By Thomas Smith

While Kris Hamill was adopted from Russia at the age of one and grew up in Mississauga, the Eagle Lake area has always been his second home. His grandparents lived in the Haliburton area his entire life, and his grandmother was a regular curler at the Haliburton Curling Club. 

As an adult, Hamill performs regularly as a drag king, and goes by the name Sandy Joint. “Sandy, like a beach, and joint, like my elbow,” says Joint with a wink. 

“We have been at the cottage every summer since I came to Canada,” he said. 

Growing up queer, let alone in Haliburton County, is tough for kids, says Joint. 

His father, one of his staunch supporters, had aspirations to convert the family’s cottage into a retreat for queer youth. As a firefighter, he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and passed before he could achieve his dream. In honour of his late father, Joint donates money every year to the Youth Hub in Haliburton. 

“I want to support the Youth Hub as much as I can,” said Joint. 

“As an only child, the only thing I had was my imagination and my toys to play with,” he said. 

To keep him company, Joint’s imaginary friends were characters he saw on the screen including Mulan and Mufasa from The Lion King. To him, they were his best friends. It was not until he went with his aunt to see Frozen, when he realized the artistry that goes into animation. He was struck by the scene when Anna gets frozen solid and there is a close-up of a snowflake landing on Anna’s cheek. To Joint, that snowflake was real. Later in life, he would go to college to study animation. 

“My whole brain went to fireworks,” said Joint. “I knew that I had to do this.” “I was going through my gay awakening,” said Joint. “I was going through the feeling of being unwanted, to not knowing, to very confused.” 

Joint went into high school fully out of the closet, wanting to beat bullies to the punch. When he was 15, he came out to his mother as a trans man to which his mother did not initially believe him. 

Around this age, Joint was forced to quit hockey due to relentless bullying. 

Coming out for the second time at the age of 16, Joint started receiving gender-affirming care. “My mother has been supportive ever since,” said Joint. “I think it was just something she needed to sit with.” 

It was Joint’s media arts teacher in high school that introduced him to graphic design, photography, and videography, pulling him out of his depression. 

His passion for photography led to him working as a drag photographer for Ocean La’Vodka Giovanni, a Toronto based drag queen. Quickly, Joint fell in love with drag as an artform for gender expression, creativity, and puppetry. While performing, Joint incorporates his collection of puppets into his act. Ranging from dogs, to fuzzy monster creatures, he has twelve puppet pals to choose from to join him on stage. Playing with puppets since the age of 12, his puppets mean a lot to him and the song “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets is a staple to his act. 

“I ask myself the question, what would you do if nothing was impossible and work backwards from there,” said Joint. 

Now a seasoned artist, Joint’s makeup takes him 45 minutes to put on including base, eyelashes, lipstick, and eye liner. With a wig, extended moustache, and mascara to accentuate his eyebrows, Joint’s staple look is combined with a wide range of costumes, from Perry the Platypus to Mrs. Piggy. 

“When I step foot in town, people stop and stare all the time,” said Joint. “I see why, but it doesn’t happen as often in Toronto.” 

While living in Haliburton County, Joint has received hateful comments out of drag. 

“I definitely keep my head on the swivel,” said Joint. “Even when in broad daylight, I get some looks.” 

In Toronto, he says that drag performers are often not noticed or out of place. “People get really excited to see you,” said Joint. 

This June, Joint had the opportunity to walk in Toronto’s Pride Parade. Walking in the parade, Joint was celebrated, cheered, gave out signatures, and took photos with many roaring and passionate fans. 

“I had hundreds of thousands of people screaming at me,” said Joint. “It was surreal having so many people so excited to see me.” 

Joint says that there is an oversaturation of drag in Toronto, where he performs regularly. More performers mean tighter set times and song restrictions. Performing in smaller towns like Haliburton is a real treat for him. 

“I really live for the smaller shows like in Haliburton,” said Joint. “You can be your little creative, queerdo self and people are okay with it.”

“A lot of the audiences in the small town shows appreciate you so much more,” he said. 

Joint says that he can often earn double the amount of tips in small towns than he can in Toronto. 

While not performing in drag, going to school, or doing the odd design freelance gig, Joint is also a professional hockey coach. Playing with the Toronto Gay Hockey Association, Joint was awarded MVP after his team won the inaugural All-Star Pride Cup. Playing hockey three to five times per week, Joint has also coached Olympians, rep leagues, house leagues, and both boy and girl leagues. 

“I can stop a puck,” laughs Joint. 

Joint first learned to skate at A. J. LaRue Arena, in Haliburton. 

“We would come up here to visit grandma and we would go to the free skates,” said Joint. “One day, no one was there and I was flying around the rink.” 

Initially performing as a drag queen for a hockey function, Joint hated being perceived as feminine.”

“The dysphoria of being a drag queen and being perceived as female made my skin crawl,” said Joint. “I hated it. I grew a moustache immediately after and it took me weeks to come down from that.” 

Joint’s first performance as a drag king was with his friends Archie Called and Kanna Worm. 

The night before his father died, Joint ran into local artist Poet at the former Russell Red Records. Poet offered Joint the chance to host a drag night for the Queer Night Out events hosted at the store. 

“I was going through enough terribleness and it seemed like a positive note,” said Joint. 

A wonderful first hosting experience, Joint still treasures the poster. 

Joint’s drag mother, Jessyca Prosecco acts as a role model for Joint. She helps Joint with bookings, costumes, events, and advice. Navigating life in the queer community has its unique challenges and Joint is grateful to have Prosecco as a mentor. 

With the lack of mainstream presence, drag kings have to work twice as hard as drag queens, says Joint. 

There is a huge difference between Toronto’s Church Street drag scene and West End drag scene, says Joint. Simply put, Church Street drag focuses on the glamour of drag, intersecting high fashion with refined makeup skills, and glamour. Joint describes West End drag as being able to push boundaries with costumes, incorporations of pop culture, and include elements of horror and comedy. 

“Drag is an impersonation of gender,” said King. “Any time that gender is being bent, trans people are at the frontlines 110 per cent.” 

Anyone can be a drag king or a drag queen, regardless of gender, says Joint. 

“I play,” said Joint. “I get paid to get up on stage and play.” 

Joint notes that Shania Twain and Gottmik are two inspirations in his life. Gottmik was the first trans man to compete on Rupaul’s Drag Race. Twain was the first performer to spark Joint’s drive to perform on stage. 

“They mean a lot to me,” said Joint. “It is huge seeing another trans man on stage.” 

“Seeing a trans person on TV, whether they are trans, nonbinary, a trans woman or trans man, it is something that makes you feel warm and fuzzy as a trans person,” said Joint. “Just seeing someone live their life so unapologetically and so brave.” 

Joint has performed in bars of less than ten people, to crowds of over 400. He has performed marathon drag sets, at preschools, and even at Pride in the Highland’s Burlesque Ball. Whether it is performing for children or seniors, Joint loves to see his audience having fun. 

He has seen it all and will not rest, ever-improving himself as a drag performer and making every show bigger and better, with more puppets. 

“I want to be the person that a little kid sees and says to themselves I can do this, things are going to be okay. Even on the dark days,” said Joint. 

Sandy Joint can be found with the Instagram handle @sandyjointking. His next event will be taking place on Aug. 23 at Zero Cocktail Bar in Toronto at 223 Carlton Street. Tickets are $10 and can be paid for at the door.