COVER MODEL Iris may open's up about his sexuality, his childhood and being the voice of Chicago
Male model IRIS MAY Photographer Tarerus moore
Hailing from the electric, alluring area Boys town Chicago's queer capital, pop artist, model and self-proclaimed queen of the nightlife "IRIS MAY" straps on her dancing shoe's and take us into the fun, erotic and fashionable world of-of CLUB KID CULTURE.
Iris May is a drag queen, a club kid, and a performer. who chose to walk the fine line between all of these labels and hopes to be a role model for other queer individuals.
Born jake serber in Bulgaria to parents unknown to him. He lived in an orphanage until he was almost one. Adopted by two very loving parents from the suburbs of Chicago. It was here that Iris spent most of his life. As a youth, he attended a performing arts high school in Connecticut. This was a private boarding school, which means that the aspiring youth has been living on his own since the age of 15. After graduating high school, iris moved back to Chicago where he spent two years attending college at Columbia College Chicago. Since then Iris has been working on himself and music.
Music has always come completely and totally natural to iris. It wasn't until high school that the young artist started taking the craft more seriously and that's when his music journey began.
Never being one to doubt himself or his musical ability. Iris always knew that music was what he intended on doing. Believing that as human beings we are each given a purpose in life, his was to create sound and art stitched together with a blend of fashion and glam. Being a newcomer in this business, a lot of people tried to discourage him that he wasn't good enough. Iris may recall's in his on words: "The road is tough but you can't listen to doubt. You have to keep pushing through and know that you are good enough. You can't let anyone else dim your shine".
Being a person of drive and determination iris overcame his peers and emerged a diva! Iris may: "Living in Chicago has been fantastic for me. For the past year, I've been living in Boys-town and I've never felt more accepted or more myself. Growing up was a little harder. As a younger child, I was bullied for being feminine. At one point I wanted to transition to female because I thought that it would be more acceptable if I put a label on who I was. As I've gotten older I've become more self-accepting and I've grown to love myself exactly as I am".
The "Club Kid" has also been putting in work focusing on a new sound, Iris May: If I had to describe my brand of music, I would say it's like a mix of pop, house, and electronic with a strong emphasis on the detail of the fashion. I make music that I would want to dance to. Bottom line: I want people to have fun and feel good when they listen to my music.
Being an artist with strikingly great facial features and a high sense of fashion and a yearning to express one's self-iris wanted to model, but because of his height and his "strange" gender, it just wasn't really a possibility as he calls it. Iris may: The first time I ever modeled was in high school at age 17 with my friend Maggie. We did it for a school project and I had so much fun. This was when I decided I loved being in front of the camera. Once I went off to college in Chicago I started booking a lot of modeling jobs. This is when my internet persona really began. As time has gone on, my style has progressed and I have morphed into the Iris May that people know today.
Aside from modeling being young iris soon found a queer social scene in Boystown and started getting into "club kid culture", The Club Kids were a group of young New York City dance club personalities led by Michael Alig and James St. James in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He started going to clubs around the city as Iris May around 2 years ago. I just started marketing myself as Iris and before I knew it, Iris may take off on social media. Iris started booking performances around the city and people who follow the diva on social media started coming to his shows. "I love Instagram because I feel like I can show you all the pieces of me that I want you to see"
Right now iris is about to film two music videos for the song "Day Dreamin'" and "RAW." She's getting back into the studio this month and starting to work on some really cool new collaborations that he's super excited about! I'm also constantly working on putting out content for Instagram so his many followers have something to look forward to.
We asked iris a to give us his opinion for the youth struggling with their sexual orientation
Iris May: Surround yourself with people that you know will support you. There is no room for negativity. Anyone who influences you in a negative way or makes you feel unworthy of being who you need to be cut out of your life. If you sense shade from anyone, cast them out like the sun that you are. -IRIS MAY-
