Bimini – Recruit Number 1
Category: Press Pack ArticleBimini Bon-Boulash – known simply as Bimini – is a drag performer who rose to prominence as the runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series 2 in 2020, after which, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, hailed them as “the best of our city.”
Known for their fierce fashion, unapologetic voice, and captivating vulnerability, Bimini has become a trailblazer in the world of drag, gender expression, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Since then, Bimini has expanded their platform across fashion, music, and activism.
Born Thomas Hibbets and raised in Great Yarmouth, Bimini grew up in a working-class family led by their hardworking Scottish mother. Their early years were marked by both self-discovery and struggle – navigating gender expression, bullying, and feeling like an outsider in a small-town environment. “I stopped shining,” Bimini recalls of their childhood, referencing the isolation they experienced for simply being themselves.
Their journey has been shaped by personal challenges – including the tragic loss of a best friend in 2012, battles with addiction in their early 20s, and years of mental health struggles. After reaching a turning point, Bimini stepped back, travelled to Southeast Asia, embraced yoga, and began a process of healing and rediscovery. They are now a qualified yoga teacher and openly share their ongoing relationship with mental wellness.
For Bimini, drag became more than performance – it became a means of reclaiming confidence and joy. Their art, deeply rooted in queer identity and social commentary, challenges stereotypes about gender, beauty, and strength. A regular pole dancer and advocate for fitness, Bimini is passionate about dismantling the binary narrative that surrounds both sport and performance. Now, at a turning point in their life and career, Bimini is ready to strip things back.
Why did you sign up to Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins?
I wanted a challenge, and I thought, when the opportunity came, how many times am I going to get asked to do that? I like to prove to myself what I can do mentally in my own body or my own head. I love the idea of what people think I could do. I turned up in a pink tracksuit and I think even the DS underestimated me. I love surprising people.
What did you hope to get out of the experience?
It was a time when I was going through some mental health kind of confusion. In my career, I was at a crossroads. I kind of felt a bit lost, I guess. There had been a lot of outside noise over the years since I was on Drag Race. It can hurt. I was working so much and kind of exhausting myself. I just needed to prove to myself that I'm still a bad bitch! I needed something that was a challenge, that was going to make me remember, because I think over the years, I've let people kind of chip away, tell me what to do, and I feel like this was kind of me being like, no, I want to take myself out in the world, throw myself into something that I wouldn't ever get to do and just go for it, I guess.
Did you do any preparation for the course?
I didn't do as much as I told myself I was going to do. I went for a few runs! I didn’t want to go too much into it. I knew the show, I’ve watched the show. I just wanted to throw myself into it.
Did you bond with the other recruits?
I really clicked with Michaella and Lucy, I even went to Lucy’s wedding when we got back. It felt like we built genuine human connections in such a short space of time because you're going through so much and there are no phones and distractions. It was a proper eclectic bunch. You've got a group of people like Louie Spence and Troy Deeney and Conor Benn - when would you ever be together in a group with them for anything? But then hearing conversations the lads were having about masculinity and how they struggle with their emotions, I just thought it was really touching, as well as obviously being a very gruesome experience!
Did you learn anything from the DS?
Men telling me what to do? Sounds like a normal Friday night! It was fun. I was surprised at how I got into that, because normally if I don't agree with something, I am very vocal. I will stand up for myself. But I was kind of like, ‘okay, I'm in your world. I'm not gonna get kicked out because I'm being a mouthy little s**t!’ I learned that they aren't always that hyper masculine. They definitely have the light and shade to them, and I think they ramp it up because that's what they need to do in that environment. When you're actually out in the field, you're in a high pressure environment, you don't know what's going to happen. You've got to have your wits about you. But I think I learned from them that you don't have to be on all the time. There have got to be times when you press the brakes.
And I learnt more than anything that loyalty is key. You have to trust who you’re working with.
What challenged you the most, the mental or physical side of the course?
I like physical challenges and I think I’m strong mentally. I'm queer. I grew up working class. I've been through it. I think with queer people, you're definitely trapped in your brain from a young age, being told you're wrong. And then as you grow up, you start feeling ashamed because of it. So queer people go through so much shame anyway, and then you come out of that and then you blossom and you find yourself and you experiment, and you do all sorts of things to make yourself feel fully whole as a person. And I think that's why the mental side of the course for me wasn't too difficult. Growing up like that gives you a lot of resilience.
How would you sum up your SAS experience?
I think it was better than I expected. I learned a lot about myself. I reminded myself that I'm strong minded. I reminded myself of a lot of things I think I lost over the years. It’s made me remember that your mind is like a tool that you can use and utilise. I would sum it up by saying it was outrageous. It was outrageous. It was wild. But it was the best thing I've ever done.