Nothing has been a salve for me throughout the constant horrors of the Trump administration like RuPaul’s Drag Race. It’s a show I started watching regularly before I came out, a weekly escape into a world I knew nothing about but wanted everything to do with, and it’s remained a compulsively rewatchable bandaid for when I want to shut out the real world. Part of what made Drag Race so immensely satisfying to watch from safely inside my closet was the knowledge that these queens had overcome the same fears I faced. They emerged as dazzling, larger-than-life performers who channeled the bullshit from their past into their art—RuPaul first and foremost among them. If they can do it, we can all follow suit. And even though the show deals primarily in camp and laughs, it handles the realities of growing up in the LGBTQ community just as comfortably, huddled up backstage to discuss failed suicide attempts, the fear of coming out to their families, the eating and anxiety disorders that came with the stresses of being different.

Trixie Mattel Is for Men (and Women and Kids) Trixie Mattel is part of a movement that proves drag isn’t just a niche curiosity. It’s entertainment for everyone.

What RuPaul has built for herself, and for her queens, is a legacy. The reality competition, which moved from its longtime home Logo to the big leagues of VH1 last year, aired its first episode nearly nine years ago. Tomorrow, All Stars 3—the show’s 12th season in total, and its third featuring returning contestants who’ve never won—kicks off its run. Since 2009, the show’s been a consistent source of camp, art, fashion, makeup, GIFs, and talent. It’s churned out genuinely massive stars, like Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova (both from Season 7), whose 2017 Viceland show returns this week for another run, and former winner Violet Chachki, who just walked the runway for Moschino in Milan.

But Drag Race is about more than just the success of its parts: Drag is now a thriving industry that’s made the art form a viable and often lucrative career for its former contestants and beyond. It’s no longer a club-only career. It sells out huge theaters throughout six continents. From Hot Topic to Etsy, drag merch is in high demand. It’s onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards and in mainstream pop stars’ music videos. There is money to be made, and art to create. Drag is in no uncertain terms totally boundless, and only continuing to grow.

A week before the All Stars 3 premiere, GQ sat down with the show’s nine announced contestants—ranging from Seasons 2 through 9—to discuss what drag means in 2018, how it’s evolving, and how RuPaul herself has changed the game forever.

How would you describe the state of drag as it exists in 2018?

Kennedy Davenport: Drag definitely took a turn for the good. It’s more. It’s broad. It’s evolving. It’s not just one type of drag, or two types of drag.

Shangela: Innovative and inclusive. I think that so many people see drag as so attainable to them. You can learn how to do your makeup by watching YouTube. We do tutorials. They can watch drag on mainstream television, on networks like VH1. They can find it everywhere!

Trixie Mattel: Drag was Cheetos, and now people have discovered Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and people don’t like Cheetos as much anymore. Drag was a Squirtle. RuPaul has been the Blastoise, but the rest of us are becoming Wartortles.

Chi Chi DeVayne: For me, a little while back, drag was dying off. With the birth of Drag Race, I think drag got the boost that it needs. People finally take drag queens seriously.