Zook, the one who does them all, is a young, gifted artist whose talent started to be seen once he walked the Pride march as a red angel which represented the blood that’d been shed by the queer community through their proud history. His story begins in his mother’s closet, where, as a young child, he knew he had to become an eccentric artist. On his road he met angry and cruel people, but he didn’t let the ones that didn’t understand him win and went ahead to write his own destiny. At 16, he ran away from his small-town home to the big city, where he started working at numerous 9-5 jobs, trying to find one in the industry that called for his talent. Once he got the lucky call to start working as a makeup artist, things finally started to merge into what we are witnessing today.
Growing up, the only safe space he had was Gaia’s Halloween Parties, where, as a matter of fact, he still has it, but not only one day a year.
The year after Pride 2021, he started participating at Lil Paris Is Burning, where the Zook of today was born. That was the first place where he could manifest himself as he really is. In less than a year, he raised the bar so high, he’s become a judge. However, this wouldn’t have happened without a big financial and mental involvement. Although it represents a part of him, Drag isn’t all that defines him, it is just a gateway where he perfected various sets of skills, such as makeup, marketing, project managing and so on.
As a stylist he’s done commercials, worked as a personal stylist for many people and managed the styling department of a photo studio. The most recent project (which he’s very proud of) that had his creative input, was Patrizia Pepe’s hub from Elle Style Awards 2023. As a makeup artist, he’s worked for Netflix Ro, Modelling Agencies, Television and some well-known Romanian celebrities.
At the moment, he wants to take his career to the next level, to continue working in the fashion and endorsement industry, to take on more challenging projects and to become a representative and reliable image of the Romanian queer community. In the end, his purpose is to let his out of drag persona shine too in future modelling and acting projects.
Overall, it’s not only his work that defines Zook, but his relentless spirit, proud demeanour and kind-hearted soul that have lead him as a human and façade to where he is today.
