Van Goth on Winning Canada’s Drag Race Season 6, Confidence, and Being the Biggest Competition

Van Goth is the winner of Canada’s Drag Race Season 6, celebrated for her bold confidence, fashion-driven drag, and theatrical storytelling. With a background in fashion design and a record-breaking four challenge wins, she emerged as one of the most dominant competitors in the show’s history. We sat down with our winner to talk all things drag and what’s next for our winner

 

TEM (The Extra Mile): What was going on in your head when Brooklyn said your name? What was the first thought that went through?

Van Goth:  Oh, my God, I don’t even know. Like, disbelief. Like, I was just like, oh, my God, I can’t believe it. Like, I worked so hard to get here. I worked so hard throughout the whole competition, and I was like, damn, I really did it.

TEM: Has it sunk it in yet, or are you still kind of taking it in?

Van Goth: No, not even close. I mean, everyone keeps saying, like, you’re the winner, and I’m like, who? No, no, it’s crazy. I mean, it just happened like, honestly, mere hours ago, truly. And it’s just, it’s so amazing. I’m, I’m so grateful, truly.

TEM: Where does like your creativity come from?

Van Goth: I feel like as a kid, I was like really into like fantasy and like, just like creating my own worlds in my head, like reading books and just playing with like dolls and stuff and just like creating stories, which is like kind of really where my love of drag and fashion comes from. I feel like I love to be a storyteller through those kind of things, which is like, even all my runways are very like theatrical, they have an element of like my face reveal or like the other face, it’s like time. There’s always an element of, like, some sort of story or, yeah, some idea that I hope will stick with you, and clearly some of them have, so.

TEM:  Was there, like, who in the cast would you challenge you kind of creatively?

Van Goth: Challenge me creatively in the cast? I feel like Sami the most. I feel like Sami was unlike anyone I’d ever met before, and just the way that she views things, and the way that she, like, attacks challenges, she has, like, this uniquely Sami quality about her that always works in her favor. I think even in, like, the finale, for example, it’s, we’re doing this choreographed dance, and although she may not have hit all the steps, she still was so Sami about it, and it was still so captivating.

TEM: You went into the finale because you had four wins, and then… And when the room kind of talked about biggest competition, the kind of focus, like, shifted. Do you think there’s, like, a moment, like, that says more about how your confidence is perceived or sometimes that it gets kind of overlooked?

Van Goth: I think a lot of the times in the competition, and Sami even mentioned this in an earlier episode, I seemed so sure of myself to the other girls that I feel like they never wanted to really let me know that I was doing well because they thought it would, like, I don’t know, make me have a bigger ego or who knows what. And I feel like also there’s something to be said about, like, I was the biggest competition in the room had four challenge wins. No one’s ever had that before. But I feel like saying that out loud almost gives it more power than if they never said it at all. And I feel like a lot of them just really just didn’t want to say it, especially Ebony. I felt like she just really didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that I was really the biggest competition in the room.

TEM:  In the last episode with the challenge, do you see music kind of becoming a bigger part of your drag career after this one, or what’s that looking like for you?

Van Goth: Oh, my God, no, I am not a recording artist. Maybe I have a very specific voice that has done me wonders, because I think it’s very iconic and brandable, but it’s definitely not a singing voice. Yeah,I  mean, doing the songs on Drag Race was so fun. I do not see music being a real thing for me, but maybe I’ll release a song as, like, a little fun, little jokey bit, and just have fun with it, but definitely not going to be getting an album from me or any of that nonsense.I’m not going to become the next Priyanka. If there’s one thing I’m known for on Canada’s Drag Race, it’s definitely honesty.

TEM: What challenge would you say that kind of pushed you furthest out your comfort zone?

Van Goth:  Ooh, great question. I would say, um, I would say low-key the cruise ship commercial challenge on episode two. I felt like I’m not used to, like, playing a character like that. I’m only ever really, like, used to being Van Goth. So, like, tapping into a character and being silly and, like, almost poking fun at yourself was something that I don’t necessarily do. I think I take myself kind of seriously a little bit. Um, so it was fun to, like, I guess, like, kind of break that a little bit and be, like, I don’t have to take myself too seriously. I can, like, poke fun at my own self.

TEM: Was there a particular challenge you really enjoyed? Minus the sewing ones.

Van Goth:  Yes, not the sewing ones. That’s an obvious one. Yeah. I would say the challenge I enjoyed the most was the talk show, actually, um, with Maya and Eboni. It was just so fun to work in that group. We had such a great banter. We got along so well. And it was just a fun challenge. It felt like we were really just girls filming a talk show and just kiki-ing and spilling the tea, and it was just, like, such a fun day to be there.

TEM: Was there  a specific moment then, I guess, that kind of tested, well, going back to the confidence, like, tested your confidence kind of within the show?

Van Goth: Hmm. I feel like when I was in the bottom or, like, low on the playoffs, I think I’m a good performer. I think our cast is just filled with amazing performers, so unfortunately, I went up against Eboni, the juggernaut performer that she is, and I ended up at the bottom, and I felt like that was the first time in the competition that I felt I could go home tonight, and I was like, damn, I’m not done yet. I have more to do, and I think to come out of that, I would right away, like, bounce back and win the next two challenges.

TEM: What’s next for you?

Van Goth:  I really want to get more into long-form content on my YouTube. I also would love to do some other reality shows, maybe ones that don’t really, not necessarily drag, but maybe like Traitors or, you know, everyone’s saying I should do Project Runway, so maybe I should do Project Runway. I basically won Canada’s Drag Race times Project Runway this season, so maybe I’ll just do Project Runway next season.

TEM: Any last words like that fans can kind of expect? Stay tuned to my socials, it’s Van Goth on everything, I-T-S-V-A-N-G-O-T-H, and subscribe to my YouTube, and you’ll be definitely getting tons of content from me throughout my reign this year. And yeah, be prepared, know, expect the unexpected. I’m not done yet, I’m just ramping up.