Get Up Close and Personal with RuPaul’s Drag Race Pit Crew Jesse Pattinson

Who isn’t a fan of the scantily clad male models that accompany RuPaul and her Queens on Drag Race? Well good news for the New Year, one of our favorite Pit Crew models and entertainment personality, Jesse Pattison, is going to be getting a lot more screen time this season. Having made his Drag Race debut in Season 10 (masked and uncredited as a unicorn), he returned for Seasons 14 and 15 as well as on All Stars 8 and will be returning to both Drag Race and All Stars this month. Not just showing off his muscles, rumor has it he will be taking more of a spotlight role this run. For Jesse, it’s not just a gig, it’s a family.

I can’t tell you much, but I can say that I have been waiting for these moments for a minute! I come from a theatrical and dance background so any chance to highlight my true talent as an artist, I turn it all the way up. I have worked extremely hard to earn my spot in these upcoming episodes. I cannot wait for everyone to see what’s in store. From day one, every single person from the security, head producers, crafty, the queens, to my Pit Crew brothers… EVERYONE is so sweet, supportive, professional, and great at what they do. It’s like walking into gay excellence at every turn on set and I get so excited every chance I’m given to come back.

Having been in the entertainment biz since he was young, this multi-hyphenate performer (actor, model, dancer, stuntman, trainer, influencer) is finally finding his stride. With roles on TV and film, dancing around the world, and earning a place in the fitness industry, he’s been fitting in wherever he needed to since his childhood in Seattle, balancing football, track, and early entertainment career.

I was raised on the river, like in the sticks, just north of Seattle. And it was amazing. We were building tree houses and doing all the fun outdoor activities right outside our house. I loved it. I can’t imagine being raised anywhere else.

I was one of those kinds of all-over-the-place kids… part of every single social group. I never fit into one clique. I think that’s kind of been the story of my entire life; I’ve always been too gay for the straight crowd, too straight for the gay crowd. I’m Leo, so I’m just in general, a very outgoing person. A lot of people would say vain and showy and all the things that come with Leo. [Laughs]

When I came into high school, automatically the coaches pushed me into football. I had already played junior football and was one of the best defensive backs. But going into high school, it was just very intimidating and a lot of pressure. And I’ve felt like that in a lot of different areas, so I broke away. I’ve always been that person to just do something different and unexpected. I never wanted to follow a crowd or a group because that is what I was supposed to do. I always rebelled against that. That’s what led me into acting. While still in football and track,  I was also going to auditions and commercials. That’s when I really fell in love with the theatrical and artistic side of my personality.

The focus on Jesse’s looks has always been a part of his career, something that manifested during that time of life when most of us were getting pimples and looking awkward in our own bodies. Even with his career taking off, he still had his body issues.

While  in middle school, I was looking into a spoon and I said, you are really, really, really ridiculously good-looking.  I just batted my eyes and got my myself through school. I was golden. [Laughs] No, it was nothing like that. I did get little whispers here and there, like, oh, you should model, you should do this. That’s when I started teaming up with photographers and getting with an agency, talking to people, and just putting my feelers out. When I was 10 or 11 years old, I started taking acting and modeling classes. So, I knew in high school that that was the direction I wanted to go in. Modeling then took over when I got to LA. I was very insecure and uncomfortable. I was 130 pounds and very skinny. I remember even just in college having swim shorts on and taking a picture looking back and my swim shorts were falling off to the side. I was tiny, and it was not cute. I still have in the back of my head that I need to put on some more weight, because I see this young, thin kid.

As his career was becoming solidified, he tragically, Jesse lost his mom when he was 21 years old. Calling her “the sweetest angel of the world,” he now had to take care of himself.

She raised me with the biggest heart. She really did everything for us… took me to all my auditions, shows, and commercials. She really pushed me to do what my passion was. I didn’t get that support from anyone else. She was the main driving factor of why I came down to LA. I pushed so hard she sacrificed so much for me to do this. I must carry that on. There’s no way I can drop it.

I’m a very spiritual person. I prayed, meditated, and threw myself into work. I love to be busy. I think I get it from my mom too, where she was such a relentless, hard worker and very dedicated to what she loved. I don’t have kids, my kids are my projects and my visions, and what I want to create for myself in the future. It has blossomed into a world that sometimes I wake up and think, how am I here?

His move from Seattle to Los Angeles and getting more in tune with his gay side did not come without some trepidation. The support of his mom was gone, the river life he had known was miles behind, and all at once, entertainment and LGBTQ culture were now all around him. Ironically, his relationship with drag queens was something he had to grow into.

I have amazing, amazing, amazing connections with drag queens. But it’s so funny when I first moved down here, I was deathly afraid of talking to a drag queen. I only went out to gay clubs a handful of times just to kind of see the scene. As I moved down to LA, I had mutual friends who were drag queens and started getting to know some of these amazing, talented LGBTQ performers of the world. And then falling in love and being a fan of Drag Race and then now being on one of the biggest drag shows and having such amazing connections with so many of these queens that I can’t even imagine how I was afraid. It just goes to show that your perspective changes, you’re not the same person. You don’t look at things the same way.

