History of the Denver Cycle Sluts

These glitter-bearded performers with hearts of gold have a rich decades-long history.
Learn more about their story!

The Original Cycle Sluts

The Denver Cycle Sluts began when Kenneth Maurice traveled from Denver out to Los Angeles in 1978 and caught the act of a professional theater group called The Cycle Sluts. The Cycle Sluts in Los Angeles began one Halloween in the 1970s when a group of 12 gay men put on big bouffant wigs and women’s lingerie. They arrived at the club, Studio One, not in a limo, but a garbage truck. The truck pulled up, The Cycle Sluts climbed out, and Slut history was made.

The Cycle Sluts went on to perform at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go nightclub in LA. They became so famous that stars like Florence Henderson and Liberace came to see their show. They toured across the country including Chicago, San Francisco and New York. The group sang with their own voices, had their own choreographer and a professional costume designer. Thom Frey, who would later be part of the future Denver Cycle Sluts, was living in Los Angeles during this time and was dating one of The Cycle Sluts named Kenny.

Founding of the Denver Cycle Sluts

Kenneth Maurice was so inspired by what he saw in 1978, that he brought the idea back to Denver and formed his own group in 1979, which he named The Cycle Sluts. The Cycle Sluts in LA did not take kindly to the Denver group using their name, so Kenneth changed the name to The Denver Cycle Sluts.

Kenneth gave himself the drag name, Helen Bed. Helen was joined by by Bonita Bulge (Fred Valdez), Mona Lott (Greg Lowe), Donna Drag (Thom Frey), Constance Hardon (Buddy Cressey), Lucinda West (Michael West) and Venetia Blind (Vince Kline) to form the original Denver Cycle Sluts.

The Denver Cycle Sluts, however, were not very well received. The performances they put on were considered vulgar and crude. Simulated sex acts and dildos on stage were not what the audiences in Denver wanted to see in their drag shows. The group fizzled out.

Slut Revival

In 1989, Kenneth Maurice decided to run for Empress XVIII of the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire. For his campaign, he thought it would be fun to bring back the idea for The Denver Cycle Sluts to help raise money for charity. This time the group he formed put on a classier act and the Denver Cycle Sluts became a big hit in the gay community. Kenneth Maurice was successful in his campaign and became Empress XVIII, Kinsey Rapport.

After becoming Empress, Kenneth turned the leadership of the group over to Donna Drag and Constance Hard-On. The group only had three members with the third being Lucinda West. Venetia Blind returned and brought a new member, Rita My Lips.

The five Denver Cycle Sluts performed only a few times a year, and their performances were much anticipated by the community. They wowed audiences at the anniversary parties of the gay bars, Bricks and The Den. They were invited by the Emperor Glen Emery of the San Fernando Valley Imperial Court to be Command Performers. The group was in high demand and the owner of the gay bar Mike’s, Tim Timmons, would cancel other acts at his bar, just to get them at his club.

Original Aesthetic and Early Cast

The group had a few ground rules to be a Denver Cycle Slut. They only wore big hair and women’s lingerie. They could have no painted fingernails and no tucking was allowed. They had to have body and facial hair. High heels were optional. All the money to put on the shows, makeup and hair came out of the pockets of the performers.
And 100 percent of the money they raised went to charity.

The five performers decided they needed 1 or 2 more sluts in the group so in 1991, they held the first Slut Search, a contest to see who could do their best to be a Denver Cycle Slut. Eight contestants competed and two were chosen, Ivanna Lay-ya (Dennis), and the first female slut, Fish Pate (Sandra Graves).
It was at this time that the group also designed a t-shirt which featured a graphic image of “That Girl” with a cigarette dangling out the side of her mouth.

Glen Emery, who was still living in California, came to Denver and performed a spoof drag number as a Cycle Slut. He gave himself the name, Holly Would!, and began flying to Denver to perform as a “Guest Slut” with the Denver group. Holly later moved to Denver to become an official member of the group.

Subsequent Early Members

Jim Nash, the partner of Lucinda West, jumped into the Slut 3-ring circus as Holly Davidson. The group obtained a Winnebago and started traveling around Colorado performing shows and raising money for charity. They held Slut Search every year to attract new performing members but most that joined faded away and left the group. One show of the Denver Cycle Sluts became famous and ran for 4 years - the Beauty Pageant Contest. Each Slut would choose a new identity and compete for the Pageant Crown. The winner would always get beat up by the first runner up and sometimes the audience would jump into the foray as well.

