This doesn’t happen very often, but here I am – in the sauna – with the international drag king boy band Out of Sync. And oh boy, it’s getting hot ’n’ steamy in here.
If you haven’t yet encountered this worldwide phenomenon, now’s your chance to dive beneath the outfits with these handsome bros. As we throw water on the sauna stones, we talk deep stuff: fame and persona, performing masculinities, drag kings, and New Year’s predictions. Sweating it out and cooling off under the moonlight, we create space to question and reimagine masculinity – with humour and heart.
You are an international drag king boy band. Can you introduce yourselves to our readers?
We are Out of Sync, your favourite drag king boy band! Out of Sync consists of four drag kings: DJ cummyb3ar, HC Wayne, Peter Cunt’dre, and Nico.
In past years, you’ve toured Finland and Europe with sold-out shows. Looking back, how do you feel you’ve grown?
We feel like we’ve grown some muscle – actual muscles, but also mental muscles. It takes a lot to deal with all this fame!
I imagine it must be a blessing that you can wash off the public persona. What’s it like moving between characters? I guess it’s not always seamless…
Luckily, we’ve developed characters we genuinely enjoy spending time with – and who enjoy spending time together. It’s a blessing and a curse to be with the bois.
Sometimes, when you wash them off, you immediately miss them. Other times, you really need a break. But it’s always a pleasure to get back together in drag. It works as a form of character therapy, and there’s always some faction merged into the fiction… ;)
We’ve also developed a pretty dedicated fandom, which is what we live and breathe for. Some of that attention follows us into civilian life too, but compared to other superstars, we still have the privilege of going incognito.
We all know the cliché of bands breaking up over artistic differences. What’s your group dynamic like, and how do you make sure everyone enjoys working together?
We rely heavily on astrology in our group dynamics – obviously we mapped out our compatibilities before starting to work together. Thankfully, they were all epic or golden. We spend a lot of time touring, which gives us space to really get to know each other at our best and our worst. Intimacy, trust, communication, and listening are essential when creating megaspectacles together.
You’re not only a touring band known for highly entertaining performances – you also engage in community work and organize workshops. What inspired you to expand beyond the stage?
When we started doing drag individually, the local king scene wasn’t very big. Even online, it was hard to find references or makeup tutorials for masculine contouring.
As we began touring together as a band, we noticed growing interest from audience members who wanted to do what we do. That inspired us to develop our own king-specific workshop materials.
We organized our first Kingz Café workshop day in 2024, and this fall we held a two-month workshop series with five sessions and a final performance event. Sharing observations on performing masculinities with people interested in exploring them is always incredibly valuable. Tapping into your inner king for the first time is often deeply emotional – and we love seeing new kings pop up like mushrooms around us!
You recently organized Kingz Café: Words and Action, featuring drag king performances and a panel discussion on performing masculinities. Why is this conversation important, and what can we learn from drag kings?
Well, if the guys aren’t here for the job, bring in the kings!
Jokes aside, Kingz Café: Words and Action was a performance night and panel discussion that followed our workshop series. The panel was hosted by Jäbät & Tunteet, a collective of men who have been promoting emotional intelligence and communication skills through podcasts and other work for years. We’re big fans.
In this rapidly changing world, everything feels in flux. Some even speak of a “crisis of masculinity,” where traditional roles are being challenged and formerly accepted behaviour is no longer acceptable.
Drag kings make great panelists for these discussions. They don’t take themselves too seriously, but they can still reflect on masculinity through lived experience – often approaching the topic with humour, compassion, and nuance.
Drag artistry has existed for decades. Why do you think drag queens are so much more visible than drag kings?
Drag artists – kings included – have always been there. The history of drag goes waaaay back to early theatre, with notions of cross-dressing appearing even in the Old Testament.
U.S.-based kings Mo B. Dick, Ken Vegas, and Flarington King run an incredible online resource, dragkinghistory.com, documenting the earliest “male impersonators” in Chinese opera during the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD).
RuPaul’s Drag Race has been a modern trailblazer in bringing drag to the mainstream. The show featured its first AFAB drag queen, Victoria Scone, on Drag Race UK in 2021, and she later appeared as a king on Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World. She has also openly criticized the exclusion of drag kings from the format.
This year finally brought us King of Drag – the first-ever king-specific drag competition. Essential viewing for anyone interested in witnessing history in the making.
You each picked an item to predict the New Year. Let’s hear them.
Nico: I found a funnel chanterelle (Craterellus tubaeformis) in the forest – a mushroom that’s incredibly hard to spot. But once you know what you’re looking for, it often appears in generous doses. I think next year is about paying closer attention to my surroundings. There might be something valuable hiding, just waiting to be recognized.
Peter: My charm is a stick my dog found. It’s decaying but still firm, with a special shape – almost like a healing tool for releasing tension in your back. I’d say it predicts good health and extra chill vibes for the year to come.
Wayne: I picked up a log while preparing to heat the sauna, and there it was – the omen for 2026. It’s going to be a hot, sweaty, and solid year, building even more heat around the band. The log reminds you to stay true to your basic needs, take in the warmth around you, and let it fuel your passion.
Cummy: I wandered through the nearby forest and found an orange-tinted pine branch that was slightly burned – it even inspired my latest hair colour. I think it predicts that next year there can be beauty in burned edges and burning bridges. It’s a reminder to gently love yourself, rough edges and all.
What has this drag king journey taught you?
These bois will never stop learning – or fucking around to find out. But one of the most important things Out of Sync has taught us is the value of a fam. People who have your back at your best and your worst. Having someone to lean on is truly the backbone of every successful global superstar group.
Any New Year’s resolutions, hopes, or dreams?
Peace, love, success – and OUT OF SYNC WORLD DOMINATION! <33