lmao thats a lot of words to say we’re a bunch of nerds who do shit together and Duchy is the nerd mom
Bb: *chosen family by Rina Sawayama plays and i cry* no but really, I love how much the world truly comes down to nerds finding each other and creating communities. Thousands of chosen families making up trends, content, progress and more. It’s really beautiful. I know you’ve mentioned anime, what else are you a nerd for? And I guess nerd, here, mostly means unashamedly and wholeheartedly enthusiastic about
Tiki: Omg we stan Rina 😂😂. And it really is nice. Yeah I’d say that’s how I’d define nerdy lol. But I’m a big comic nerd too. I can never afford to keep up with the issues themselves, but I take in all of the media that I can for anything comic related. I’m also a HUGE Pokémon nerd. Like… that’s the only video game I can play, I’ve read most of the manga, seen most of the show/movies/ have played every region, and know a LOT about it 😅😅😅
Bb: Favorite Pokémon?
Tiki: Can I do Top 3?
Bb: hahaha of course!
Tiki: Oh blessed lol Primarina, Lopunny, and Eiscue hands down
Bb: My last question, where do you wanna take your artistry as you continue to explore and celebrate it?
Tiki: That’s wild, I literally just asked this question on Twitter the other day😅😂! I want to do SO many things, honestly. I went to film school and dropped out to focus on drag, so I’d love to bring the two together. I have so many video/film/show ideas that I wanna write, direct, or produce! I obviously would love to be in front of the screen too! My end goal, though, is to dance for one of the big name, female rappers. It’d be SUCH an honor! Really, i just wanna constantly create and produce more art that I can share with as many people as possible! I’m actually moving to LA this summer, so these dreams may be a lot closer than we know!