Each Slut had their area of expertise. Donna Drag was in charge of all the costuming for the group. Everyone else was too embarrassed to go into women’s clothing stores to buy the necessary lingerie, so Donna did it for them. Donna also did all the big hair and makeup for every member. Before a show, Donna would paint everyone until finally, Constance Hard-On and Rita My Lips also learned to help. Venetia Blind was in charge of props for the shows.

Holly Would was appointed the Queen Mother Director in 1994 by Donna Drag, with Donna staying on as a consultant. Holly Would hosted a Slut Search in an effort to bring new members into the group. Three contestants competed: Ilene Dover, Lotta Ho and Cherry Hills. Ilene and Lotta were selected to join the group. Cherry Hills was disqualified for using a dildo in her number but was later inducted into the group.

First Queen Mothers

Holly Would served as Queen Mother Director for 4 1/2 years and during her reign brought into the group the performers Tina Turnover (Mark Schmidt) , Sandi Fran Crisco (Kent Epperson), Ivanna B. Astar (John Carroll), Sheneeda Bleach (Bill Wright), Gabbriella But’zin (Tim Fischer), and Molotovia Cocktail (Steven Moore). During this time, Slut Search was held only when needed to bring in new members. The group put on 3 major shows a year and made appearances in other shows around Denver.

Holly stepped down as Queen Mother Director in 1998. The first permanent titles were given out to the original founding members of the group. Tina Turnover stepped down along with Holly, both receiving permanent titles. Holly purchased a crown and began the Queen Mother’s Jewels collection. Each Queen Mother Director since has added some type of jewelry to the collection that is now passed down to each new Queen Mother Director.

Sheneeda Bleach was crowned Queen Mother Director of the Denver Cycle Sluts in 1998 serving until 2001. During her reign, the Denver Cycle Sluts were named “Entertainers to Their Majesties” by the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire in 1999 and 2000. Under Sheneeda’s reign the following members joined the group: Tillie Screams (Arthur Gilkison), Sharon Cousins (Dustin Gallo), Polka Hole (Michael Graczyk) and Nuclia Waste (David Westman).

Twentieth Anniversary

In 1999, the Denver Cycle Sluts celebrated their 20th Anniversary with a very large show and fund raiser at the Gothic Theater on Sunday, August 8. Many of the past retired Denver Cycle Sluts performed and attended the event. Sandi Fran Crisco officially retired from the group to run for Emperor XXVII of the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire, which he accomplished in the following year.

Soon after, Thom Frey, Michael Graczyk, Glen Emery and Tim Fisher began meeting to incorporate the Denver Cycle Sluts. The four served as the first Board of Directors. They wrote the first bylaws for the group and filed documents to incorporate the group as DCS, Inc. with the state of CO.

