Pit Crew/RuPaul's Drag Race

Pit Crew
Biographical Information
Other Names	Scruff Pit Crew
Season Information
Season	Season 1–

The Pit Crew, also known as the Scruff Pit Crew, are a group of muscular men who appear on each season of RuPaul's Drag Race. The men of the Pit Crew are typically dressed only in their underwear, assisting RuPaul and contestants in various challenges on the show. They usually have no dialogue on the show, mainly appearing as "eye candy" for viewers and contestants. Occasionally, they appear in RuPaul's music videos or promos for the show.

History

Originally, the Pit Crew began as just two Black men, though the lineup has changed and expanded throughout the seasons to include a diverse range of models.

Season 1

They first appeared on Season 1 of the show as a group of muscular Black men who would help the contestants in challenges. They were first utilized in the show's very first mini-challenge, where they dumped buckets of water on contestants for a car wash themed photoshoot. Two of the men also appeared in the music video for RuPaul's song " Cover Girl (Put The Bass In Your Walk)".

Season 2

Season 2 brought completely new members, including bodybuilder and model Max "The Body" Philisaire, and model Emanuel Palmer. The two men first appeared on Episode 1, where they posed with contestants next to a cannon for a " Gone with the Wind" themed photoshoot.

Season 3

In Season 3, they received a complete overhaul and two new members; model Jason Carter, and Latino go-go dancer Shawn Morales. Morales became the first non-African-American man to join the Pit Crew. The two first appeared on the Season 3 casting special during a segment featuring auditions for the new Pit Crew, where different types of men were shown dancing and taking off their clothes auditioning for a spot. Carter and Morales became the two men who were chosen to become the new Pit Crew. The two continued where they last left off, assisting RuPaul and contestants in the show's challenges. The two would also go on to appear in RuPaul's music video for the song " Champion", and would remain with the show until Morales was axed before Season 7 began.

Seasons 4-5

In Seasons 4 and 5, they would occasionally be temporarily expanded to include several men for certain challenges. In Episode 6 of Season 4, they included several men dressed as scantily clad sailors holding "wave" cut-outs and dancing in the background during the main challenge (Carter, Morales and Kirk being among those men).

In Season 5 Episode 8, they temporarily expanded to include not only Carter and Morales but several male models in a version of "Memory Game" where the men would pull their pants down and the queens had to pair two models among a group of 22 with the same underwear.

Season 6

For Season 6, the Pit Crew is renamed the "Scruff Pit Crew" in a sponsorship deal with the smartphone dating app "Scruff". The group also expanded to include two new members, Miles Davis Moody and Simon Sherry-Wood, who would join Carter and Morales. The four men would either all appear on the same episode or would take turns and appear two at a time on certain episodes depending on the challenges. Ryan Kirk also made a special appearance on Episode 9 "Queens of Talk".

Season 7 and 8

For Season 7, the group returned to its original name and featured the return of Jason Carter and Miles Davis Moody, along with a brand new member, Bryce Eilenburg, who replaced Shawn Morales and Simon Sherry-Wood. As of All Stars 8, Bryce is the senior-most member of the Pit Crew, having been a part of the show for 8 years.

Season 8 features the same members as Season 7.

Season 9

For Season 9, Miles Davis Moody left.

Season 10

For Season 10, Asaf Goren made his first appearance on the third episode, "Tap That App". Laith Ashley made his first appearance on the ninth episode, "Breastworld". Shawn Morales also made a special appearance in the following episode, "The Last Ball on Earth".

Season 11

For Season 11, the group featured two new members, Bruno Carvalho and Wilson Lai, alongside with Jason Carter, Shawn Morales and Bryce Eilenburg. Jesse Pattison also made his first appearance on Episode 6 of Season 11, "The Draglympics".

Season 12 - Season 13

For Season 12, Shawn Morales and Wilson Lai left the Pit Crew.

Season 14

For Season 14, Calixto Quan was added to the Pit Crew. Jesse Pattison also returned as a Pit Crew member on Episode 6 of Season 14 "Glamazon Prime".

Season 15

Asaf Goren made his return to the show in Episode 3, the "Supersized Snatch Game".

Season 16

Laith Ashley made his return to the show in Episode 2, the "Queen Choice Awards".

Members

Current

• Bryce Eilenberg
• Asaf Goren
• Laith Ashley
• Bruno Alcantara (Bruno Carvalho)
• Jesse Pattison
• Calixto Quan

(Seasons 7–)
Bryce is an aerospace engineer and a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles. Eilenberg is originally from Dana Point, California. He made his first appearance during Season 7, and is the first ginger-haired man to join. Additionally, he is the first heterosexual member since Season 2.

(Seasons 10, 15–)
Asaf is an Israeli judo champion turned dancer who has appeared on many reality TV shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, Are You The One?, The Challenge, and won the third celebrity season of Israel's Big Brother franchise. He first appeared as a member of the Pit Crew on season 10, and has since appeared from the fifteenth season onwards.

(Seasons 10, 16–)
Laith is a model, actor, and singer who was the first trans member of the Pit Crew. He made waves appearing on shows like "Pose" and "Unconventional", as well as playing Taylor Swift’s love interest in her music video for “Lavender Haze.” He first appeared on season 10's ninth episode "Breastworld".

(Seasons 11–)
Bruno is a 30-year-old Brazilian model. He became a member of the Pit Crew beginning on RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 11).

(Seasons 11, 14–)
Jesse is an actor and model. He first appeared as a member of the Pit Crew on season 11, and has since appeared on the fourteenth season, as well as the fifteenth season onwards.

(Seasons 14–)
Calixto is an entrepreneur, model, and actor. He became a member of the Pit Crew beginning the fourteenth season.

