Here, the man who puts the influence intoinfluenceropens up aboutlosing his hairat 14 years old and what masculinity means to him in one seriously empowering interview on male beauty standards…
Patrick Starrr may have a social media following of 10 million but beyond the beauty tutorials, the celebrity guests (including Kim Kardashian) and the turban that could tell a thousand beauty secrets he is on a one-man mission. His drive?
To give the LGBTQ community more visibility in main stream media.
I was getting 10-20,000 comments of gun emojis – now I ignore the hate…
I Just ignore hate. As my platform started growing, I realised that this is my house, this is Mumma’s house and you ain’t going to put your dirty shoes and dirty feet in my house! I met with the CEO and founder of Instagram three years ago and the rest of the development team. They asked what I wanted to change, and I said, ‘I’m getting 10-20,000 comments of gun emojis, you need to implement what YouTube is doing and create a comment filter. ’
The next month they applied it because of me. I don’t want to have a dirty space where 10-year olds or 11-year olds are saying, ‘go kill yourself,’ or, ‘faggot or gay,’ and now I’m able to have a social hub, I’m able to control. That’s what I’m most proud: creating a social sanctuary for those.
My advice for anyone being bullied is: remove yourself from negative influences…
Tomorrow is going to be a better day and just know that you’re valuable, that I support you and find friends and surround yourself with people that love what you love and love you. I think that’s really important because when I came to LA and I had already cut off friends that didn’t support me. I cut off one of my best friends, I said, ‘bye I’m going to LA,’ and that’s what I did.
I went to LA, I found a community within social media and beyond social media that loved artistry, that loved content creating and I think that’s what made me flourish was once I let go of those negative people, I was able to fly. It’s really important to take control because sometimes when you’re in a small town, you just feel like slim pickings. It’s full of very, very small people but with the power of social media and all the platforms, it’s possible to get out. Even with the success of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, it’s amazing that there is linear media now to exemplify those types of people and lifestyle that are not beyond the norm. They are the new norm.
My ultimate beauty hack is to beat your face…
I think the ultimate beauty hack is to just do the whole damn thing and try it. A lot of people are so scared, I told this to Naomi Campbell, and she said, ‘why do people deserve a Smokey eye? ’ And I said, ‘because everyone does. ’ I worked in retail before so I know first-hand what women think because they would come into the store all the time. I worked in the store for three years. Go to a makeup counter and get your makeup done, treat yourself, pamper yourself and stay out on the town. You’ve got nothing to lose and it all comes off at the end of the day. I’m not shaping your brows, thinning your lips or injecting your lips, it’s just makeup. That’s the beauty of makeup. I think that’s my message, makeup can be really powerful.
By working with Kim Kardashian is not only gave me credibility it gives millions of LGBTQ people credibility too…
One of my biggest career moments was Kim Kardashian, the ultimate beauty icon for this generation, appearing on my YouTube channel. That was amazing. I found out at VidCon in LA. Kris Jenner slid in my DMs and I asked boldly – I may look like a woman but I have some balls underneath these sequins – ‘can you I do a video with you? ’ It was right after the Met Gala and she was on a private jet back and she DM’d me back saying, ‘yeah how’s Thursday! ’ The day before I got these 5-dollar glasses, a 20-dollar dress, a 20-dollar wig and I brought this belt and me and Kris wore the same thing – she loved it and when I met Kylie Jenner a few months later she said she loved it too.
That’s the power of social media: anything is possible. The positive thing is I can leverage this platform, the celebrity endorsement and who I am to make brands take action, show interest in someone like me and that’s great for the LGBTQ community. That’s the beauty of it because traditionally you would never have got someone like me, a ‘drag queen man’ who would transpire education or activate education. When I gain trust and credibility from those women – like Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner’s – millions of others too so it’s cool.
Male beauty is finally becoming accepted thanks to brand endorsement…
Male beauty is becoming more accepted recently with the support of brands. As an influencer we are just here to have a conversation about male beauty. I think what’s great about brands getting behind male beauty is that it gives the kids and us credibility and a platform to do so. Morphe are a great example, they started as an indie brand and now it’s a global brand with the platform to match. It’s a little bit hard with the brick-and-mortar brands but I think they are starting to listen.
As an LGBTQ person we are finally able to transcend beyond our community and have main stream visibility…
I feel like I always have the own beat of my own drum. But if there had been a role model like me when I was growing up, I think it would have helped as far as having someone LGBTQ in the industry for myself to look up to. Look at Shangela from Ru Paul’s Drag Race. She was on A Star Is Born and she toured over 110 cities last year. She’s really breaking the mould with that too and I think it’s really helping people in the community see that they’re able to transcend beyond their community to leverage visibility for those that don’t have it.