More History

June 2001: the Denver Cycle Sluts constructed their first float for the Pridefest parade with the theme, “2001: A Spacey Oddity” and won the "Most Outrageous" award. The float was covered in inflatable space aliens and the float was sponsored by the owners of Erico Motorsports, Tai and John Beldock.
September 2001: the group was invited to be command performers in Des Moines, Iowa for their Coronation with the Empress Ruby James Knight. They have been invited back to Iowa every year since. The group was also invited to be a command at the Colorado Springs coronation in November 2001.
October 2002: Slut Search was held at Erico Motorsports. The theme was "Young Slutenstein! The Search For Abby Normal". Portia Potty (Jeff Betsch), won and was made a performing member of the group. Molotovia Cocktail and Polka Hole retired from the Denver Cycle Sluts. Gabbriella But’zin was crowned the new Queen Mother. Molotovia added a red jeweled ring to the Queen Mother’s Jewels.
January 2003: Anita Uranus retired from the group.
June 2003: the first Slut Bingo began and Coors Light became a sponsor of the group. Bingo became a very successful fund raiser for the group and was held every 3rd Wednesday at Broadways. The Denver Cycle Sluts decided at this time to pick a Charity of the Month, with all money raised going to that particular charity.
October 2003: Slut Search was held at Erico Motorsports. The theme was “The Search for the Unholy Girl”. Wilma Titzgro (Bret Farris) and Latexa D’Vynal (Jason Martinez) became members of the group.
September 2004: Empress XI of the Imperial Court of Iowa bestowed a Life Time title upon the Denver Cycle Sluts naming them "The Nocturnal Imperial Coven of The Snowy Owl".
October 2004: The Denver Cycle Sluts celebrated their 25th Anniversary Jubilee and held Slut Search 2004, at Erico Motorsports. The theme was based on help wanted posters. Mandessa Cameltoe was the winner, with Sharon MaGoodies (Matt Rosencutter) and Winnie Bego (Todd Lowe) as the runners-up. Mandessa left the group shortly after her win and headed for Las Vegas to pursue her slutty talents on the Strip. Iona Trailer and Portia Potty both retired at the show.
October 2005: Slut Search was again held at Erico Motorsports. The theme was "Sluterella: The Search for the Next Evil Stepsister." The winner of Slut Search 2005 was Vera Confused, though Vera decided to pursue other glittery-goodness and left the group shortly after winning. Gabbriella Butz'in stepped down as Queen Mother and passed the job on to Nuclia Waste. Gabbriella added a ring and the Queen Mother septer (a bat) to the crown jewels.
December 2005: The Sluts started the SLIT (Slut in Training) program. The SLIT program allowed aspiring SLUTS the opportunity to learn their glittery craft directly from current Sluts. Marion McKuzins (Randy Sorter) became the first SLIT and performed during the Denver Cycle Sluts' Christmas Bingo and Show held at Broadway's.
March 2006: The March Madness Show, held at Charlie's, where Marion McKuzins was "abducted" into the group. Later that same month, The Denver Cycle Sluts held "Amateur Bingo" and two new SLITS were introduced into the group: Sassy Squatch (Randy Morris) and Usa Prophylactic (Michael Sopiwnik).
May 2006: Nuclia Waste stepped down as Queen Mother Director at the "Trailer Trash Show" held at The Wave Nightclub in Denver. At Nuclia's step-down, Sharon MaGoodies stepped up and became the new Queen Mother Director. Nuclia added a red jeweled necklace to the Queen Mother's jewels.
June 2006: Usa Prophylactic was officially named as a Denver Cycle Slut. In July of 2006, Sassy Squatch also became an official Denver Cycle Slut.
March 2007: Sharon MaGoodies stepped down as Queen Mother Director and passed the crown to Wilma Titzgro.
September 2007: the Denver Cycle Sluts moved their monthly charity bingos to Club M at Hamburger Mary's Denver. The Denver Cycle Sluts also debuted their monthly show for charity, entitled "Thank God It's Glitter Friday!" TGIGF ran from September 2007 through May 2008.
October 2007: the original business structure of the Denver Cycle Sluts was reorganized, allowing for more control of the group by current/active performing members. Fred Valdez took on the job of treasurer to help manage the funds and the group applied to become a not for profit charity.
February 2008: Wilma Titzgro passed the Queen Mother Director crown to Marion McKuzins during the "Leather Lovers TGIGF Show" held at Club M. Wilma added a bracelet to the Queen Mother's jewels.
December 2008: Marion McKuzins stepped down and passed the Queen Mother Director crown to Zoey Diddim at the "Alcoholidaze 2008 Show" held as Hamburger Mary's. Marion gave out Titles of Honor to Fred Valdez, Courtney "Kiddo" Oldham and Usa Prophylactic in recognition of continued support of the goals and success of the group. Marion also added 2 pins to the Queen Mother's jewels one of which had belonged to Sandi Fran Crisco as a reminder of those who had passed on.
