Eureka for "Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World." Source: Courtesy of WOW Presents Plus

EDGE Interview: It's Eureka! Versus the World!

Timothy Rawles READ TIME: 6 MIN.

After a somewhat difficult transitioning journey, Eureka is finally comfortable in her own skin and it took a lot of work, including sobriety and self-reflection. That's probably everyone's goal in life, but what is unique about Eureka's story is that she put it out there for everyone to see, every step of the way.

The 33-year-old drag performer first competed in "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 9 but due to an injury wasn't allowed to advance after the second episode. She returned for Season 10 where she was a runner-up. In 2021 she was cast for the sixth season on "Drag Race All Stars," was eliminated in fifth place but returned after winning the lip-sync challenge to become one of the season's runners up.

Eureka is a force to be reckoned with. She's a bit intimidating to compete with but that's only because she's so talented. That, and she's not afraid to speak her mind. That isn't a bad thing especially when she is motivating men and women struggling with their identities in the Emmy-winning HBO reality series "We're Here" in which she appeared for three seasons.

Then the world came calling. "Canada vs. the World" that is. The Drag Race spin-off collects past contestants from the original show to represent their respective countries in an attempt to crown themselves "Queen of the Mothertucking World."

She was at her L.A. home when she got the call to compete in the show. At the time she was writing and developing future projects.

"I got the call and honestly, I had just did a gig in Canada literally the week before," she told EDGE. "I had such a lovely time, I was just treated so beautifully. When I was walking back to my hotel, I was walking across this crosswalk that was painted in the trans colors. I just was like emotional about walking across this trans crosswalk and feeling so celebrated there and then I literally got [the] call a week later. So it just felt serendipitous and it just felt, like, timely."

Eureka's trans journey hasn't been easy. She lived as a trans woman then detransitioned and then transitioned again. For some this may seem hard to understand, but it's not something they necessarily would understand if they aren't dealing with gender dysphoria themselves.

During her time on "We're Here" Eureka entered rehab to cope with her addictions. Having lived through some severe losses in her life, she passed her grief with substance abuse. However, like most of the challenges in her life, the drag star carried on and came out the other side with a newfound confidence and tenacity. But the recovery process has no deadline, and when approached about "Canada vs the World," she was reminded of how much work doing a reality show like this requires.

"It was very taxing emotionally and financially and so it got a little more intimidating the closer I got to going," she says, adding that the team was amazing and kind. Still, there was some trepidation. "I think once I got there though, I realized like, oh, competing is not really where I'm at in my life. So it was weird. Once I got there, I realized, wow, these girls really want it more than I do. I don't know, it was just...it was a different kind of experience for me this time."


by Timothy Rawles

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