Drag Artist, Journalist, Entertainer, Photographer, and Busy Bear. Dean Arcuri isn’t slowing down.

19th January 2026 Luka Musicki

What can we say about Dean? He is the Swiss Army knife of the queer community, as he does a lot.

Dean is an entertainer, broadcaster, journalist, photographer, community darling and known to be a very busy homosexual. He is also the singing sideburn sensation, known as Frock Hudson. He loves relaxing with friends, cooking meals from scratch and watching Days of Our Lives. He manages to stay fabulous, always.

He has always loved being an entertainer and just kept finding avenues for my creativity to shine, doors keep opening, and he steps through them, which is a little crazy, but that is him. He loves elevating and celebrating the LGBTQIA+ communities (especially with his publications on Q Magazine) in different ways and creating things that sit outside the expected. And he loves to sing whilst wearing very little clothing.

Luka Musicki (L.M.): How did you get in being a drag queen, what was the motivation (and/o inspiration) and why do you do it?

Dean Arcuri (D.C.): I have always been a hustler, I love to keep busy and do things that bring me joy. I have been an entertainer for over 25 years but noticed I wasn’t hitting certain points on the road to ‘success’ as it were. Not personally, just from a broader career perspective. And I could see the writing on the wall which others have done in that same situation where they pivot towards other things to try and stay in the game as it were. I was getting fatter and going greyer and started thinking about what a queer alter ego of myself would look like, and Frock Hudson was born. When I started I was run a rubber tuxedo with a blue wig standing on end, and Frock’s journey. Just keeps rolling. The funny thing is that so does Dean’s, the work hasn’t dried up which is great. Drag is fun, entertaining brings me so much joy, and I look good doing it.

L.M.: It is usually a long process to have a creative and fun name for a drag queen. Where did you get the name ‘Frock Hudson” from?

D.C.: You need the backstory of Frock before you get the name, even if you don’t use any of it. At a certain point in my life I realised that I wasn’t making the marks I wanted to as an entertainer. I was jumping between Australia and the UK and kept hitting barriers. The industry is what it is and In Australia I looked to European and in the UK I didn’t look Australian enough so doors were not opening for me in the way I had hoped with my skill and ability. But when I focused on my cabaret it was something different, because it was all about the audience and you either had them or you didn’t. I have always been a juggler when it comes to work and opportunities, and as I started to get fatter and greyer I had to change how I was approaching being an entertainer. Suddenly I was being asked to audition for the overweight father of three and to perform at Queer events with a barley clad twink dancing around me. Which would have been fine if it was bringing in the money, but it wasn’t, and I wanted to stay true to who I was. I was a bear who sung live, sometimes in leather and a jockstrap who made you laugh and moved you with song. But no one knew where to put me, and I saw that and what the future would look like, and it didn’t bring me joy, so I started thinking about what would, and a new character was born (eventually). I wasn’t trying to be like other gender illusionist drag performers, we already had amazing people doing that. This drag character would be my queerer alter ego, and even though I started with a look, I needed a name, and it took me six months to come up with it. A friend was helping me think of names when we hung out weekly and we could never think of one and then he thought of Frock Hudson and we both knew that was it. It was a cute play on words that also tied to queer history with Rock Hudson. Except the next day this friend had decided he wanted to enter a drag comp called ‘So you think you can drag’ and create a player inspired by a video game he was playing. So I had to let him take it and helped him with his act and was devastated but didn’t worry about it and supported him in his show and as soon as he performed he told me I could have it (knowing how much I wanted it) because drag wasn’t for him. Thank god or else I would still be thinking of a name.

L.M.: Does Kate Hudson know that she has competition?

D.C.: She has not called me about it.

L.M.: I was thinking that my drag queen name would be either Miss-steak or Enter-Prize Furr-real, did I get it right for a good bear drag queen?

D.C.: Whatever sits with you and makes you feel comfortable is what matters. Some people go for shock value, some people go for something cheeky, its your name, your art and how you put it into the world is what matters to you, not everyone else.

L.M.: And what is the drag queen scene like for a bearded drag queen?

D.C.: That depends on which scene you are talking about. Being a cabaret comedian I perform at festivals across the country and host and sing at major events, and cheer, take photos and support those in the club scene. When stepping into drag I was never not going to be a hairy man in a dress. It’s part of who I am, I could never not have my sideburns, and even in drag that is the case. Drag like anything is filled with variety, I may not be what people expect from a nightclub or tv show drag performer, but I am still one who does it, I have hair, I like it, I celebrate it.