In 2009, Molotovia Cocktail returned from "slut retirement" to actively assist the group. Molly re-retired at the Alcoholidaze 2010 Show.
June 2009: The Denver Cycle Sluts celebrated their "Dirty Thirty Anniversary" with a benefit show held at Hamburger Mary's Denver in which many of the older Sluts (called SLOTS, meaning Slutty Old Things) returned to help raise money for charity. In recognition of the beginnings of the Denver Cycle Sluts, the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire was given the title of The Foundation of the Glitter. The group also started the sponsorship by Hamburger Mary's as a joint entry in the Denver Pride Parade.
July 2010: Slut Search 2010 was held at Club M. Diane Tolickya (David Martinez) was the winner, and Sue Nami (Dan Yates) was the runner up.
2010: Le Bakery Sensual and Romantix became official sponsors of The Denver Cycle Sluts (in addition to Hamburger Mary's Denver).
December 2010: at the "Alcoholidaze 2010 Show" held at Club M, Zoey Diddim passed the Queen Mother Director crown to Sassy Squatch. Sue Nami left the group to run for Emperor of the ICRME. Zoey added a bejeweled shot flask to the Queen Mother's jewels.
July 2011: Slut Search: "Sluts & Tiaras", inspired by the hit show "Toddlers & Tiaras" was held at Club M (Hamburger Mary's Denver). The winner was Rolonda Flor, with runners-up Juana Man and Bea Dazzle; both were also abducted into official Slutdom.
December 2012: at the Alcoholidaze show, Diane Tolickya retired from the group. Sassy Squatch stepped down as Queen Mother and passed the crown back to Zoey Diddim. Sassy added a diary to the Queen Mother's jewels to hold the words of wisdom for all future Queen Mothers.
April 2013: Emperor XXXIX Ken Bazan bestowed the Permanent Title of "The Glitter Goddesses of Global Goodwill to All Monarchs for Life" to the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire. Soon after, Latexa D'Vynal returned to the fold after a 10 year absence.
July 2013: the Slut Search was themed "Plan 69 From Outer Space". Cookie Fortuna (Rob Gleichmann) won and Phillis Basket (Tim Williams) was the runner up, both joining the Sluts.
September 2013: the eight active members traveled to Des Moines to become the largest group of Sluts to attend a Coronation. The Board of Directors and the stepping down Monarchs (Matt Aspire Jackson and Muffy Rosenberg) proclaimed the Denver Cycle Sluts were to have a permanent command.
December 2013: Juana Mann retired at the Alcoholidaze show.
December 2014: at the Alcoholidaze show, Zoey Diddim stepped down again and passed on the crown to Bea Dazzle. Zoey gave out three Titles of Honor to Bonita Bulge, Ken Bazan, and Martini Monroe for their long time support to the group. Zoey (with Holly Would's approval) retired the old crown and donated a new one. Both Sassy Squatch and Rolonda Flor retired that evening.
July 2015: Slut Search was held with one contestant: Miss Jack Lynn Hyde (Bernetta Williams), who joined the group becoming the third female Slut.
September 2015: In Iowa, the Sluts bestowed Titles of Honor to Erika La Rue, Matt/Iris Aspire Jackson, Muffy Rosenburg, The Blazing Saddle, and The Imperial Court of Iowa.
December 2015: Bea Dazzle stepped down, retired from the group, and passed the Crown to Latexa D’Vynal.
July 2016: Slut Search tryouts discovered Cherri Chola and Kay Hausensues, who both joined the merry band.
February 2017: the Sluts were asked to be a command in Minnesota for Shawn Creveling and Ida Slapter Back.
September 2017: while in Des Moines, Iowa for Coronation, Nicole Murray (Queen Mother of the Imperial Court System) gave the Sluts the Jose Honor award/medal. The Sluts bestowed Titles of Honor to Evie Blank, Ida Slapter Back, Ashley Dubois Rosenburg Diddim, and Mongo.
December 2017: Latexa D’Vynal stepped down as Queen Mother and passed the crown to Cookie Fortuna. Latexa added the award/medal to the Queen Mother jewels and went on another sabbatical.
July 2018: the Sluts welcomed the fifth female member, Miss Mae D’Misteak. The Title of Honor was given to Le Bakery Sensual for the years of support.
December 2019: Cookie Fortuna stepped down and added a stone heart to the jewels reminding all Queen Mothers to lead from the heart.
January 2020: Kay Hausensues was crowned the new Queen Mother.
December 2022: Kay Hausensues stepped down and added a chaos theory necklace to the jewels.
January 2023: Zoey Diddim was crowned Queen Mother 17.
July 2023: Slut Search 2023 was held and found Harlot O'Scara to join the Denver Cycle Sluts.