Albert Sanchez
Innovators
Trixie Mattel
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Trixie Mattel is renowned for drag, but she was also voted Out100’s Readers’ Choice in the Business category. As a queer entrepreneur, Mattel has run a beauty empire, Trixie Cosmetics, for five years. She became co-owner of Wisconsin’s oldest gay bar, This Is It!, amid lockdown closures. She also launched the Trixie Motel in Palm Springs, Calif., which led to HGTV/Max’s Trixie Motel renovation show.
“I think of Trixie as a critique on Americanized beauty and capitalism, but also a rags-to-riches story — or burlap to sequins,” she says. “The largest obstacle I’ve faced is learning that work matters, but not as much as relationships. Call your mom, kiss your boyfriend, and buy your parakeet some extra millet.”
Even during Mattel’s widely-reported 2024 hiatus, her multimedia empire released new episodes of The Bald and the Beautiful podcast, installments of Netflix’s I Like to Watch web series, and content for her YouTube channel, an ever-growing platform that she calls her “proudest” accomplishment. Oh, and Mattel became the first-ever RuPaul’s Drag Race alum to reach 4 million followers on Instagram…while on a break! @trixiemattel
Bernardo Sim
Deputy Editor
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out. He's also a staff contributor to The Advocate, PRIDE, and other equalpride publications. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida.
You can follow Bernardo Sim on Instagram. You can also find him on Bluesky, Threads, X/Twitter, and TikTok.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out. He's also a staff contributor to The Advocate, PRIDE, and other equalpride publications. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida.
You can follow Bernardo Sim on Instagram. You can also find him on Bluesky, Threads, X/Twitter, and TikTok.
Melissa Simpson
Stacey YvonneStacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com
Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com
Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com
Mars Sharrock
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Melissa Simpson
Becoming who you are — and showing people your true self — is essential for queer people, “but it’s also fun!” says Mars Sharrock, program director for The Wardrobe, a Philadelphia nonprofit combating clothing insecurity. Whether you need clothes for a job interview or to affirm your gender transition, The Wardrobe makes sure that you are kitted from head to toe.
“Fashion — feeling good in what you wear — is an expression of self. Self-determination goes beyond basic needs and is about creativity, expression, and freedom,” Sharrock says. And it’s self-determination that they want everyone to have access to, regardless of income, race, religion, or even criminal record.
The organization launched a program called “Returning Wardrobe,” which focuses on clothing and education services for formerly incarcerated people. And Sharrock has helped the program increase its services to transgender and queer community members by over 50 percent in just the past few years. “Clothing is a basic need, so I see the work The Wardrobe does as helping people get their basic needs met,” Sharrock says. @_sharrockin_