16-year-old Sam is the UK’s only drag Santa (Picture: Caters)
This Santa Claus is coming to town with a full face of makeup and a pair of killer heels.
Sam Carlin, who goes by the drag name Cherry West, donned a festive dress, six-inch red stilettos and a fluffy white beard to hand out presents as the UK’s only drag Santa.
Wanting everyone to have a merry ‘Dragmas’, Cherry is spreading the Christmas spirit this year in her own special way, after a successful year busy with plenty of bookings, hosting Edinburgh Pride and even starting an events company.
The 16-year-old, who has been doing drag for two years, decided for 2023 to hand out gifts dressed as Father Christmas.
‘This year I thought it would be fun when handing out my gifts to do it as Cherry, as my little cousins haven’t seen me in drag yet, ‘ said Sam.
‘As I have a few gigs I’m performing over Christmas, I was giving my gifts out early to my little cousins and thought I’d do it in drag to see if they recognised me – which they didn’t! It was really funny!’
Sam’s future ambitions include RuPaul’s Drag Race (Picture: Caters)
He continued: ‘I’ve only performed in the Christmas drag outfit a few times, but everyone says the look was good. I think for next year the look will be bigger and fluffier with more sparkles.
Sam first saw a drag show when he was 10 years old and began experimenting with glam makeup and wigs at 14.
‘As I got older, I never really thought about it until I saw RuPaul’s Drag Race and loved it,’ he said. ‘I thought, “That’s going to be me”.’
But how does the performer go from Sam to Cherry? To him, the key is preparation.
‘To get ready for this look it probably takes me about an hour or so, then you have the padding and the outfit to do as well, which doesn’t take too long,’ he explained. ‘I think it looked good with the red shiny six-inch heels which took a bit of time getting used to walking in, never mind dancing in!’
Despite spending 2023 doing shows across the country, Sam said he sometimes experiences backlash due to his age – and critics even went as far as contacting venues to try and get his performances cancelled.
‘Some venues have been very supportive and some have cancelled me due to any negative press they would receive, but overall most places are very open and are booking me regular still,’ he said.
Sam has travelled to Newcastle, Manchester, Blackpool, and Edinburgh this year as Cherry (Picture: Caters)
Sam’s parents, Sam Senior and Karen, have also pledged their support for their son, fully backing his drag career.
‘I was aware he liked watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, though never thought anything of it until Sam had left the band he was in at school and told me and his Mum he wanted to do drag,’ his father commented. ‘I think we both just laughed at first, but realised he was serious and from that moment on we supported him.’
Sam’s dad takes on the very important role of Cherry’s chauffeur and organiser too, saying: ‘She already thinks she’s a diva. I’m also very involved with organising, and pricing the gigs, and most importantly, I’m the Dad Taxi.’
While there was ‘initially a mix of reactions,’ Sam Senior said that ‘now everyone accepts this is what he wants to do and knows he really enjoys it.’
Ultimately, his parents couldn’t be more proud of him, with his dad adding: ‘There will be times he’ll have to deal with nasty or rude people not accepting who he is but I know he can deal with it.’
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The teenager has been performing as Cherry West for two years.