Adding to modeling and acting, Jesse has spent the last couple of years training with XMA and 87 North Productions for stunt work in action films. His first big action scene was for the upcoming Beverly Hills Cop 4 which has him plowing through a huge chain link fence and water barrels. Stunt work in Hollywood is stereotypically a “macho” man’s domain. Has he ever felt pressured to hide his sexuality?

I always do. In every area. I’m always conscious of it because I’ve worked in areas, even just bartending or serving, when I first came out here, and when people would find out that I’m gay, I can automatically read people, their body language, their eye contact, their tone of voice. You cannot get it past me. I know what you’re thinking and can sense changes in how you view me. XMA and 87 North Productions were doing a TV show about stuntmen in LA and so they were casting for it, and they’re filming it over two years. They chose me along with three other people from my class and interviewed us right away. I was so nervous. Talk about my sexuality? I thought, I don’t know. But I did. You should always be 100% authentic. And if they don’t want you, or this person doesn’t cast you, or that job disrespects you, it’s going to put you in a better position. It always has.

With so many facets to his career, how does Jesse know what to focus on next?

That’s been a huge challenge for me. And I love a challenge. I love every aspect of the entertainment industry, and I only have so much time, right? So, to pair my acting with my stunts and go from dance choreography to fight choreography, was my lane. I love to create. And so, when I have that urge, especially when I have celebrities that I really look up to wanting to put something like this together, I’m game. I hear a track and I can visualize it. It’s so fun to me to get other entertainment entrepreneurs, singers, actors, dancers, and musicians all together to build something that’s unique and also has a message behind it. It has been a challenge to really focus on one thing and I try every day to reel it back.

Well, he hasn’t really reeled it back. His fitness has also taken a spotlight in his career. In 2022, he represented California in Mister Supranational United States, getting his body into fierce condition. His mental health and physical health remain a major part of Jesse’s life. From getting up extremely early for workouts and classes to missing out on LGBTQ late nightlife, he’s laser-focused on his career. This month also sees the launch of his new fitness app, Coach JP powered by LENUS.

It’s something I’ve been thinking about for years, but recently all the people and opportunities have fallen into place to go live. I have teamed up with some of the most amazing humans over at LENUS. With their help, I have been able to finally realize my goal of creating a platform that can really change people’s lives in the most significant way, to be a virtual transformation partner to people all over the world one on one. From exercises, mobility, stretching, warm-ups, mental training, to a catalog of over 10,000 meals for diet plans, my team and I are excited to help people find a streamlined way to create a new and improved lifestyle that works for them. 

One of my biggest goals for 2024, is to get 200 people signed to my app. This is my first time starting a company. To be able to go from helping transform five to seven people in person, to 40 times that would be incredible. It would probably be the most fulfilling thing I could do in the New Year.

His app launches just in time for all those who are making fitness part of their New Year resolutions. What are the biggest mistakes people make when starting a New Year fitness goal?

For most people including myself, the biggest mistake when making fitness a part of their New Year resolution is making it too vague or making it unsustainable. When we create a goal for fitness many people will say “I want to lose weight” or “I want to build muscle.” Our plan is to hit the gym every day. The problem with this is it gives no perimeters for what our goal actually is. The more detailed we can get, the more sustainable it can be because you have metrics and physical tracking that allows you to have consistent measurements of success.  Another reason that it becomes unsustainable is that we try to create too many changes at one time and most all of us fall off of the plan because it gets too overwhelming or it quite honestly doesn’t realistically fit into our life in terms of time, energy, finances, or whatever other lifestyle choice combats that plan. Regardless, you do have the power to create a plan that works for you, and day by day you CAN become the best version of yourself. You just have to find that person to help guide you. That’s where I come in.

And Jesse’s personal New Year resolution?

My New Year’s resolution is to try and spend more time with my family. Creating an additional company that I can do remotely is something I have premeditated and organically created to be able to do that. I lost my mom almost 15 years ago and it has been the hardest thing to live with every day since. Now that my father has an exponential health decline, my resolve to spend more time with him and others that I love in my life has become that much more important. At the end of the day, that is what means the most to me.

And Jesse’s message to his fans for 2024?

I first want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for rocking with me. Through the various eras of my life, it’s because of you that I am blessed enough to walk through many of the doors in my life. The other part I give credit to is my self-guidance and spiritual guidance that I am excited to share with others. The most important thing I could ever do, which seems so counterintuitive, especially for me, is to DO NOTHING. Unplug from media, social media, friends, and family that are not on the same frequency as your goal or wildest dreams. There are so many things we give OUR LIFE to in this world. We often forget about giving that precious time to ourselves every day. Create tools to become in sync with that end goal. I use meditation, journaling, reading, exercise, recovery, and time with those closest to me to bring me closer to myself. Whatever you do give yourself that time to remember who you are. Then go out in the world and share it with as many people as you can with no apologies.

Look for Jesse on this season’s Drag Race franchises!