Werk of art: The fearless reign of ‘Drag Race’ champion Sasha Colby

When Sasha Colby refers to her “absolutely stubborn fearlessness,” she laughs – not a nervous laugh or a coy chuckle, but a robust guffaw. It’s a laugh packed with confidence, cultivated by someone who has taken hits while breaking barriers. It’s a laugh that says, “This is who I am, and I’m not sorry if you’re uncomfortable with that.”

The winner of season 15 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has been pushing boundaries all her life: The first native Hawaiian cast on “Drag Race.” The first winner on that show of Polynesian descent. The second trans woman to win (after Willow Pill). Drag mother of Chappell Roan. The first drag performer to headline a solo Live Nation tour.

That tour, Stripped II, will stop at The Van Buren in Phoenix on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Known for her high-fashion artistry, visual storytelling and sexually charged dance numbers (her shows are all 18+), Colby views her life as her art, and if anybody ever took RuPaul’s lyrical command “You better work” seriously, it’s her.

“We’re rehearsing from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. right now, with a little lunch break,” she says, “and then I’m doing gigs here and there to pay for the tour. I’m double-shifting it.”

The show explores personal and universal trans and queer experiences through music, dance and storytelling.

“A lot of imagination is used, and for this one, I just wanted to have fun,” Colby says. “I just wanted to have some sort of way to escape the craziness of this world and have some respite for an hour and a half. And hopefully, people leave feeling a little more excited to take up space in this world. We’re all here and we all have to lift this, um, collective vibration.”

And there’s that laugh again.

Born into a Jehovah’s Witness household in Hawaii, Colby was the youngest of seven children. She started doing drag as a teenager, covertly locking herself in the bathroom while she donned her sister’s clothes. Her childhood was difficult as she watched her mother struggle with bipolar disorder – something that influenced her dramatic performance to The Cranberries’ “Zombie” on “Drag Race,” in which Colby’s projected mental stability and her hair braids unravel simultaneously.

“I love being creative, and one of the mediums happens to be drag and performing. It was just so second nature because I really didn’t have a voice growing up,” Colby explains, “I was pretty stifled on my opinions and my upbringing. So art was really the first place I could express my emotions and it kind of just seeped into drag.”

After winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Colby represented Hawaii in a GLAAD video featuring drag performers from all 50 states, encouraging viewers to vote in the 2020 presidential election. In 2023, she spoke at an annual Pride Month celebration hosted by then-Vice President Kamala Harris. She continues to be an advocate for the LGBTQ community, particularly trans women.

Colby views activism as intrinsic to her art: “If you’re doing drag and you’re not an activist, are you doing drag?”

For Colby, 41, living her life on her terms continues to be her ultimate art. Now residing in Los Angeles, Colby considers herself polyamorous, and as of this writing, has three romantic partners. She’s also embraced the role of drag “mother,” founding the House of Colby, which includes her own drag “mother,” Cassandra Colby, drag performer Kerri Colby (who also competed on “Drag Race”) and pop superstar Chappell Roan

“To be quite honest, having so many kids was a definite trauma response from the mothering that I lacked as a child growing up and sharing a lot of similarities with my kids,” Colby says. “There’s a lot that I connect with on that level of needing a tribe and needing family. I love to bring community and I like having special people that I get to call kids and root for and mentor and give advice. It’s really being the mother I wish I had.”

Providing motherly opportunities extends to Colby’s Stripped II tour. Like the last tour, Colby will select a local drag performer in every city to open her show. The Phoenix performer hadn’t been chosen at the time of this writing, but Colby says it’s important for her to provide a spotlight for local drag.

“Many people I looked up to gave me opportunities that allowed me to gain more confidence in my performance and really dream big,” Colby explains. “I also had some of the seasoned drag kind of rub off on me, which was great. I got to be like a fly on the walls of some legends, and I want to highlight people who do that in their hometown.”

And that’s no laughing matter.

Sasha Colby: Stripped II: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St. Tickets cost $31 to $66.