Raafe Purnsley, better known as Stormie Daie, has spent the last decade-plus as one of the most beloved drag performers in Durham. If they’ve ever told you that it all began in the Bull City, however, you may have received some slightly embellished information.
“The first lie I tell people is that I was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina,” they told WUNC. “The second is my face.”
Purnsley was actually born on the Fort Ord military base in Monterey Bay, California, and grew up in a military family. Fort Ord closed in 1994, and the land is now a national monument run by the Bureau of Land Management as part of National Conservation Lands. Purnsley left the base almost immediately after being born there, but it’s still an important part of their story…