Mylar Black

I am greatly honored to be one of the first ones recognized in this history project with Spokane Pride 2024. Please do not think for one moment that I believe I am an amazing person, nor do I believe that I am some lone crusader. I owe everything to the amazing queer individuals that came before me and shaped Spokane into the city I was able to play some small role in making better for those generations to come after me.

So now, a brief herstory…

Miss Mylar was born Joseph Sullivan on October 4th, 1974, in Spokane, Washington. I grew up on the south hill and attended Ferris H.S. It was here I discovered theatre. On stage as a gay kid, I could slip into a character and let my internal extrovert out which allowed me to blossom. I found joy on many Spokane stages working with civic theatre, valley rep, lake city playhouse, children’s theatre, and Spokane theatrical group.

It was one night after rehearsal of a show, a cast member we were working with was doing a drag show later and a group of us decided to grab some costumes, get dolled up and go surprise our Auntie Bijou Matinee by arriving to her show in drag…and thus Mylar was born. The original name was Mylar Ribbone because the first dress I tried on was silver lame and this was back when I was around 240lbs so I looked like a giant balloon, but I liked the name because it conjured images of being cheap, shiny, and durable.

It was here the new owner of Dempsey’s Brass Rail saw my number to which I sang live to ‘I don’t care if the sun don’t shine,’ and poof she was off and running. In June 1998, a bar that had not done shows before built a “stage,” hung a curtain, and the ‘Drag Divas with a twist of live” was born. It quickly became quite popular, and later that year we were doing 4 shows a weekend and the cast began to grow.

Something to know about me is that even outside of drag, my life has always been full of weird and wonderful events. I was a senior keeper with Cat Tales zoological park and went to college at Moorpark exotic animal training and management school in L.A. (which proved valuable training whilst wrangling drag queens). I have been an education specialist for zoos, animal keeper, veterinary technician, an HIV prevention specialist, a bartender, needle exchange street outreach worker, and a cook. Oh and a shout out to Hastings~ happy trails to the best high school job.

Drag took me to many interesting places and allowed me to experience so many things. I was able to help start many of the college drag shows that still continue today. Hosted events all over the northwest and to a wide variety of the community from small house parties for the friends of SAN and the Oscar Gala to the Spokane chamber of commerce and Spokane museums.

I took every job and every press opportunity possible because I was striking at the obviously more tolerant side of Spokane and wanted to provide a CLEARLY gay face to those kids I saw struggling, so they had a touchstone to know that some drag queen is rubbing elbows with our mayor, and city officials so maybe its not so scary to be gay in Spokane.

During my tenure at Dempsey’s, I was working at Spokane AIDS Network as a prevention specialist where I’m sure many kids of the day will remember my safer sex talks at youth groups and colleges. It was here I got more involved with the community serving on several local nonprofit boards and volunteering whenever I could. I watched the pride events grow and grow, from a march of about 200 people that was on a side street to a major yearly event that many Spokanites would come out to watch a group of lesbians beat on buckets (shout out to my sisters with the giant ass drum corps) and 11 sweaty men in make-up and pom poms throw fully grown adults into the air.

In 2004, I left for Portland, for reasons that are still my own, lets just say although I wanted to be a public figure I did not enjoy the ‘fame’. Miss Mylar continued in the same vein be it on a much more scaled-back degree. I took over as the Sunday emcee for the Ministry of Mylar at Famed strip club Silverado while I was also doing prevention work for Cascade AIDS Project, yup I have been that drag queen in the bathhouse doing HIV/STI testing and counseling and I'm very proud of the counseling work I was able to provide with clearly the least amount of judgment fostering a level of trust that spread to my work with needle exchange…lots of stories here but that is for my memoirs.

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, I was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic cancer that had originated from testicular cancer in 2019 (check your boys boys!) I had 5 tumors in various places in my body, I went from 230lbs. 129lbs. in 2 months needless to say I spent 6 months in the hospital. When I was about to be released, the doctor was removing a drain tube and something happened, and where there was once so much pain, my mask filled with blood and the pain suddenly stopped. For the next 2 hours, I remained motionless on an ICU table as people swirled around me asking if I could feel this or that, but no it was all gone. T-11 complete spinal injury was the diagnosis and now the once towering form of Miss Mylar is sitting forever more. Since everything was shut down and I could no longer get in my home because stairs are now my enemy I moved back up to Eastern WA.

I’m so proud of the small role I was able to play in shaping gay culture in Spokane and hope that people can look back on some fond memories of the old girl, I know I do. I’m getting ready to celebrate my 50th birthday and while Mylar doesn’t get out too often, when I do I will probably perform something inappropriate.

So, to those that are reading this, I thank you for your time. It has been a wild, wonderful ride full of joy and sorrow, beginnings and ends, but through it all, I know how blessed I have been by the people around me, with such support, love, and laughter. All I hope is that someone looking back will always have a smile and a fun story when they think of Mylar, I know I do.

Peace to all.

Loves Always,

The Sinister and Celestial Miss Mylar Black

Miss Gay Washington 02-03

Miss Gay Oregon XXXIV

Empress of Schrag Washington (title bought at a fundraiser)

Mother of the House of Dempsey’s

P.S.

I speak from TRUE experience…it does get better. Things can get very, very, very dark and even if you can't bring yourself to talk about your despair, just hold on and know that even if it's 2095 and I’m long scattered to the stars, I always believed in you.