At 75, Atlanta female impersonator Lena Lust looks back at decades-long career, overcoming obstacles

For nearly five decades, female impersonator Lena Lust has been stealing the show and earning tips in Atlanta's drag scene.

Lust, whose official name is Lester West, has worked in Atlanta's drag scene since 1977. Her career as a performer offers a window into decades of change, as well as challenges Black members of the community have faced over the years.

"I think a lot of them do not understand it until they are confronted with it, when someone brings it out," Lust said, referring to the challenges members of the LGBTQ+ community have faced over the years.  

Now 75 years old, Lust has worked the front door at Blake's on the Park in Midtown since the early 1990s. She also performs Saturdays at the Atlanta Eagle.

Lust said that although considerable progress has been made, she has faced prejudice not only from audiences but from club owners.

"I survived them all. They are all gone. I am still here," said Lust.

She said early on, Black performers faced many obstacles.

"I came up during a time where only one Black entertainer was allowed to perform in a show," said Lust.

Lust said she has been HIV positive since 1987. She lived through the AIDS crisis and lost many of her friends. She and other performers, including the late Atlanta drag legend Charlie Brown, would organize benefit shows to raise money for people dying of AIDS.

"Charlie Brown spearheaded most of it. … The president of our country looked at it as a gay disease," said Lust.

Lust said she has crossed paths with performers who went on to national fame, including RuPaul.

"He used to come to my shows before he got famous back in the day. I worked at 5-5-1, and there was a bar called Weekends. He worked one side of the bar as a stripper, and I was the other side as a show director. I am very proud of him," said Lust.

She said events like Atlanta Black Pride remain necessary.

"I wish we did not have it because I think we all should be together as one. But we need it because we are not treated as equals," said Lust.

She now sees part of her role as making sure younger performers and customers understand what came before them.

"I have had a lot of people come to me and say, 'Because of you, Miss Lust, I am alive,' because they had thought about committing suicide until they talked to me. You just never know," said Lust.

Lust said she believes she is now the oldest living female impersonator still working in Atlanta. Atlanta Black Pride's signature events continue through the weekend.