ShaeShae LaReese truly defines what the phrase “drag excellence” means. From innumerable titles to now appearing on the new Amazon Prime show “Pageant Queens,” the newly minted Miss Florida F.I. Supreme still has her eye on one legendary title. I caught up with LaReese to talk about her own start in drag, the one title that still eludes her, and what it was like moving into a house with other drag legends for “Pageant Queens.”

How did first you get involved in “Pageant Queens?”

I knew Travis Stancil (Producer) from back in 2014. He became a performer himself and got involved in national pageants and he had this idea. I remember in Las Vegas I was at a Christmas party and he mentioned it to me and I said “save your money;” then the idea happened! He started hand picking everybody and I he had just asked me. I was starting another corporate job and wasn’t sure I had the time to do it, but when I found out the names on the list of the other participants, they were all legends that I started doing drag and competing in national pageants with, so I was on board!

“Pageant Queens”definitely showcases each and every one of you individually and lets you shine. Who were you most excited to see be part of the show and who did you want to spend the most time with?

I would say that it was my roommate Alexis (Gabrielle Sherrington). I was Alexis’ mentor when we all started, she used to look up to me. She is a very grand queen-diva herself, and everything is over the top. Throughout the taping, we were kind of assigned to who we would be sharing a room with. I wanted to share a room with someone that know, and I’ve known her for years. Someone that I didn’t know as well was Tatiyanna Voche or even Tiffany T Hunter; Tiffany was more the quiet and reserved one. I’m sure because of my corporate job, it was edited to look like I was there the entire time, but myself and Azsia (Dupree) have other careers and were were there four or six times out of the 12 days. So I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted to with Tiffany, she has always been the quiet one though. I got to know a little bit more about my roommate Alexis, how she is on her every day life.

You mentioned your corporate job and I think that it is crucial when doing drag to have a back up plan. Do you feel the same way?

Absolutely. For me as a dancer, I mean I am 57 now. I can still entertain and move, but what is going to happen when I get to retirement, will it be the time to get a real job then? I’ve always had a job on the side; this drag hobby is an expensive hobby! Unless you have a rich husband or boyfriend or even a corporate job, you cannot work every weekend; because you have to be at work. You cant do drag, the drag shows are always on the weekends. When this opportunity came with Queen of Drag I had already turned down this corporate job a year prior because I wasn’t ready to commit to it yet. It’s all about timing. I love the fact that I have done so much in my career. Out of all 11 contestants, I am probably the one that has won the most coveted titles in history. Bar titles, city titles, national pageants, pageants have always been my life, but I have always maintained a job on the side.

You just won another title in Florida, Miss Florida F.I. Supreme! Congratulations! What number is this?

Thank you! I stopped counting after 200 (laughs)! I win seven or eight a year! Back in the day, we had sponsors that were really great and now times have changed. We were trained to compete in pageants all year long to get your sponsors and then you would compete in the finals for the big national pageant. So all year long, we got bookings. My drag mother Angel Sheridan always said, you get pageants to get bookings.

Speaking of your drag mother, Angel Sheridan is an absolute legend in the drag world and her days in New York City and at Krash are those of legend in Manhattan drag circles and beyond.

Angel is my drag mother and this is why I started doing drag. I was a backup dancer for her as a boy and she would do this tap number “Sophisticated Ladies” and the two backup dancers were myself and one of her best friends. I started to think that if she could win all of these pageants, I could start doing it. She put me in drag and I started winning everything! She was there when I won Supreme the other night and I had been preparing for seven months. For her to be there when I won that, it really was a full circle moment.

South Florida’s drag scene is so unique and eclectic; what do you think it is about South Florida that makes it so unique and special and filled with such dynamic drag talent?

You know, I think South Florida and Miami always have been the places that people like to party, with circuit parties and so many nightclubs. South Florida has always been the epitome of good drag. I lived in Tampa and Orlando, and the best places to go have been in South Florida. There has always been great drag involved everywhere, it’s definitely because of that.

You have had such a storied and legendary career; what has eluded you throughout your career so far?

Oh my God, I have won so much already (laughs)! Getting on TV probably, because I’ve never really focused on something like that. I auditioned for “Drag Race” once and it is so much work. To find the time to do it, I think I auditioned within 24 hours. Between my hairdresser and myself in my living room in my condo, I did it. My dream was to be Miss USA and I won that in 2014. I did all the national pageants, I’ve won Miss National, Miss National Showgirl, Florida has always been my home but my dream was always to be Miss USA. Anything after that was just to be current and to be in the people’s face. I love doing drag, but you get to an age where you ask yourself how long you can keep doing it?

Obviously the only thing that I would want do, I competed in Continental Elite and I know how political that system is. It was my first time and I had prepared for a long time. You get your scores two weeks later, which is unreal, I don’t know how you don’t get them the same night. i won talent by one point, I lost the pageant by four points, and I won Q&A and I beat the winner in group interview. I was number eight, the winner was number five, another girl was number six, we were the front runners and I had standing ovations and I only won talent by one point; it makes me suspicious. I want to go back in maybe a few years, the owner saw me in Chicago, Jim Flint and he said “Now you’re ready!” Continental is the epitome of pageantry and other pageants are dying out unfortunately; this one has stayed.

For someone just starting drag, what advice do you offer them when they say that they went to be as successful as you have been? How do they blaze their own trail?

I would tell them not to copy someone else or mimic someone else’s traits or persona; always be yourself. There are so many people that copy other people and they want to imitate them, but I always tell people to be yourself. Take advice from the seasoned entertainers that have been in the business for a long time. Some in the newer generation don’t want to wear hips and panty hoes and it has lost a lot of the glamour from when I started thirty five years ago, Always listen, always take advice from the people that know and will give you their honest opinion.

Follow ShaeShae LaReese on Instagram @shaeshae_lareese

Follow “Pageant Queens” on Instagram @pageantqueensseries

“Pageant Queens” is streaming on Amazon Prime this Winter!