When Naomi Smalls first competed on season 8 of
RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2016, she stepped into the Werk Room long on legs but short on experience.
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“I didn’t really know much about drag to be honest,” says Smalls who, at the time, had only been doing drag for three years. “I was almost like these fans at home who watch the show. I pretty much had that knowledge.”
Nonetheless, Smalls (a.k.a. Davis Heppenstall) earned her spot in the top three. Even though she didn’t take home the crown, she had massive exposure and the experience of surviving “the Olympics of drag.”