Radio producer and Drag Race superfan Pete May has made 'herstory' by smashing the record for Most RuPaul's Drag Race queens identified in one minute.
The second he stepped inside Guinness World Records HQ this week, it was clear he was up for the challenge.
A true Drag Race superfan, he was confident that his passion for RuPaul’s famous franchise would not fail him.
The American reality competition hosted by RuPaul is a cornerstone of modern TV, and it has seen performers like Adore Delano, Alaska, Bianca Del Rio, Trixie Mattel and Alyssa Edwards rise to worldwide fame.
It's also spawned several international versions, including the one in the UK and RuPaul's Drag RaceDown Under.
Pete's challenge was to name, only by looking at their picture, at least 25 former Drag Race participants in less than 60 seconds. That featured queens from all 15 US seasons of the show.
In the end, achieving the impressive number of 47, he smashed the record and snatched the crown… or, in this case, the certificate!
Displaying charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent, Pete named each and every queen without issues, passing on only one: the Australian drag performer Courtney Act.
“I’m sorry, Courtney, I love you,” he jokingly said after the attempt, explaining how the tension and the hurry of the moment got the best of him.
However, that was the only hiccup in Pete's record (or should we say, Maxi Challenge?) – which concluded with a total of 47 drag queens named with just one pass and no mistakes!
An incredible result indeed, and more than enough to take home the coveted certificate and the title of Drag Race Superfan.
Between the several queens he named (from Silky Nutmeg Ganache to Anetra), Pete also managed to name his absolute favourite one: drag performer and make-up artist Gottmik, from season 13 of the US edition of Drag Race.
“The queen that holds a special place in my heart, because I started watching the US edition of the show during season 13, is Gottmik. And Symone, too,” he said.
“I was really pleased to see they both made it to the final."
Pete’s passion for Drag Race started almost by accident when, in January 2021, a video of Bimini Bon-Boulash (from the UK edition) landed on his timeline and caught his attention.
“Drag Race is one of those shows that you may have never seen, but you know about it,” he said. “I knew what it was but I never sat down and watched it. And then I found that this amazing group had been retweeted into my timeline and I was like, 'who are they?'"
After that, he knew he had to do his absolute best to catch up with the seasons.
"I knew I had to dive in and watch the episodes."
Pete started from halfway through the second season of the UK edition, which was airing at the time (the very first episode started on 3 October 2019) and then binge-watched his way back to Drag Race UK season one and all the US seasons.
“I've also watched all the Spanish Drag Race, and the All Stars series. There are a couple of franchises I'm looking forward to diving into,” he confesses, “Like the Italian one, that one looks sick. Or Thailand.”
"One of the joys of the show is when you discover the queens, you discover their whole catalogue of work - like Trixie Mattell's music, or Bianca Del Rio's stand up comedy. You go and find all the things the queens have done outside of the show." - Pete May
One of Pete's favourite moments in the show was Jinx Monsoon's stand-up comedy roast in All Stars season 7.
During that special season, some of the winners from previous Drag Race editions battled for the crown.
Racking up several iconic lines like “RuPaul, the Rosetta Stone of Drag” and the roasting of fellow queens Trinity the Tuck and Yvie Oddly, the all-winners season saw Jinkx Monsoon coming out on top as the "Queen of All Queens".
But, together with roasting and reading the other queens, another pillar of the show is celebrity impersonation.
We couldn't help but ask Pete about his favourite Snatch Game performance, the iconic challenge where the participants prove their improv skills by showcasing their best celebrity impersonations.
“One of my favourite Snatch Game moments is Jinkx Monsoon in All Stars Season 7,” he answered.
During the Maxi Challenge, all-winner Jinkx Monsoon impersonated American actress Judy Garland.
However, Pete could immediately name several moments that stood out for him across seasons.
For example, he couldn’t but name Bianca Del Rio’s outstanding performance impersonating Judge Judy (the TV persona of Judith Susan Sheindlin, known for the arbitration-based reality court show Judge Judy).
Bianca's risky choice paid off greatly, and gave fans some of the most iconic quotes ever from the show.
With memorable quotes like “Baloney!” and “Beauty fades, dumb is forever”, Bianca’s performance is unanimously named among the top 10 Snatch Games of all time and will remain in 'herstory'.
In the future, Pete would definitely like to try more records.
In fact, he doesn't rule out the possibility to beat his own result at most RuPaul Drag Race's queens identified in one minute, as he is confident he could be even faster than he was on the day of the attempt.
Drag Race fans, that’s a challenge right there!
With this record, Pete surely set the bar high for the other fans of the franchise who might want to give it a go themselves – and we can’t wait to see what other challenges he plans to take on in the future.
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