Becoming Tatianna

It takes a little over two hours to transform from Alex Gay to Tatianna Matthews, he said. About an hour and 45 minutes for makeup and another 30 minutes to put on hip pads, foam breasts, five pairs of tights, a corset, costume, jewelry, wig and heels. Even before show time, there’s a lot to do behind the scenes. Gay said he spends weekdays washing and styling wigs, repairing costumes, shopping for shoes, bedazzling bodysuits and promoting his shows. He said he hopes his hard work will someday r