![]() "I would try my best to perfect my skills, but it wasn't until I got off the cruise ships that I said I wanted to pursue it professionally," he said. Zuckerman soon began to experiment with the craft and started to attend parties for the crew in what he called "very bad drag." I obsessed over this interest in drag and since I wasn't very happy in life at the time, I was looking for an escape, so drag was a natural progression for me." "When you're a small-town kid, I think you're innately born with this 'There's got to be more, there's got to be something bigger' kind of a thing, especially if you're if you're a queer person. "When we would watch, I was just like, 'Oh my God.' It was something I obsessed over, and I am pretty extremist when I find something that I love, and I realized it was something that I wanted to try. "Anytime that we had an opportunity we would watch RuPaul's Drag Race on the cruise ships as a little gathering of the queer people," he said. With the support of his ship family, Zuckerman began to experiment with the art of drag. ![]() While working on the cruise ships, Zuckerman was immersed in an LGBTQIA+ positive environment and discovered the courage to be his true and authentic self. During my downtime, I would do random gigs with places like Sea World and Cirque du Soleil." "It's also how I started to develop the muscle and skill as a choreographer. "My professional skating career was a lot more fun for me because it was what I was truly wanting to be doing," he explained. Zuckerman auditioned for a job with Royal Caribbean and was offered a job skating in shows when he turned 21, which he held for four years. I didn't love competing, but I loved to put on shows, so this was perfect for me." "A lot of skaters transition into coaching or professional skating, and since there were so many professional skaters that came out of the Salt Lake City area, I was inspired to follow that path. "You train your entire life, and you develop this incredible skill, and I really didn't want to just throw that all away," he said. ![]() As graduation approached, Zuckerman began to feel the lure of life outside the rink and the classroom, so he made the decision to close out his competitive career after the 2012 season. While competing on the ice, Zuckerman balanced training with his studies at the University of Utah. Zuckerman's passion for performing afforded him the opportunity to see the world but would also indirectly lead to a career in drag and the birth of Denali Foxx (she/her/hers), the wildly popular contestant from season 13 of RuPaul's Drag Race.ĭenali Foxx performs at the intermission of a Chicago Blackhawks game. Figure Skating Championships as a novice man, and later as a professional skater on various cruise ships. The best can combine the athleticism required to be at the top of the sport with that special je ne sais quoi that brings audiences to their feet, often with tears in their eyes.Ĭordero Zuckerman (he/him/his), a 31-year-old native of Fairbanks, Alaska, has made his mark in the sport as an entertainer - first on the competitive ice, qualifying for the 2010 U.S. At the core of it all, figure skaters are performers.
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