'Becoming a drag artist helped me conquer my anxiety'

CJ is better known by his stage-name, Cielle Joelle

Giving up a place at Cambridge University to follow a dream of becoming a drag queen helped a young man conquer his anxiety.

CJ's interest in drag began when he was 14 years old and saw the reality competition show Ru Paul's Drag Race on television. But the teenager kept his interest to himself.

Aged 18, as he was preparing to start an English Literature degree, the country went into coronavirus lockdown giving him, he said, the opportunity to evaluate what he really wanted from life.

Also, at 6ft 9in (2.11m) the Telford teenager attracted a lot of attention which he said led him to struggle with his self confidence. Adopting a drag queen persona gave him a mask and another identity, he said.

He described his first experience of Ru Paul's talent show for drag artists as "mind blowing" and was impressed by "the creativity, the performance, the drama of it all".

But, he said, the reason he kept his interest to himself was because he had been raised by his religious Caribbean grandmother.

But, after lockdown, he decided against university, got a job at a Premier Inn, found a house-share with three factory workers and began his new life.

He still works for the hotel and said his colleagues are supportive of him.

Drag can reveal parts of the artist's personality, but in his case it was also an escape, he said.

"In my everyday life I attract quite a bit of attention.

"Everywhere I went I could feel the eyes on me."

Becoming Cielle Joelle, his stage name, had enabled him to become larger than life and "the life of the party".

At his first performance there were only 30 people watching and he was nervous going in, but he said: "As soon as the music started playing it was just adrenaline there’s not a feeling like it."

CJ said his Bridgerton costume was the one he was best known for

Now aged 21 he now has costumes worth about £30,000, some of them created by himself, and performs mainly in Birmingham and other cities although he still lives in Telford.

“There’s nowhere round here really for me to do drag,” he said.

"I'm really proud of what I've managed to build for myself.

I'm certainly less introverted than I used to be, but my family would probably describe me as a polite young man."

His work had caused a bit of a rift, family wise, and he was still uncomfortable talking about it with them, he said.

"Its for me, and whether I want them to see that side of me, a side that is alien to them, I’m not sure."