You are Nicole, featured heavily in GSN's new Skin Wars. How did you get started in body painting?
In 2006 I lived in Panama City Beach, Florida, and I answered a Craigslist ad for body paint models. I had no idea about the world of body painting. I just thought "Hmm body painting. That sounds interesting." So the lady who was doing it became my mentor. She painted me, and was the one who convinced me I should do body painting because I'd always done visual art. She immediately started booking me even though I'd never done it before. All from a Craigslist ad. I'm here now.
On the show you were very vocal about your obsession with glitter. How did that become your "thing"?
There's something called "glitter tattoos" where you put a stencil on someone and put glue and glitter on. It's mostly for kid's parties and they are usually tiny. I started doing those, and I thought it would be super cool to do large scale glitter tattoos. You know, it's hard to find that large of a stencil, so I started free-handing the outlines and even the glue and glitter on top. People went crazy for it at places like Fantasy Fest and Bike Week. From there I was like "Oh my gosh I have to do these more and more." I kind of got obsessed with glitter from there. It really pops on film.. Plus, I'm super girly. Anything girly -- pink, purple, glitter, pretty -- I love it. And I'm also a showgirl. I do burlesque. So I've always been a fan of sparkly things.
Anything that I can experiment with I'm for. Right now, I have a rollerskating Lyra aerial act. I also have partner acrobatic routines. I do stilt walking. I do singing telegrams, which is my main gig lately, as Marylin Monroe, Betty Boop, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry. Anything I can get started in with performing I am all about. If the client asks for something original or creative I am so down.
You're up for doing anything. I take it that had a lot to do with you auditioning for the show.
Yeah. The show was actually a long time coming. I had been talking to the producers for almost two years. When you're talking to someone for that long, you don't really think it's going to happen. "Is this really going to happen? Are we really going to be on TV or not?" You never know. When they finally told me they were flying me out for the audition it became real.
What was the process like?
They flew out 25 artists. We all did a full body painting on a model. We lined up and we all talked about our piece. From there they chose ten to be on the show. So you'd all met each other before the show? N: Yeah we did. It's funny because we actually got to hang out at that time. We got to become friends but when we got chosen for the show, we weren't allowed to talk off camera. It's so hard when you've met someone and become friends and not be able to talk to each other. They were strict on that. That was one of the hardest parts of being on the show.
My favorite part of every reality show is when a contestant freaks out over a judge or guest judge. Who was your freak out moment?
RuPaul of course. For him to not be in drag was so interesting. To get to know Ru was something I wasn't expecting. When you hear "RuPaul's gonna be there" you expect to see RuPaul in drag. But this was just Ru. He is one of the nicest, funniest people I've ever met. You never know what to expect when you're meeting a celebrity, especially one that has been through so many shows. He was so energetic and accommodating to everyone.
So the RuPaul we see on TV is the real Ru?
Right! And he's so tall!
On the after show, you said Shannon was your closest friend. She's from Florida, too. Have you kept in touch?
Absolutely! Shannon and I work together sometimes when we body paint together. It's far enough where we don't get to hang out on a regular basis unfortunately, but when we do get together, we have a freaking blast. Shannon was the mom of the house. She brought us breakfast in bed. It's so funny because I would tell her stories about my girlfriend and I, nice things Jen had done for me, and Shannon was crying over how sweet it was. She thought it was so cute. I loved those moments with her.
What was your favorite unaired house moment?
There was so much that happened off camera. I don't know if I'd want it all shown because it was our experience. But living in the house, we let loose. We were like "We're off camera. Let's have some drinks!" My favorite moment that happened off camera was while we were waiting in the lounge. They were playing a song for the models to walk down, and we bust out this dance party. It was a crazy dance party with all cast members dancing. I got people to do acrobatics with me. Gear and I actually had this dance we were doing. It was so much fun.
This show had a lot of surprise eliminations. Who was the one person who went home early that
Definitely Sean. Sean is such a seasoned body painter. I know of him outside the show. He has been in the industry for a super long time. Sean let his nerves get the best of him. He has some personal problems, and being in a setting with the camera in your face you have to be ready for anything. It's really unfortunate that it got to him. I think if he'd gotten a little further and used to the situation he would have made it to the end.
What is one of the challenges you thought you had in the bag but turned out a complete miss?
Definitely my sumo wrestler. What happened happened was I didn't paint my mawashi. I don't know why. There was something about it that seemed sacred. I don't know why I didn't pain it, but it was one of those things where I made a decision and didn't worry about it. I think maybe if I'd painted it, I would have done better. My equality piece was my favorite thing I did on the show. Shannon's was great and she had an original technique, but I really loved my piece and I wish I had snagged first place on that one.
Speaking of equality, Taking Over The Universe is very LGBT focused, and on this episode we found out you are dating a woman! Were you nervous at all what people would think?
I was the most nervous about my family. It has taken them a while to come around, especially with Jen being the first female I've brought home and had them meet. It took them a long time to accept that as a real thing. I was worried at first about how they would feel, but they totally embraced it. They didn't have anything negative to say. In regard to everyone else, I was not nervous at all. Jen and I have been together for two years, and she is totally my rock. She's got me through so much when it comes to all these crazy gigs. She usually travels with me and helps out. She's such an important part of my life that if I hadn't mentioned her I would have been untrue to myself.
I thought it was a very sweet moment, especially since it was a non-LGBT network.
I was so nervous they weren't going to use it.
Have you heard anything from fans about it?
The only thing I've heard are positive and inspirational things. I was worried I'd get some negative messages, but I have not gotten anything negative. The only thing kind of bad, but makes me laugh, is when people say "I didn't know you were gay!" Or "You don't look gay!" Well what does gay look like?
To bring things to a close, as the show brings light to body painting, has the show brought you more opportunities to do this form of art?
Absolutely. Especially in the past two weeks. I'm getting so many opportunities to go an do body painting. I have these jobs I've been doing for years, and now that I'm on the show, they're getting even better. They see me on the show and are trying to make it a better opportunity for me. A lot of the competitions, Living Art America especially, have been reaching out. I'm super busy, and I'm glad the show brought that about.
Nicole hosts and attends many events in Florida as well as across the country. Be sure and check out her Facebook page for her full schedule. If you would like to get in touch with her to book her for a gig, hop over to her official website and send her an email!
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