Bold & Beautiful: Kory Edgewood

“Kory Edgewood had been within me for a while,” Mins Gunderson says about her drag king persona. Gunderson always had a masculine side to her, but she never knew how to express it. “I’ve been a performer and creator my whole life,” Gunderson says. “I did theater in college, and I always liked the masculine roles better, but I was never given them.”

With a talent for makeup and the skills to create costumes, Gunderson began experimenting with Kory Edgewood’s look around 2020, when she was furloughed from her job due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With extra time on hand, she began playing with the idea of the masculine side of herself. “I started using makeup to give myself a beard, and I really liked it,” Gunderson says. 

“Fashion on the runway is always exaggerated compared to what people wear on the street. I like to think of drag like being on the runway.”

She then wondered what she could do with her masculine persona. “I reached out to a drag queen friend to see if there was a market for drag kings. I had no idea,” Gunderson says. Edgewood’s first show was in October 2021 at Why Kiki, where he is now a regular performer. “Kory is a full-figured human in my head,” Gunderson says. “When I talk about Kory, I use the third person to discuss him, because when I am Kory, I am 100% him.” 

A sexy rock ‘n’ roller is how Edgewood describes himself. With his heart and soul rooted in classic rock music from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, he has drawn inspiration from the artists of that era to create his unique style. Edgewood compares himself to a flashier Adam Lambert, who is known for giving past rock ‘n’ roll styles a modern-day flair. “Fashion on the runway is always exaggerated compared to what people wear on the street. I like to think of drag like being on the runway,” Gunderson says. 

“His costumes have to be big; they have to be shiny…He has to shine bright, if not brighter, than the queens around him.”

There’s no easy way to purchase a drag king costume, which means Edgewood creates his outfits entirely from scratch. This allows him to be as exaggerated or eccentric as he wishes when incorporating the styles of classic rockers that Gunderson grew up listening to, artists like Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper. 

“Kings aren’t as visible as queens, but they are becoming more recognized,” Gunderson says. Because of this, Edgewood feels his outfits must be memorable and catch the audience’s eyes. “His costumes have to be big; they have to be shiny. They have to be full of gemstones, spikes, and gold. He has to shine bright, if not brighter, than the queens around him,” Gunderson says. The only barrier to creating his costumes is the one he sets for himself. After realizing this, Gunderson reflects on the fact that an item of clothing does not have an assigned gender; it’s a person’s vibe that creates the look. 

“I figured out who I was late in life, after having kids, and now I tell people it’s never too late.”

Edgewood also uses makeup to solidify his appearance, using contouring to create dramatically striking and bold expressions. “Just because you’re doing a masculine look doesn’t mean you can’t wear makeup. If you think of singers like David Bowie, Kiss, Twisted Sister and even Bon Jovi and Guns N’ Roses, they all wore makeup,” Gunderson says.

If you see Edgewood performing, his love for rock and roll is clear, but he also has a softer side. He enjoys finding rock covers of modern pop songs, so the audience can sing along. “Like Lady Gaga said, ‘I live for the applause,’” says Gunderson about Edgewood’s favorite part of performing. He often finds himself driving home from a show still feeling the high after getting off stage. 

“Drag is for everyone,” Gunderson says. Her advice for those interested in trying drag, or anything new, is to start by accepting yourself. “I figured out who I was late in life, after having kids, and now I tell people it’s never too late,” Gunderson says. Edgewood hopes to continue growing the drag king presence in mainstream media and sharing joy through his creativity. You can find Kory Edgewood performing most weekends at Why Kiki and on Instagram @kory_edgewood.

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