The Drag Enthusiast: Novympia: Twice as Nice

Surfing the waves of the internet drag community, Novympia isn't showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. This drag duo based in Bournemouth (United Kingdom), they post new YouTube videos every week part of the World Of Wonder network, that will leave anyone laughing to the point of tears. These two crazy personalities are more than just entertaining entities, but they both are very genuine souls who clearly are very passionate about what they do and they love to make people smile.

1. Describe both of your drag personas.

Nova: I always describe Nova as just myself but a little bit... more haha! Nova doesn't have a particular character, she is the same as Aaron but just a bit louder and a bit more outgoing. I don't create a voice for her and she doesn't have a backstory. There's already way too much of that nonsense in Olympia hahaha! So Nova is really just a combination of all the things that inspire me I guess.

Olympia: Oh Olympia is a total asshole haha, She literally thinks she knows everything but she's super idiotic. I try to make her as much of a buffoon as I can and she finds everything cute. She's perpetually 17 and loves anything like gothic that also manages to accentuate her rack.

Nova: She's the worst.

Olympia: And if I can find a way to over-pronounce something in her pseudo-Australian accent then I'm going to.

2. Where did you guys get your drag names?

Nova: Olympia originally wanted to name me Eva Launch because she thought it was hilarious but I thought it was stupid. (At the time she was Olympia Roman by the way.) So she stole the Avalanche bit for herself.

Olympia: I wrote a script once and called one of the characters Olympia and she was like this monstrously tall chick, and when I first wore heels I was like dude I'm a giant I'm essentially the bird in that awful movie I'm writing. Then Roman came about because of that shit Nicki Minaj song and I needed to swap it out so...yeah...Avalanche was in my head from trying to pick a name for Nova so I stole that. I feel like Olympia Avalanche sounds like a giant lady which works cause in heels and hair I clear about 7 foot.

Nova: I found the name Nova whilst watching Once Upon A Time - there was a minor character called Nova who was a fairy and I just liked the name! I like stars too so it seemed to fit. Ginés was Olympia's idea. When I suggested Nova immediately she tells me "oh my god your surname should be GINA." I thought it was funny but a little tacky so I softened it a little which was probably a mistake because now nobody knows how to pronounce it hahaha. Olympia makes me think of Mount Olympus.

Olympia: Yeah that was the idea.

3. How long have you both been doing drag?

Nova: 3 years this Halloween

Olympia: I whipped out the best Amy Winehouse for Halloween in 2011 and I was like I CANNOT DEPRIVE THE WORLD OF THIS HOT SHIT LADY.

4. Where do you guys get your inspiration from?

Nova: I draw inspiration mainly from music icons! Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna.... I also really love a lot of K-Pop artists and I take a LOT of inspiration from the lead singer of the girl band 2NE1, CL. Apart from music I would say I'm influenced by Disney, Pokemon, Sailor Moon and Digimon too! Olympia thinks she's Avril Lavigne.

Olympia: Visually I'm stuck in the 90s naughties like Avril, Marilyn Manson, Courtney Love but everything else, anything Australian and I'm there. Literally obsessed with Kath & Kim, anything Chris Lilley uggghh it's such a ridiculous laundry list though it ranges from like Joanna Lumley to Jack the Ripper. I feel like there's a lot of Chelsea Handler there too.

Nova: Oh yeah I see that in you.

Olympia: Nova's like Rachel Dolezal she's super Korean.

Nova: Oh my god.

5. Which queens do you guys like the most and why?

Olympia: I love Dame Edna. All I want to do is be best girl friends and play scrabble with her. I love her dry way of handing out back handed compliments. UGH also Raja she's so intelligent I could listen to her talk about shit for hours, the way she analyses stuff. Also the actual Queen is kind of cool I wouldn't mind hanging out with her for an afternoon.

Nova: I absolutely love Adore Delano. She was my introduction into the world of drag. I was a big fan of Danny Noriega since his time on American Idol and I have followed his Youtube channel for years. When he started becoming Adore and created a video about how she wanted to get on RPDR I googled the show and started watching it then! She is everything I aspire to be in terms of the fact that she has created an album of amazing commercial music whilst in drag and I would love to be able to do that one day with Novympia! I am also fascinated by Kim Chi because she creates looks I have never seen before, and I am in love with Arabia Felix. Arabia is just a beautiful person inside and out 😊

Olympia: I'm totally obsessed with Divine as well, I listen to that song 'I'm So Beautiful' like every day. Her movies just bring me joy.

