Ross Mathews has been gathering stories from Hollywood for nearly two decades. In addition to his work on RuPaul’s Drag Race, weekly brunches nationwide, and podcast “Straight Talk,” he’s a published author.
His first book, "Man-Up: Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence," was released in 2013. Mathews’ latest book, "Name Drop" will be out on Feb. 4 and he will embark on a 30 stop tour across the United States and Canada.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity*
What was the inspiration behind the book?
I had a vision in the shower. I walked out of my shower and I had just upgraded to the new phone. So it was waterproof and I typed while dripping wet. I typed down 13 chapter ideas. And now the book is 13 chapters and “Name Drop” is out for the world to see very soon.
What can we expect from "Name Drop"?
It's like sitting down at happy hour with your best friend and just having a good gossip session. I say no celebrities were harmed in the making of this book. But we go there. I tell you about when celebrities blew me away with their kindness and when they really disappointed me with their demeanor. It leaves no stone unturned.
Also, it's all about happy hour. I've got all my favorite cocktails or recipes in the book to the original ones that make up so you can have happy hour while you read it.
There's a chapter in there about Celine Dion, and so I put my recipe for My Artichoke Heart Will Go On in there. And that's delicious. It's also a nice sharable.
Tell us about your upcoming tour.
The tour is so fun because it's about an hour and a half and we can just shut the door on the outside world and laugh. I do about 25 or 30 minutes of stand up. And then I read a bit of the book.
I also go out into the audience and nothing’s off-limits. People ask me about Hollywood celebrities, my personal life – they ask the most outrageous questions and I’ll answer it.
The first book tour I did went to 12 cities. My goal was to do more than that this time. You know, I wanted to push myself and I told my agents, get as many as you can and come back to me. And they came back with 30 days. And I just thought, you know, how often you get to write a book?
I'll never be younger than I am today. I just kind of want to go out and meet everyone and just say thank you for giving it his career. And I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but I absolutely mean it. I'm going to go out there, hug as many people as they can. You just many people as I can.
What’s your go-to meal?
I usually make a frittata every morning, especially when I have a guest. Pasta-less pasta salad is one of my favorites. I use garbanzo beans in the whole thing. It's delicious, that’s not in the book either.
I’m going to drink a lot of tea on tour. Everyone that looks really healthy is always drinking tea so I figured I’d try it. Green, tea, black tea, whatever works.
What’s next for you after this?
We’ll start shooting "Drag Race" after the tour. And I promise you, though, I'll take about three weeks to a month to just go to Palm Springs or Mexico and do not a damn thing to recover after this tour.
Last question, how are your dogs doing?
The dogs are not coming on tour with me. But, my ex, Salvador, and I are great friends still. So he and his boyfriend will be staying at my house watching them so they won't even realize I’m gone.
I just adopted a new 12-year-old who I named him after my great-grandpa, Pa Earl. He's living the best life. He's a little ornery because he’s thousand years old, but the good news is he doesn’t really have any teeth left.
The whole time I was writing this book, whether I was in L.A. or Palm Springs, the dogs are always in the room with me. I have dog beds in there and they are the best assistants I could ask for.