‘It’s going to be a real challenge’: Ella Vaday to do 100km trek for … – Gay Times Magazine
How are you feeling about doing the 100km trek in June?
Well, listen, I’m not the expert. We’ve got someone who actually knows how to do a trek that’s coming with us, so don’t worry. I think I get around 20 to 30 people and I’m super excited, but it’s going to be hard. Like, I’ve never walked 100km. I think in my heels probably I’ve done at least a 10km walk around a venue, but I know it’s just going to be a real challenge and I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone that’s doing the trek because I imagine we’re going to have some amazing people from all walks of life.
Are you doing it in drag?
No, I’m not. Can you imagine? Absolutely not! Imagine the state of me. I mean, the state of me anyway! But, let alone after doing 100km in a few days, I think that would be a mistake. So, no, I’m going to obviously try and look my best, look presentable. But I think drag is not an option with this. In my normal drag, I’m wearing six pairs of tights, hip pads and a corset. You know, I don’t think that really lends itself to trekking around Hadrian’s Wall.
I just had this vision of you climbing a mountain in heels.
I know it’s a nice vision, but I can’t see that happening. I don’t know if that’s safe.
How did you first get involved with CoppaFeel!?
Me and my mum, last summer, worked with CoppaFeel! and I put my mum into drag and I don’t know if you know, but my mum had breast cancer and is still in recovery from it and is still doing treatments. But we basically did an activation where I put her into drag and we talked about her journey and it was just a really nice moment for my mum but also for me. And yes, I’ve worked with CoppaFeel! for probably about seven, eight months now. We’ve been chatting for ages and I just love CoppaFeel! because they cover all bases when it comes to gender. They’re not gender-specific with who gets breast cancer. Everyone has breast tissue, you know, men get breast cancer, women get breast cancer and everyone else in between that. So I love that there’s support of the LGBTQ+ community and it just covers all the bases for me and I think it’s fab.
You’ve spoken publicly about your mum’s journey with cancer before. What has it been like to be able to use the platform Drag Race gave you to amplify the work that charities such as CoppaFeel! do?
Oh, it’s brilliant. You know, before doing Drag Race, I would have had no voice that anyone would have listened to. And I think, with something like cancer, it affects literally every single person, I’m sure, at some point in your life. So to be able to use the platform that I’ve got – my fans and followers are all different ages – so you really do reach a lot of people. And with a subject like cancer and how we can try and prevent it, especially in young people, I just feel that using my position is really important because there’s so much stuff that we do as drag queens, as anyone that’s sort of in the media, that doesn’t mean much. So, to use it for something positive is always going to be something really, really important to me.
How does your mum feel about you doing this with CoppaFeel!?
Oh, she’s so happy. She’d be there herself, but she obviously is still in her recovery and stuff like that – but she’s super proud and it was the least I could do. It was really hard for me during her cancer, she’s had cancer twice, by the way. She had thyroid cancer about 12+ years ago and now she’s had breast cancer and both times it’s come at the busiest time of my life. So for me, this is kind of like giving back for not being able to be there all the time for her. You know, I can’t just travel two hours all the time when I’m working so much, so to be able to do this and support my mum and to support cancer survivors and people that are going through it in this way is really important. And we’re aiming to raise loads of money as well to support the charity. So that’s what it’s all about!
Where can people donate?
So if you head to https://www.coppafeel.org/give/ you can donate towards this 100km trek!
And what can we expect from you in the future?
Oh, everyone always says this, but I’ve got lots of stuff in the works. Everything is go, go, go now it’s the new year. Well, on a personal level, I’m getting myself back to my fitness. I’m really enjoying that journey and also getting ready for this trek in June. So I’m getting myself fit and ready for that. And yeah, I’ve got lots of little projects going on, so watch this space – the film I did, Sumotherhood, is coming out this year too!
The CoppaTrek! with Gi takes place in Hadrian’s Wall Country, Northumberland from 10-16 June. You can find out more here.