8 Gay City News Impact Awards 2020
HONOREE
DESMOND IS AMAZING
ICONIC DRAG KID FROM BROOKLYN
Desmond Napoles, whose stage name is Desmond is Amazing, is a
13-year-old drag kid, award-winning LGBTQ advocate and outspoken
gay youth, editorial and runway model, public speaker, performer, fashion
designer, published author, founder of his own drag house and legendary
up-and-coming member of the original pioneering voguing house, the House of UltraOmni, and a Brooklyn icon.
Most importantly, he is an inspiration to many and a symbol of hope for the future to come.
Desmond fi rst developed an interest in drag when he was a toddler. When his mother was watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race,”
he would stop playing with his toys to join her. He thought the queens were amazing and beautiful, like princesses. He made his
professional drag debut at age 7 in “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 5 winner Jinkx Monsoon’s video for “The Bacon Shake.”
Desmond’s philosophy as an advocate for LGBTQ youth is always be yourself and pay haters no mind because they “will never be
as fi erce as you and I.” He has received a letter of recognition from the president of Fairleigh Dickinson University, is the “child honor
godfather” of the ONG en España campaign #unfuturosinviolencia, and has earned the Marsha P. Johnson Don’t Be Outraged, Be
Outrageous Award from Heritage of Pride and a Queeroes Award from Conde Nast Them for his work in the LGBTQ community.
Desmond was listed on the 2018 Dazed100 and among the Out100 top infl uencers, and has been featured in Pride campaigns
for Google and Converse. He is also the founder of the fi rst-ever drag house for drag kids, the Haus of Amazing.
Desmond has slayed the runways at New York Fashion Week, including for Gypsy Sport, The Blonds x Disney Villains, and
Nicopanda’s MAC Cosmetics collaboration with Macy’s. He has appeared in Vogue magazine four times, breaking the age and
gender boundaries of the fashion industry.
Desmond has designed his own line of fans with Daftboy, T-shirts with Drag Queen Merch, and a line of lashes with Chimera Lashes.
Additional collaborations include Canon cameras, Manic Panic, The Phluid Project, Marc Jacobs, the Human Rights Campaign,
Mattel, and Brussels Airlines.
For Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Desmond wrote “Be Amazing: A History of Pride” to teach young children how to
have self-confi dence and express themselves, and his fi rst inspirational music single, “We Are All Amazing,” is releasing this year.
In his spare time, Desmond enjoys collecting miniature trains, playing with Hot Wheels, drawing maps, playing video games,
visiting parks and zoos, and building virtual roller coasters. He also loves pigeons. He would like to study ornithology or engineering
in the future.
What inspires Desmond most is the feedback he receives from other drag and LGBTQ kids. Oftentimes they describe how he
helped them discover the importance of self-expression and gave them the courage to come out. With his “Amazies,” he emphasizes,
“Be yourself, always.”