6. What do you guys like most about doing drag?

Olympia: Drag is such an encompassing hobby that it's tough to pick anything out, I'm super into constructing the outfits and doing makeup is the best and then on the other hand it's so cool to have someone come up to me in a club and they recite me a joke that they liked from one of my videos. You know what is good actually, is when you put the white highlight under the eyebrows and you can do it so precise and crisp yeah that's my answer.

Nova: I like to use it as a creative outlet. I've always been very arty studying photography and fashion at college but this I find so much more fun! So yeah basically I find it hard to pick one thing in particular too. I like shopping for drag though

7. When did you both decide to do YouTube and why?

Olympia: I had to have an avenue to throw my jokes at, I couldn't mortify Nova with them anymore so I started a vlog. Then when we were talking to World of Wonder it became evident that we could expand and do other shit.

Nova: I just got involved through jealousy basically. No but seriously. I initially had a YouTube channel as a boy with a few covers on there but had little to no response. You do the same in a dress and hair and suddenly people love you! Youtube has introduced me to so many amazing people and it continues to do so and that is why I keep making videos with Olympia.

8. How did you guys meet?

Nova: On a drunken night out in a gay club

Olympia: the crowd parted on the dance floor like the moses situation and we were at opposite sides

Nova: No no, it didn't.....

Olympia: 'call me maybe' was playing and he was like omg i love this song and i was like yeeeeah dude im going for a cigarette. and the rest is l'histoire

Nova: You were loving it. Yeah basically we exchanged numbers and kept in touch and now we are Novympia haha!

8. What has been your favorite YouTube video to make so far?

Olympia: It's actually one that I'm editing right now which is a parody of a show on TLC that we did a few days ago I think it's gonna turn out SO WELL. Although the chicken farm video was good.

Nova: I personally liked the Spyro video I did! I wish the lighting was a bit better but I was super happy with the overall look and I love to see other people liked it too.

9. What is it like working with Joe Harwood and making videos for Perfect Androgyny so far?

Olympia: He's top drawer. He's like Michelle Obama-level classy/cool it's been super fun to do PA.

Nova: Joe Harwood is one of the most genuine people I've ever met! He's such a nice person and I feel super lucky to be working with him on PA. It feels super weird that last year we were watching these videos and now we are a part of it. It's nice to branch out and again meet some awesome new people.

10. Who do you wish to eventually get on your podcast in the future?

Nova: Valerie Cherish. I'm a big fan.

Olympia: I'd love to coerce grav3yardgirl she's the best.

Nova: Maybe Miranda Sings too.

Olympia: But at this point these people are celebrities so fuck it, let's try and get Cher, Betty White, or Rupaul.

11. If Rupaul's Drag Race ever let UK queens audition...would you guys do it?

Olympia: yeah what've we got to lose, i'd love to be presented with a bunch of shit to make an outfit with and stuck on the snatch game it'd be like disneyland.

Nova: Yes 100%!!!! Like Olympia said there's nothing to lose!!

12. Who would you both do for snatch game?

Nova: If I was on the show with Olympia it might be fun to do her. I suck at impressions though.

Olympia: THERE ARE SO MANY, I'd like to fill the panel with different people. I think maybe Joanna Lumley or Sofia Vergara. But I do a pretty solid Winehouse, Ina Garten, Dame Edna oh I just can't pick. There's a show in the UK called 'Ladette to Lady' and there's this crusty school headmistress in it who had a stroke I do a pretty decent impression of her.

13. Do you think Rupaul's Drag Race is helping or ruining the drag community and why?

Olympia: Nah it's not the show itself but there are a bunch of fans letting their asses hang out by not just chilling. People don't differentiate between the queen and their performance on the show and it creates bs when they forget that they're real people and they troll them on twitter and shit. it's a frothy colourful fun TV show and it stirred up a new exodus of drag queens.

Nova: The show has done so much for the drag community and has allowed drag to be so much more culturally accepted. every fandom has morons that ruin it for everybody else. but without it i don't know if I would be doing this interview with you right now!

14. What is something you guys want to change most about the world?

Olympia: There's this gutter/grate thing down our street that's been flooding for weeks I wouldn't mind having that sorted out.

Nova: You are so embarassing

Olympia: and..... world peace!

Nova: Oh god. I would love to see Putin harpooned. i mean it would be amazing for lgbt rights to become a world wide thing. The idea of being executed for something beyond your control is horrible.

15. What advice do you have for aspiring drag performers?

Nova: Be nice to people. Do your homework. Have fun!

Olympia: Stop saying 'cut a bitch'. Like where did that come from why is everyone carrying scissors?! Yeah be yourself I think. That's something that messed with my head at first, I think I tried to steal so many drag tricks that I ended up forgetting to not be a drag race contestant pastiche.