Putting Sugar in the Tank

Instead of resting after an eight-hour shift manning the phone at work, Maddox Karnes headed home and buckled down at his desk to enter a competition.

Using brushes, sponges, glue and other tools, Karnes drew and painted with precision on a blank canvas.

After three hours of intense concentration, a "Queen of Hearts" emerged from the layers of makeup, adorned in an intricately designed bright-red costume, accessories and wig. Her name is Alexxa Pro.

Pro, who prefers female pronouns when referring to her drag persona, strutted and posed while her friends hyped her up during the 30-minute session to produce photos and videos for the online drag competition.

The 20-year-old is no stranger to competitions.

During Mid-Missouri Pride Fest’s annual Youth Pageant, Pro won the title of 2024 Youth Royalty. This year, she was invited to perform at the pageant and crown the next winner.

Pro, who is majoring in journalism with an emphasis in strategic communications at the University of Missouri, decided to compete last year because she wanted to get feedback from more experienced drag queens and become a better artist.

She produced her first talent, mixed the track, choreographed the performance, tailored her dress and more.

“Everything was very much a labor of love done by me,” Pro said, adding that the competition kept her from being in a “stasis.”

The response she received was one of “overwhelming love and appreciation,” Pro said, adding that she was grateful for the guidance and support she received from fellow drag queens. “It literally made me feel like I was in a Hannah Montana fantasy, putting on that wig and going out there for that crowd. It was everything. I loved it.”

Growing up in “the middle of a cornfield” in southern Illinois, Pro knew from a young age that she “got some sugar in (her) tank.”

She had just turned 16 when she first watched reality competition show RuPaul's Drag Race.

Inspired by the show, Pro stole her mother’s cosmetics bag, spent four months figuring out how to put on makeup and performed in drag during the senior boy’s talent show.

For Pro, drag is a combination of different art forms and aspects of live performance with “a nice coat of queer polish on top,” she said, adding that drag queens can lip sync, sing, dance, do comedy and even spit fire. “It’s not like there’s a guidebook or Ten Commandments of drag or cross-dressing that we have to follow. It’s just what makes you happy.”

Although drag is expensive, Pro tries to focus on enjoying the process of creating and entertaining. “That’s why I pick up the nine-to-five, and then do drag in the p.m.,” she said.

Through her experiences in drag, Pro has also learned more about herself and the wider LGBTQ+ community.

Drag helped Pro to gain confidence in her gender identity. “I always knew I had the desire to present feminine energy,” Pro said. “Drag helped me realize I wanted to do that more in a showmanship kind of way, rather than my everyday.”

Performing in drag has also introduced her to a wider queer community, which has taught her more about intersectionality and the trials that transgender people or people of color face.

“There are still people out there who think it’s better to be dead than to be queer. That and other issues that our community faces is exactly why we still need to have Pride,” Pro said, adding that the celebration is not “just a giant gay party.”

Stressing the need for the queer community to look out for one another, Pro said: “Just because it’s not you right now, doesn’t mean it’s not going to be. If you think you’re good now, give it a solid year. I promise you, your silence will lead to failure.”

Pro urged the public to support their local Pride events.

“We’re doing this so that way we can have rights, walk in stores, get married, adopt children, be active members of society,” Pro said. “Please show up, please be loud, make noise and stand up for those who need it most.”

Alexxa Pro strikes a pose as her friend Dorion Bailey takes a video on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at her apartment in Columbia, Mo. Pro submitted the video to an online drag competition. Pro said a homophobic slur was shouted at her once while she was walking home. “I’m gonna get hate regardless, whether I’m wearing some Mizzou sweatpants and sweatshirt or I’m wearing a wig the size of a toddler,” Pro said. “They still see me the same way. So, why would I ever try to break and bend for a mold that I was never going to fit in the first place.”

Maddox Karnes, whose drag persona is Alexxa Pro, works at the front desk at the New Student Programs office Monday, June 2, 2025, at the MU Student Center in Columbia. “(Drag queens) are dropping pretty pennies on these rhinestones and feathers. It looks gorgeous but you don’t understand how expensive drag is until you’re out there doing it,” Pro said, adding that drag is more than “doing an 8-count to a Britney Spears song.” Although drag is expensive, Pro tries to focus on enjoying the process of creating and entertaining. “That’s why I pick up the nine-to-five, and then do drag in the p.m.,” she said.

