Austrian drag queen Candy Licious on EuroGames 2024, life lessons from RuPaul and how cycling frees her

As Candy Licious was biking through one of Vienna’s many scenic mountains, the iconic Austrian drag queen almost wanted to give up. But then she thought of RuPaul.

Drag’s mother would have pushed her to continue. And she did.

Candy, who has been performing as a drag queen in Vienna for ten years, embodies perseverance. Growing up in the countryside, she was not exposed to LGBTQ+ role models or even tolerant attitudes. Her awakening came when she came to Vienna and handed out condoms at gay events. For the first time, she saw gay people living their lives openly.

Instantly, she knew what she wanted to do.

Put on a pair of heels and start embracing your repressed femininity.

“I was allowed to do things that I wasn’t allowed to do as a kid… to create something to work through all the negativity that I had,” she said. Queerty.

While Candy Licious may lip sync all her life, she says her favorite queen of Drag racing Sasha Velour doesn’t see drag as a competition. She sees the art form as political.

Over the past two years, Candy has traveled around Austria presenting drag stories, often to schoolchildren. She has encountered hostile opposition, such as when a group of protesters laid plastic bricks around a library where she was scheduled to perform.

Although Vienna prides itself on its progressive tradition – earning it the nickname “Red Vienna” – Austria remains a conservative country. The Catholic Church and its regressive social doctrine still govern life outside the capital.

When Candy Licious came out, her three sisters decided to cut off all contact with her. “I can do it because I have a chosen family. They help me,” she said.

With her past in mind, Candy invites skeptics to sit through hours of drag storytelling. She believes that dialogue is the most effective way to bring about change.

“I think it’s important to invite people who are afraid, who say, ‘Drag story time, we don’t know,’ or ‘OK, gender identity, we don’t know,’” she said. “I say, ‘Ask me!’ I have a barrier. I can take off the makeup, and with it, some negativity.”

As 4,000 gay athletes gathered in Vienna last week for the EuroGames 2024, Queerty I caught up with Candy Licious to chat about how drag and cycling have liberated her. Here’s what she had to say…

QUEERTY: What made you want to get into drag?

CANDY LICIOUS: For me, because I grew up in the countryside and I grew up with conservative role models, drag helped me solve some of the problems I had. I started doing it little by little, handing out condoms at gay events. I was in Vienna and I would see other drag queens and I would think, “Oh wow!” Some people are allowed to do that. I wasn’t allowed to do that when I was growing up at home. I was always told that “shoes are for women.” I never understood. To me, it didn’t make sense. These people have to wear costumes all the time—that was my idea—and other people are allowed to dress differently. So I started in Vienna when I was 25. I’ve been doing drag for almost 10 years now.

My reason for starting wasn’t RuPaul. My reason was that I was allowed to do things that I wasn’t allowed to do as a kid…to create something that would allow me to work through all the negativity that I had.

What is the most liberating part of drag?

For me, it was liberating, and it still is. When I do a story hour with drag queens, and I sit there and read children’s books where the characters blossom, and I see the eyes of the children, I find myself. I found the drag that I really want to do. I wasn’t always the showgirl who lip-synced on stage. I do that too, but for me, it’s much more impressive to have people say, “Thank you for doing this for kids,” and let them know that drag is an acceptable art form.

How did you come up with the idea for “Candy Licious”?

I think it’s typical. I was sitting at the bar with some friends and we were like, “Okay, what drag name would work?” I’ve always liked pink and colorful stuff. Somehow we came up with the name “sweet, candy.” I settled on “Candy Licious.” There are people who call me “rainbow queen” here in Vienna!

You are a great cyclist and we are here at the EuroGames. What do you like the most? on this subject?

I think I can be very fast. I grew up in an area with mountains, and for me it is both exhausting, but it can also be very enjoyable if you let yourself go. Vienna is a beautiful city for cycling.

How long have you been cycling?

Ever since I can remember. My parents have always dragged me to ride my bike. When I was a kid, I didn’t like it, but now I do. Two years ago, a week before drag queen story time, I was on a cycling holiday with my parents in northern Italy. We rode bikes. I think it really helped me, and I remember that moment. It was a really, really big mountain, and we were going up the hill. I had almost no energy left, and then the funny thing is, I thought, “RuPaul will tell me to keep going.” I didn’t start drag because of RuPaul, but I have this connection with drag to not give up. And my dad was so surprised. He practices, and he was like, “How do you do that? You don’t practice; and now you can still do it?” “I said, ‘Because knowing that you always have to keep moving forward gave me the strength to do so.'”

How do you view your work as a drag queen?

I think it’s a duty. What I do is a lot for the younger me who suffered from depression because of society. I come from a small village where there were no queer idols. “Bitch” is still a bad word here in Austria in schools. Back then it was still a negative word. I never wanted to be that word, until I could finally say: “Thank you for calling me a b*tch, because now I can be that person.” I do a lot for the younger me and for all the people in the countryside. I run workshops in schools, and sometimes 12-year-olds come to me and say: “We don’t know what to do. I’m queer and my parents don’t accept me.” It’s always (heartbreaking) to see young people still suffering.

You mentioned RuPaul earlier. So I have to ask: who is your favorite queen from the show?

Sasha Velour! But I don’t watch the new shows. I don’t have time for that, to be honest. I think it’s great what she shows, but I always have to say it’s a casting show. I don’t like art being used in casting shows. I think that way people think “she’s better than me”. There’s always that (negative) drift. I like what RuPaul did, showing the world cross-dressing. But I would rather see it in another form.