My mantra is: find your tribe. I was that boy who was alone until I found companionship via social media…
My whole mantra is to find your tribe and find your people. I think that’s really important because sometimes you can feel lonely as ironic as that sounds, with social media, you can be very alone. You have to deal with your own thoughts, you’re on your own page, you have your own demons, your own bullies so I think if you’re able to relate to other people that is so important because there’s no school or degree of social media success. You don’t go to college and get a doctorate in Instagram – there’s no such thing, What I say all the time is find people, make two or three friends, follow them on social media so you don’t feel alone. I was that boy who was alone before until I found other men through IG’s makeup boys, IG MUA. You’re able to feel a sense of companionship and community within those industries thanks to social media.
I didn’t want to change my name, I didn’t want to change my gender, I just love makeup and that was just it…
That sense of community has helped me immensely. Early on there was so much noise for me, people were telling me, ‘you’re trans, you’re a drag queen,’ and it made me question myself. I didn’t want to change my name, I didn’t want to change my gender, I just love makeup and that was just it. Until I found other boys who loved makeup, that didn’t identify as trans, who didn’t identify as a drag queen, that was when I realised men can wear makeup too. With the success of brand partnerships, I’ve been able to leverage that messages and that new age way of thinking when it comes to beauty standards. I always think, make your own label. That’s what I did early on. I didn’t realise I was doing it, but I think with the help of social acceptance within the community, with other people I was able to do so.
We have so much work left to do with social acceptance for LGBTQ people…
We need to keep going because there are still other countries that need the help. There are countries in the Middle East that don’t have a space for men that can do that yet. I meet a lot of them, and they come to Los Angeles to find refuge or find happiness. That’s why I was so grateful for the success that came with my collaboration with Mac because it wasn’t just an ecommerce business, I was plastered in stores and we even shot a campaign for MAC Middle East. We need to keep doing that in the hope of our community ever being accepted.
Losing my hair made me realise the definition of masculinity is vulnerability…
Masculinity is just vulnerability. I think people appreciate the vulnerability I’ve shown especially with me losing my hair. That was one of the big things. I’ve been bald since my YouTube channel began. People wonder what’s under the turban? The funny part is that the turban has become the Mickey Mouse ears to my Disney. The turban is very Patrick Starrr, I’ve been branding since the dawn of my channel.
I always look at life as ‘half cup full’ – I may not have hair, but I am thankful for what I have…
My journey is half cup full, that’s the way I look at life. Looking at what I’ve had or have rather than what I don’t have. My mum always said, ‘be thankful for what you have! ’ I don’t have hair, but I have driven and ambition, I think that’s what people have resonated with me. It’ s just really special that I am able to transpire that same message to my subscribers and people that don’t have that same voice or same support. They can go on Instagram or online and find happiness in me when they don’t have it in themselves. It’s something I never would have expected but with the great conventions like VidCon and BeautyCon, I’m able to connect with them.
Messages from cancer survivors inspire me the most…
The fan stories that affect me the most are from cancer survivors. I don’t twerk in front of an arena like Cardi B or Beyoncé for 20,000 people but I’m shelling up for 200,000. Those that have suffered illness and have found joy in my channel really touch me, after all they have been through with their chemotherapy or treatments. It’s also the parents who show up with their children – who would ever have thought that parents would drive their 10 or 11-year-old to a meet and greet with a guy in a full face of makeup?
I am either all or nothing when it comes to makeup…
I can be really, really shabby. I’m the Chateau Marmont of influencers You think it’s great and then you get close and it’s like woah! That’s me – I am still gorgeous, just shabby.
Transforming my face empowers me…
My whole face empowers me – I love a transformation! The whole transformation in itself is so intriguing. When I started doing Instagram videos, those were really fun, and I started getting millions of views and traction on that and that is a whole transformation in its self. Who doesn’t love a good transformation?
I am a greasy girl – I love powder…
If I was going to save one product from a burning building it would be my powder. I’m a greasy girl so I love powder. I love baking. I helped bring baking to the forefront by bridging the two from drag to woman.
I always try to breathe and enjoy life – when the turban is up, it’s up and when it’s down it’s down…
I know when to log off and to not look at my phone. When I’m at dinner, I’m at dinner and I won’t look at my phone the whole time. When the turban’s up, it’s up and when it’s down, it’s down. I always schedule time for my friends and to hang out and to just enjoy, live and breathe – I think it’s really important.
