I just worship Madonna. As, like, a young gay kid growing up in the '80s and '90s... I was at the Blond Ambition tour with my parents vogue-ing up in the mezzanine at the Nassau Coliseum.
I was not even allowed to mention the name Madonna in my household - just because I think the '80s and '90s were so Madonna-filled. She was going through so many evolutions at that time.
As a kid, I watched every Madonna documentary and tour. I was obsessed with her - and with any pop star of the '80s.
When I was growing up, in the '80s and '90s, I just never really saw myself reflected in the things that I had a liking for. It makes a difference.
I would like to perform at the Nassau Coliseum; that's the goal.
I'm happy to say I haven't received that much negative feedback. I'm always thrilled when I get feedback from young people, particularly from The New Normal, young gay people - when they say they want that when they grow up, that means a lot to me. As a kid growing up, I didn't really have a lot of gay role models on television, so it's nice to be part of a movement that gives some more of those.
When I was kid, I remember playing 'Vogue' by Madonna over and over and over again. And ah, you know, something about the beat was really cool, and Madonna, visually, was on TV all the time and I thought she was just so beautiful.
I never was interested in being part of the fashion world - I just wanted to design shoes. I didn't even know 'Vogue' existed when I was growing up. 'Vogue,' what is that?'
I never was interested in being part of the fashion world - I just wanted to design shoes. I didn't even know Vogue existed when I was growing up. Vogue, what is that?
I was really into the bimbo archetype that filled late 80s-early 90s TV when I was growing up. You know, women circling the want ads with nail polish, Rhonda Shear from 'U.S.A. Up All Night,' Peggy Bundy.
I have been making hip-hop since I was a kid growing up in New York in the '80s and '90s. It's always been a hobby of mine - I've been making beats and writing songs for as long or longer than I've been acting.
We didn't have much money growing up, so we hopped around L.A. a lot in the '70s, '80s and '90s. I'm very familiar with the shifting culture there.
My parents weren't keen on me watching television when I was growing up, in the 70s and 80s, which is ironic given that I've ended up working in it.
I was like a fat, sweaty kid growing up in Queens who just was plopped down in front of 'Entertainment Tonight' by my parents.
I can imagine that if you're a kid growing up somewhere, where you might be gay or you think you're gay, but you don't know who else would be ... you become very closeted.
I guess that's the major difference between '80s-club Madonna and today's Madonna is she can get anyone she wants to show up in the studio for her.
I was not very strong growing up, and my uncle used to look at me, like, This kid is not growing up, he is growing tall but he can be broken like a banana.