Chad is in New York City for a few days but was not able to disclose the reasons for her surprising pit stop. "I am on a secret mission that I can't talk about," she explains. "But it will be revealed very soon! After this, I am heading down to Florida for the cruise with the rest of the girls." Recently there was a bit of controversy regarding the rules and regulations on the soon-to-sail ship. Supposedly, Carnival wasn’t allowing their guests to dress in drag on a drag queen cruise (odd, I know). "I honestly don’t know the whole story," Chad explains. "I know Al & Chuck Travel is working closely with Carnival to get things straightened out. My main priority is to the fans that will be joining me on the cruise and my obligation is to them."

Long before this cruise, New York, and Drag Race, there was a little boy in a crib dreaming of big hair and high heels. "I can honestly say I recall having thoughts about it all when I was a baby in my crib," said Chad. "I always knew that, in some way, I was different. I didn’t have a name for it, even before I figured out what 'gay' was. I was always very theatrical. I dressed up in my mom’s clothes and my grandma’s clothes and played and had a good time. It never occurred to me that I could actually do this for a living until I met my drag mother in '92. And that’s when it all kind of jived. You know, you have this passion for theater and female impersonation and then you realize you can actually make a living out of it – and that’s what my drag mother opened up for me."

You know the story: a young gay boy walks into a bar… well, Chad Michaels met his drag mother, Hunter, at the famous Dreamgirls show in San Diego. From that moment on Chad’s life changed forever. "It's now a show that I am a producer of – [but that night], Hunter was doing Liza Minnelli and Annie Lennox and I was just captivated. He was crawling on tables and walking on chairs and doing that whole crazy Annie thing and I just fell in love with it. I thought, 'I know I could do that.' He was very instrumental in getting me started with everything."

However, having a drag mother and a dream didn’t mean it was always a cakewalk for Ms. Michaels. "It was ultimate nerves there, the first time I stepped out in drag. The first time I performed I did Madonna’s 'Hanky Panky' with the white and green striped leotard from the Blonde Ambition tour… and I didn’t even know how to tuck. I was giving you basket in my leotard! My drag mother literally tucked me for the first time. He showed it to me like 'A, B,C!'" said Chad.

From then, her drag life took off—sort of... "It is a very long and sordid story. I bartended in San Diego for 10 years and funded my drag that way. I was able to build up a great repertoire of numbers and costumes.” But even after counting those tips from behind the bar, Chad explains that sequins and stilettos aren't exactly the cheapest things to buy. "It's always expensive. It never lets up. I call it the 'black hole of drag'. You go to work to make more money to buy more drag, to go to work to make more money to buy more drag. But if it's your passion you find a way to do it. You do what you gotta do. You work hard and make it happen for yourself."

But Chad couldn't go shopping for just any old wig: he needed to have a vision. Soon, images of gypsies, tramps and thieves filled his head. "It was kind of a fluke really," he tells us. "Hunter really wanted to get me into Dreamgirls and it was a requirement from the producers at the time that you had to do at least one celebrity impersonation. So, he put me in a chair one night, painted my face, turned me around and there was Cher. Of course, it was after we determined I looked nothing like Madonna… and we weren’t going to do that anymore!" From there, Cher became Chad’s labor of love. He took his craft seriously and became one of the most renowned Cher impersonators in the entire world.

But did he take it a little too far? Chad opened up about his alarming encounters with plastic surgery, going under the knife to mixed results. "Some of the work has been good and beneficial and I like it. There have been some other disastrous procedures that I’ve had having to do with, black market silicon and other non-FDA approved products. These are things that I regret. But I probably wouldn’t take it back if I could because I wouldn’t be able to allow people to be aware of the dangerous regarding these types of procedures. I care about my fellow man and I don’t want anyone to have to go through anyone to have to go through the painful procedures that I had to go through, mentally and physically."

Of course, Chad wasn’t the only queen in the world making things happen for herself. There once was a girl in party city that ended up squashing Chad’s drag race dream on Season 4. "I believe everything happens for a reason," said Chad. "I think Sharon was what the fans needed [then]. They needed an underdog. They needed a rock-and-roller. They needed someone was unabashedly fearless. She is fantastic. And I think being the winner of All Stars is the highest honor for me. I was really glad to have the opportunity to go back on and compete."

Many have questioned drag in the past, but has Drag Race shed a new light on what it's really all about? "I think this show has put drag in such a shining and glimmering light to see and learn about and understand. And that’s the most important thing. We as competitors seized the opportunities to do more than just compete. We dealt with worthy and serious topics on the show. You can go on Drag Race to win the money and be a celebrity, or you can go beyond that. I was lucky enough to go on and have a voice and use it to speak out my silicon work and to be able to use the video that my father sent in as a positive message."

We all remember that beautiful moment during Untucked when Chad’s father sent in such a beautiful video message to his son. "It took so much for my dad to do that. Before I went on Season 4, I called him and told him I was going on and I would probably being talking about our relationship. It was then when we re established contact and since then we've been talking. It was a big weight that was lifted off my shoulders that I had been carrying for a long time and I can move on now. I can be free of those chains of regret and anger. I hope that anyone who watched it can derive some hope from that. It is so important for me that we learn in life and take lessons where we can. By putting my life out there maybe someone else can feel that they aren’t so different."

Yes, it is nice to know that Drag Race is changing people’s perception on the word of drag but for Chad Michaels it is also nice to know that he has won $100,000. But what about the actual cash? "I haven’t even gotten the money yet!" Chad exclaims. "At the premiere party they gave me two bags full of newspapers. They were pretty bags and have sequins all over them. We wrapped in late August. You can’t get your prize money until the winner is announced and we didn’t know who the winner was until the last episode. They have it on lock down at the Mother Ship, believe me! But I am going to get my little nephew a trust fund so he can have an advantage in life, and put the money up and plan for my future."