Alexxa Pro does her makeup on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, before her photoshoot at her apartment in Columbia. Pro called this her (Lord) Voldemort stage in describing the process of putting on makeup. Pro had just turned 16 when she first watched reality competition show RuPaul's Drag Race. Inspired by the show, Pro stole her mother’s cosmetics bag, spent four months figuring out how to put on makeup and performed in drag during her high school’s senior boy’s talent show.

From left, Alexxa Pro, Remi White and Dorion Bailey share a laugh while watching the trailer for the film Wicked: For Good on television on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at Pro’s apartment in Columbia. The trio are going into their junior year at the University of Missouri. Bailey is Pro’s self-proclaimed manager. “I’m enamoured by Alexxa’s drag journey so far. She’s been really loved on and ushered into her community in a way that she can make sustaining impact,” Bailey said. His friendship with Pro and White is “familial”, said Bailey, who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. “We act as each other’s protectors in our community because we know how important it is to have people who are taking care of each other and being accounted for.”

Alexxa Pro makes modifications to her costume on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, before her photoshoot at her apartment in Columbia. Pro said she has to get into drag or work on something new at least four times a month. If not, she said she feels as if “good ideas are going to waste.”

From left, Dorion Bailey, Alexxa Pro and Remi White conduct a photoshoot on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at Pro’s apartment in Columbia. Pro submitted the photos and videos from that session to an online drag competition. Pro tries to find new ways to put herself out there, whether it’s going out and talking to people or posting content on Instagram, she said. “I feel like that really helps me not only in my artistry, my sanity and my mental health.”

Alexxa Pro dances on stage during the 2025 Mid-Missouri Pride Youth Pageant on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the Blue Note in Columbia. For Pro, drag is a combination of different art forms and aspects of live performance with “a nice coat of queer polish on top,” she said, adding that drag queens can lip sync, sing, dance, do comedy and even spit fire. “It’s not like there’s a guidebook or Ten Commandments of drag or cross-dressing that we have to follow. It’s just what makes you happy.”

Kaycee Adams, left, who is a drag queen and youth pageant judge, tips Alexxa Pro during her performance on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the 2025 Mid-Missouri Pride Youth Pageant at the Blue Note in Columbia. “I’d rather make a crowd of 99 people extremely excited and happy, and then also have one person be uncomfortable,” Pro said. “Because that means I was doing my job.”

From left, Alexxa Pro puts on her costume, while 2022 youth pageant winner Floretta Be Xtra chats with youth pageant judge Beatrice Enidae backstage on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the Blue Note in Columbia. Drag helped Pro to gain confidence in her gender identity. “I always knew I had the desire to present feminine energy,” Pro said. “Drag helped me realize I wanted to do that more in a showmanship kind of way, rather than my everyday.”

Janet Davis, president of the Mid-Missouri PrideFest, left, lifts Alexxa Pro’s dress as she walks up the stairs to the stage on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the Blue Note in Columbia. Performing in drag has also introduced her to a wider queer community, which has taught her more about intersectionality and the trials that transgender people or people of color face. “There are still people out there who think it’s better to be dead than to be queer. That and other issues that our community faces is exactly why we still need to have Pride,” Pro said, adding that the celebration is not “just a giant gay party.”Pro urged the public to support their local Pride events. “We’re doing this so that way we can have rights, walk in stores, get married, adopt children, be active members of society,” Pro said. “Please show up, please be loud, make noise and stand up for those who need it most.”

Alexxa Pro lip syncs to the song “Calling All The Monsters” on stage Friday, June 6, 2025, at the Blue Note in Columbia. “The music playing and me, seeing those spotlights hit — that moment is more important to me than any amount of money I’d make in a show,” Pro said. “It’s just this exhilarating way of feeling (like) I’m about to put all of my blood, sweat and tears into this project. And even if no one claps, I lived for it.”

From left, Alexxa Pro and 2022 youth pageant winner Floretta Be Xtra share a laugh with fellow drag queens backstage on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the Blue Note in Columbia. Trent Adams, who was crowned Pride King in Mid-Missouri Pride Fest’s 2024 Adult Pageant, said: “I just think that Alexxa is the most wonderful person, such a bright light, such a rising star in the drag scene. It’s been a true privilege to get to know her over the past year.” Adams added that the youth pageant is important because it gives young people in the LGBTQ+ community a “safe, inclusive and supportive” space to “be their authentic selves”.