Former

• Kenyon Glover
• Keon Hunt
• Emanuel Palmer
• Max "The Body" Philisaire
• Jason Carter
• Shawn Morales
• Ryan Kirk
• Miles Davis Moody
• Simon Sherry-Wood
• Matt Marr
• Wilson Lai

(Season 1)
Kenyon is a male model and actor. He was a member of the Pit Crew on season 1. He appeared in the music video for RuPaul's song "Covergirl (Put The Bass in Your Walk)".

(Season 1)
Keon is a male model and actor. He was a member of the Pit Crew on season 1.

(Season 2)
Emanuel is a male model. He was a member of the Pit Crew on season 2.

(Season 2)
Max is a male model, body builder, and personal trainer. He was a member of the Pit Crew on season 2.

(Seasons 3–13)
Jason is a male model and internet show host from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He first appeared on season 3 and was the longest serving member of the Pit Crew, appearing on the show for over 10 seasons, marking his final appearance on season 13.

(Season 3–6, 10–11)
Shawn is a go-go dancer, event planner and male model from Walnut, California who appeared in the Pit Crew from season 3 to 6. Shawn is of Puerto Rican, German, and Cherokee heritage, and was the first non-African-American member of the Pit Crew to join. After season 6, Shawn has appeared on the second season of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula, and has since returned from season 10 until his last appearance on season 11.

(Seasons 4, 6)
Ryan is a male go-go dancer. He was a member of the Pit Crew on seasons 4 and 6.

(Season 6–8)
Miles is a male model of Russian decent, who first appeared as an honorary member on season 5's eighth episode, where he was among 22 male models who pulled their pants down during a mini-challenge. Miles became an official member of the Pit Crew on season 6, during the time when they were renamed the "Scruff Pit Crew". He was also featured as a singer on select songs on RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz and its sequel compilation album RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz 2.

(Season 6)
Simon is an Irish male model from Dublin, Ireland. Simon was a cast member of the " The Real World: Paris". He was a member of the Pit Crew on season 6, during the time when they were renamed the "Scruff Pit Crew".

(Season 10)
Matt is a dancer who appeared on So You Think You Can Dance Canada's fourth season. He made his appearance on the twelfth episode of season 10.

(Season 11)
Wilson is a male model. He only appeared as a member of the Pit Crew on season 11.

Honorary

Occasionally on some seasons, the Pit Crew is temporarily expanded to feature honorary members who only appear for one episode to assist in the mini or main challenge of the day. The following are some notable honorary members:

• Brent Corrigan - Brent is a former gay adult film actor, and a male underwear model for Andrew Christian. He appeared on season 5's eighth episode "Scent of a Drag Queen".
• Kurt Madison - Kurt is a male model who appeared on season 5's eighth episode "Scent of a Drag Queen".
• Alex Sanchez - Alex is a male underwear model for Andrew Christian. He appeared on season 5's eighth episode "Scent of a Drag Queen".
• Ronnie Kroell - Ronnie is a male model and actor originally from Chicago, Illinois. Ronnie appeared as a contestant on season 1 of the Bravo reality TV series Make Me a Supermodel where he placed as the runner-up, who has since went on to pose nude in a cover for Playgirl magazine and was featured as a centerfold. He appeared on season 5's eighth episode "Scent of a Drag Queen".
• Eric East - Eric is a male model and gay adult film actor of Chinese descent. He appeared on season 6's ninth episode "Drag Queens of Talk".
• Jacob Hoxsey - Jacob is a male model who appeared on season 7's sixth episode "Ru Hollywood Stories" during the "Monster in Your Pants" mini-challenge.
• Jared North - Jared is a male model. He appeared on season 9's fifth episode "Reality Stars: The Musical".
• Yadier Despaigne - Yadier is a male model and actor. He appeared on season 9's fifth episode "Reality Stars: The Musical".
• Valentino Vladimirov - Valentino is a dancer. He appeared on season 9's twelfth episode "Category Is".
• Mark Manio - Jake is a model, social media influencer, and the husband of Pentatonix member Scott Hoying. He appeared on season 11's tenth episode "Dragracadabra".
• Jessay Martin, Mick Peterson, & Robert Reeves - Jessay, Mick, and Robert are social media personalities and LGBTQ+ rights activists who are best known as the collective The Old Gays. They appeared on season 15's sixth episode "Old Friends Gold".

Members Timeline

Photo	Member		Season
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
		Bryce Eilenberg (Seasons 7–)
		Asaf Goren (Seasons 10, 15–)
		Laith Ashley (Seasons 10, 16–)
		Bruno Alcantara (Seasons 11–)
		Jesse Pattison (Seasons 11, 14–)
		Calixto Quan (Seasons 14–)
		Kenyon Glover (Season 1)
		Keon Hunt (Season 1)
		Preston Taylor (Season 1)
		Emanuel Palmer (Season 2)
		Max Philisaire (Season 2)
		Jason Carter (Seasons 3–13)
		Shawn Morales (Season 3–6, 10–11)
		Ryan Kirk (Seasons 4, 6)
		Miles Davis Moody (Season 6–8)
		Simon Sherry-Wood (Season 6)
		Matt Marr (Season 10)
		Wilson Lai (Season 11)

Music

In 2014, a compilation album titled RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz was released on iTunes and Amazon. The album featured covers of RuPaul's songs by Season 6 contestants and by two members of the Pit Crew. One of the tracks - an outtake from the album Champion titled "Let's Turn the Night" - was reproduced with new vocals from Pit Crew members Jason Carter and Miles Davis Moody.

World of Wonder also produced a music video for the Pit Crew's song "Let's Turn the Night", which also promoted RuPaul's fragrance Glamazon, released as part of a limited edition make-up line with Colorevolution Cosmetics.