L.M.: You have modelled for the Sugar Plump Fairy, with the “Bit Fit and Bit Fat”, what is your exercise routine to get yourself to be your best physical and mental position? Coffee, cocaine, sheningnans? Mine is sheningnans and red bull and coffee. I had 6 red bulls during Mardi Gras, and people thought it was MDMA, am I in trouble?

D.C.: I am an entertainer and an exhibitionist so I know how to pose. I am great friends with Sugar Plump Fairy and appreciate the effort they give for fits for differnt body types, plus great catch phrases. I just love their stuff so am alwys happy to wear it, I think. Eat what you want and live how you want.

L.M.: You have been a great supporter for VicBears. What is your relationship with the VicBears?

D.C.: I am big supporter of any community group that does the work and creates space within our communities. And have been a part of VicBears on and off behind the scenes and onstage for many years. Since coming out of Covid lockdown I have seen a really passionate committee of people and community looking elevate and create space within that community, and I want to help them do what they do however they would like me to. The bear community has always been a community that has felt ‘othered’ and there are more people within that community who still feel that way. anything we can do to create a more inclusive and affirming space for all is one I can get behind. I also like a hairy burly fella so that helps too. Lets remember thatVicBears is a group of volunteers just trying to do their best for a massive community, so anything I or you can do to help them do that is a win.

L.M.: What do you think being a bear doing drag story time means to the community?

D.C.: I think we can take bear out of the equation. It’s what Drag Storytime means to the families and community that want and need it. Having been a childrens entertainer I understand what it takes to create that space and world before I even got into drag, but it is something I love to do because you get do be colourful and take drag out of the equation. Performing for young peopel is so awesome because that are not a fraid to ask anything, take the whole story on a tangent and just be themselves. Storytime gives them a space to do that, for kids to just be kids.

L.M.: It seems like the Victorian Pride Centre is your home for QNews and Joy Media FM, what is with the Victorian Pride Centre that is of significance to the community and with yourself?

D.C.: QNews is wherever I and the people who work there are at. So while the VPC is amazing and I love it, it is not home to QNews, but a great home base for all our communities. For JOY Media, it is being able to have a building like that, which not only houses so many great community orgs and is a safe space for our communities is really special. It is also a very adaptable space. I have performed there many times and put on shows there and even abseiled down the side of the building, I love it. There are so many amazing people who put in the hard work to make this space a reality that dont get creidt and so many more who work behind the scenes, I think it is a massive achievement and will be a monument and continued beacon fo pride for years to come, and in these tough times we need that.

L.M.: Speaking of Joy Media FM, do you want to do a plug for your show? And I know two furry bears who work at Joy Media FM, like Tim Little, who is the producer of the Hide and Seek show and Henry Rocek (previously). Do you think there should be more bear shows in Joy Media FM, and other radio shows?

D.C.: I do not have a show on JOY 94.9, but am a frequent guest. I have been a producer of a nightly news and current affairs show, as well as a producer and presenter of a Drive Show, and for over a year and a half, co-produced and co-presented breakfast radio. I am a happy guest and volunteer called on whenever they need me.

L.M.: So Dean, you have a lot of job titles, what is it, Drag performer, comedian, MC, model, entertainer, QNews Editor, Photographer, Laird Activities (Trivial Hirsute and Sing Stud), public speaking, and so much more (and what did I miss?). I really do envy you being the bear with the most job career titles. How do you do it? And why are you so busy?

D.C.: I figure why say no to an opportunity if it something you can do. I have always been busy and truthfully had decades beinig told we love what you do, but physically you are not what we want. So I just started creating work for myself and I go with what makes me happy. Why do we have to be or do one thing, that would be fine if I ever got through teh door of the thing I wanted, which was acting, but at the time that just wasn’t a glass ceiling I could break through, so I found my own way. adn creating opportunities and space within my own communities is everything for me. Being able to do this weekly with events at The Laird or annually at community events just brings me more joy, and also is important to create space for others who need it. It isn’t about me, it is about creating space for people to feel safe, welcomed and a part of things, thats always been my intent and the variety of events I now do that that allows fills me with joy.

As for journalism… I own and run QNews (another opportunity that popped up), like eerything else, the door opened and I stepped through it, and because I believe in creating authentic and powerful spaces for our communities, I am very proud of what I do.

L.M.: So you host Sign Stud, which is a karaoke event at the Laird. What is your favourite song?

