Born: Wyn Wiley, July 21, 1992, Nebraska, United States
Pronouns: She or they as Pattie, he or they as Wyn
Identities: Gay, gender fluid
Occupations: Drag queen, environmentalist, activist, photographer, performer, community organizer

Overview

Pattie Gonia is a critically acclaimed drag artist and climate justice activist who uses queer creativity to reclaim the outdoors. Known for hiking in heels, cleaning trails in couture, and turning performance into protest, she builds community through joy, art, and unapologetic visibility. As the drag persona of Wyn Wiley, Pattie is at the forefront of queer environmentalism and has inspired a movement built on connection, not fear.

She is the cofounder of Outdoorist Oath, a nonprofit supporting BIPOC, LGBTQIA plus, and femme communities in the outdoors. She also created the Queer Outdoor and Environmental Job Board, a free tool connecting queer people with jobs in sustainability and conservation. Through her work, she has helped raise over 2.7 million dollars for environmental and queer justice organizations.

Early Life and Education

Wyn Wiley grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 2014 with a degree in advertising and public relations. Before drag, he worked as a successful photographer and creative director. His first drag persona, Ginger Snap, emerged during a photography conference where he was invited to show up as whatever he wanted to be. That experience opened a door, but also led to backlash. When photos of Ginger circulated back home, Wiley returned to vandalism, silence from friends, and the loss of clients. He put the boots away and retreated.

Becoming Pattie Gonia

Months later, on a backpacking trip, Wiley saw the boots in his closet and brought them with him. On a mountaintop, surrounded by nature and safety, he wore them again. That spark of freedom became the beginning of Pattie Gonia. Her name is a pun on Patagonia, and her first viral video in 2018 featured her dancing in drag on a trail. It received more than 100 million views and launched a new kind of eco activism.

Her signature style blends glam and grit. She wears upcycled outfits, bold makeup, and statement wigs while trekking through forests, climbing summits, and leading beach cleanups. Her drag is not a costume. It is a feeling. It is an invitation to bend gender and rules at once.

Activism and Values

Pattie’s activism centers joy, community, and equity. She leads hikes, hosts drag shows, and raises funds for grassroots groups that expand access to the outdoors. She frequently partners with organizations such as Soul Trak Outdoors, Brave Trails, and HBCUs Outside. Her goal is to step aside when needed and direct resources to those already doing the work.

She believes that connecting to nature must come before acting to protect it. Her message is rooted in love. “We fight for what we love,” she says. “But first we must connect to it.” She sees drag as both personal expression and political protest. Inspired by the legacy of radical queer performers, she uses her visibility to challenge the systems that isolate and silence.

Media, Film, and Projects

Pattie’s artistic work includes film, music, social campaigns, and live performances. Major projects include:

• Won’t Give Up with Yo Yo Ma and Quinn Christopherson
• Birds Tell Us, a reflection on nature’s interconnected wisdom
• Everything to Lose, a spoken word film with REI
• SAVE HER!, a touring environmental drag show

She is also producing a television series with Bonnie Wright, known for her role as Ginny Weasley. The show will premiere in spring 2025 on a major streaming platform.

Recognition and Press

• Time Magazine Next Generation Leader, 2023
• National Geographic Traveler of the Year, 2024
• Outside Magazine Person of the Year, 2022
• Out Magazine Out100 Honoree, 2020
• TED Talk on joy and resistance, 2025

Pattie has been featured in Vogue, The Guardian, NPR, BBC, The Advocate, SELF, ELLE, Bloomberg, Green Matters, and Yale Climate Connections.

Podcasts

• How to Save a Planet
• 52HZ The Lonely Whale Podcast
• NPR Science Fridays

Partnerships
Smithsonian, NASA, REI, National Geographic, Microsoft, Sundance Film Festival, The North Face, Backcountry, Burton, UCLA, HOKA, and 1 Percent for the Planet

Philosophy and Personal Identity

Pattie Gonia resists binaries. She believes identity is not fixed and sees drag as a method of self discovery, not a separate persona. She does not divide Pattie from Wyn. Painting her nails, rewearing jackets, and feeling at home in nature without makeup are all part of her drag. “Drag is a feeling. Sometimes I feel more in drag when I am not in costume at all.”

She speaks openly about internalized shame, privilege, and the process of healing. As someone who passes as a cis white man, she holds space for others who do not. Her goal is to make the outdoors safer for trans, disabled, and BIPOC community members and to remind others that nature already includes us all.

Her idea of royalty is not status. It is care. “Treating yourself like a queen is just treating yourself well. It means making space for joy, for change, for who you are becoming.”

Queer Environmental Justice

Pattie’s work is grounded in the truth that queer people are more vulnerable to climate disasters due to systemic discrimination, housing instability, and healthcare denial. She rejects the idea that the outdoors is a masculine or exclusive space. She credits mentors like Pinar and So of Queer Nature for showing her the deep queerness of the wild. She reminds her followers that nature is fluid, strange, adaptive, and bold—just like queerness.

She regularly calls out corporate greenwashing and consumerism. She supports movements like #optout that encourage connection over consumption. In 2022, she dressed as climate change for Halloween. Her costume included oil rigs, garbage, and a purse stuffed with fake money.

Social Advocacy and Response to Discrimination

In 2024, a photo of Pattie with Kamala Harris was used without permission in a transphobic campaign ad for Donald Trump. The ad attacked gender affirming care. Pattie responded with a video explaining why trans healthcare saves lives and condemned the use of queer lives as political targets. Legal action was considered. She used the moment to educate her audience on the realities trans youth face.

She also speaks often about safety on trails, reminding others that allyship means more than following Leave No Trace. It means standing up for one another. It means making space. “Nature is not the problem. The outdoor community is where we need to do the work.”

Quotes

“We fight for what we love. But first we must connect to it.”

“Nature is queer. Look at coral reefs. Look at fungus. Look at me.”

“Drag is bending gender any way you want to bend it.”

“A closet is nowhere to be.”

“Treat yourself like royalty. That means giving yourself what you need.”

“Joy is resistance. Joy is strategic.”