International drag legend and pop culture icon Trixie Mattel has announced a partnership with This Is It!, the historic oldest LGBTQ+ bar in Mattel’s hometown of Milwaukee. The bar is one of the longest-run queer spaces in the country, being founded in 1968, and in 2021 Trixie will partner with the bar to help ensure that LGBTQ+ nightlife and culture in Milwaukee persists amidst the global pandemic.
Trixie will be doing virtual appearances throughout the year supporting the bar, will be involved in the bar’s creative direction, and continuing to cement TITS' status as Milwaukee’s favorite gay bar.
With a reputation for being immediately welcoming to anyone who walks past their rainbow diamond entryway and through their doors, This Is It! served as the location for some of Trixie’s first experiences out in drag.
“I remember walking into this bar at 21 (and not a MOMENT sooner) and I was immediately greeted by a friendly guy named George,” said Trixie. “I asked him to make me an alcoholic drink of his choice and he made me a Tootsie Roll. It’s surreal to think I met my future business partner that day. We have been friends ever since.”
This Is It! has become a cherished tentpole for Wisconsin’s LGBTQ+ culture and history. It has been honored with an inclusion in the 2019 publication "111 Places to Visit in Milwaukee That You Must Not Miss" by Michelle Madden as well as with founders June and Joseph Brehm being acknowledged in 2016 for their contributions to the LGBTQ+ community by Senator Tammy Baldwin, and in 2018 being recognized by the Milwaukee County Historical Society for 50 years of uninterrupted business and service to the community.
Of This Is It!’s legacy, owner George Schneider said “This is It! has been a home base for our entire community and allies. For many, this bar is their first LGBT+ bar - no matter how they identify. Our founder June Brehm and her son Joe Brehm fostered an environment that was inclusive from the beginning. Our patrons and staff have kept that inclusivity alive and have made it stronger than ever. We have been called many things over the years - from gay Cheers, the Clubhouse, TITs (we don't know how that acronym exactly works ha), gay-borhood bar - but the name that seems to fit for most is just "home".”
Of the new partnership with Trixie, he added that “the bar was proud to support Trixie as she started here as a patron, and we watched her grow into the international success she is today. It is a matter of family pride for all of us for her to not only keep her roots in Milwaukee, but also to invest in an institution we all hold near and dear to our hearts.”
This is the first of many exciting developments for Trixie Mattel in 2021. Amidst the tumultuous 2020 calendar year, Trixie released her third album ‘Barbara’ to acclaim from Rolling Stone, NPR, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, and more, penned and released a New York Times best-selling book with Katya called “Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood”, started a podcast with Katya called “The Bald And The Beautiful”, released numerous sold-out products via Trixie Cosmetics, and released hours of multi-million streamed video content via her two web shows with Katya “UNHhhh” & Netflix's "I Like To Watch", as well as her self-shot personal YouTube channel.