D.C.: Who has one, that changes from week to week. I am a firm believer when it comes to karaoke to always take risks, I recently did a song I only knew the chorus of, it was awful, I love it. Sometimes an audience needs HOT TO GO, others then need Black Velvet, Chasing Cars or an ABBA medley, just go with the vibe.

L.M.: How did Trivial Hirsute and Sing Stud start at the Laird?

D.C.: Sing Stud was an event started by my friend Sunny that the Laird would do ever once and a while and Sunny got me to do it also, but the weekly event started after COVID lockdowns actually. Reopening was hard and people were scared to go out and they asked me to take some chances. I said I wanted Friday night for two months to do Sing Stud, honestly I had to talk them into it because they weren’t sure it would work, and now Friday nights couldn’t be busier. People love to have fun, let their hair down and come together and hang and be silly, Friday nights at the LAird they can do that.

It’s been over 12 years since I started Trivial Hirsute, which is crazy to say. On Wednesday nights in previous years the venue had had both bingo and trivia and the owners of the venue approached me about doing a trivia my way. I took inspiration from events I liked and went to different trivia nights and created something that is unique to the laird and a whole heap of fun. The trick of any trivia is about friends coming together and having a good time, plus keeping people on their toes. I’m really proud of its success

L.M.: Your career with Joy Media FM and QNews, how did they start and what do you write?

D.C.: For both I was approached about bringing a show or working for the publication or network. I know how to entertain and to tell good stories and I love doing that. I think part of the joy for me is mixing a local LGBTQ+ story with the big tredning ones, everything deserves a voice, you just need to create space for it and want to.

L.M.: Being a drag queen is a lot of work, I would imagine. How long does it take you to get yourself ready, like from the make-up to the costume/outfit? How long does it take to style your beard (well sideburns)?

D.C.: That varies depending on the time and situation. I just came back from doing drag in India and because of the heat I took over four hours to slowly paint my face. Sometimes it can be done in two hours.Once the mug is painted, the rest comestogether pretty easily, it’s just like anyone putting on clothes. And my sideburns get styles when I shave.

L.M.: If you had to playful throw shade on a fellow drag queen, who would it be and what is the goss/tea?

D.C.: Shade is a skill that too many people use to be an asshole and can easily be taken out of context in an interview like this. I work my ass off as do many others and we all bring different things to the table, but shade is better spoken in person over a drink than in print without foreplay.

L.M.: What do you in your spare time to let your ‘drag’ hair done? Like recreational activities?

D.C.: What is spare time? I’m a cabaret comedian, drag entertainer, photographer and run an LGBTQIA+ news, culture and current affairs outlet. My apartment hasn’t been properly cleaned since I moved into it over 15 years ago (I’m still unpacking).

L.M.: Would you say being a bear has helped or hindered your career? Is your audience primarily bears?

D.C.: My body is my body, that hasn’t stopped me doing anything or being anything. My audience is people that want to be entertained.

L.M.: Is there any advice that you would give someone (like a bear) would be interested in starting in the drag queen career, and what is involved? Like singing, dancing, vogue model photography, right?

D.C.: Procrastination gets you nowhere. Got an idea? Just start somewhere. I do a lot because it brings me joy and.I often just have a thought and run with it. People put too much thought into being perfect or presenting perfection, especially with how we create characters of ourselves on our social media. Don’t be afraid to fuck up and have a ball.

L.M.: Do you have any upcoming gigs that we should invest in?

D.C.: I have plenty, but I’m pumped to be working on something special for the start of this year as it is Frock’s tenth anniversary at Midsumma Festival. [L.M.: Wow. Happy Birthday to Frock Hudson!]

L.M.: What are your career goals for the future?

D.C.: Have an assistant that knows how to make a cocktail. I’m living my dream and riding the wave.

L.M. Thanks, Dean, for participating in my interview for Bear World Magazine, especially being busy with your many commitments, including the Frock Hudson gigs, editorial in Q News, and so much more. Now for quick-fire questions before we conclude this interview together.

>Location: Melbourne, Australia

>Pronouns: I don’t mind how you address me as long as you do it with respect

>Relationship status: terminally single (help a brother out)

>Favorite Drink: gin and tonic, or a chocolate milkshake.

>What type of guy are you into? Charismatic people that aren’t waiting in the wings

>Favorite Cities/Vacation Spots: San Francisco because my best friend lives there.

>Favorite Hobby or Pastime: cooking, reading X-Men comics, lying in bed

>Idea of a good date? I’ve never been on one so when I know I’ll tell you

>What do you look for in a guy? Charisma and a cheeky attitude

>Where can you find yourself? Website, Facebook, Instagram, etc.