Wednesday’s a big day for Rey Lopez, who’s not only bringing Naomi Smalls to Heat but expanding his endeavors by hosting the grand reopening of Male B Wear, a men’s underwear boutique he recently purchased (free, 7:30-9:30pm, 1700 N. Main Ave., Suite 103), as well as a book signing with Austin-based author and motivational speaker Jackie Huba. Feeling defeated and stifled after years working in the corporate world (including a decade at IBM), Huba found the unlikely inspiration for her life’s next chapter while watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. From the dramatic transformations and “give-no-fucks” attitudes of the contestants to RuPaul’s words of wisdom (“We’re all born naked, and the rest is drag”), the Logo reality series gave Huba the tools to create her defiant, sequin-clad alter ego Lady Trinity. Embarking on an immersive research project that entailed burlesque classes, a mentorship with Texan drag performer Kelly Kline, attending hundreds of drag shows and interviewing some of the best-known drag performers in the nation, Huba reached a new career high in Vancouver last year when she earned the odd distinction of being “the first woman to do a TED Talk as a female drag queen.” Co-authored with psychotherapist Shelly Stewart Kronbergs, Huba’s recently published, RuPaul-approved Fiercely You: Be Fabulous and Confident by Thinking Like a Drag Queen presents five drag-inspired “keys to fierce” as confidence-boosting exercises readers of all persuasions can apply to their everyday lives.
