Introduction - What is it like being a Cosplayer?

Cosplay is so hard to define. It's fun, stressful, amazing, terrifying, competitive, inspiring, motivating, the list honestly goes on. Being a cosplayer is definitely one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done though! It eats my wallet alive, but it's almost like my wallet is a sadist or something because it loves every second of it. I really do enjoy it though. You meet so many amazing people with similar interests to you and there's so many talented people! I honestly can't get enough of it. When someone asks for your picture at a convention or likes one of your shoots on Facebook, it just validates it all the more. If you're considering cosplaying, I HIGHLY recommend getting into it!

What are your next goals?

I want to become skilled in the use of EVA Foam and Worbla along with painting and trimming them to perfection. We'll see how well that goes with Dragonslayer Braum at Katsucon 2015! If I pull it off, the complexity of my future cosplays will know no bounds!

Cosplay Characters

Light Yagami (Death Note) was my first cosplay. It was a complete and utter failure to be honest! Everybody has a bad cosplay before they have a good one though! Some of my other cosplays that I've been doing are Yu Narukami, Shadow Yu Narukami (Persona 4), Uzu Sanageyama 3 Star Ultima (Kill la Kill), Kougami Shinya (Psycho-Pass), and Tet (No Game No Life)! I'm currently working on a swagged out version of Satsuki Kiryuin (Kill la Kill) and Dragonslayer Braum (League of Legends) for Katsucon 2015 as well :D

What does Cosplay mean to you?

Cosplay means complete freedom of expression. For just a few hours out of a weekend, I can take on the role of multiple heroes, villains, sidekicks, characters, you name it! I can completely revamp my look and personality to be anything I want to be. It's an amazing feeling when you look in the mirror after finishing putting on a cosplay and seeing that you've turned into one of your favorite characters. Cosplay lets you be exactly who you want to be with no restraints. Essentially escaping into a fantasy world, it's an incredible feeling.

Who have been your biggest influences/role models/mentors?

Well, to my knowledge, there aren't too many HUGE male cosplayers that are overtly influential (as opposed to Yaya, J Nigs, etc.) but I would say that the cosplayer(s?) to inspire the most has been Johnny N' Junkers. Their armor work and prop making is on par with professional theater work. It blows my mind some of the stuff these guys make. They inspired me to try and learn how to work with Worbla and EVA Foam for Dragonslayer Braum. As far as others go, Dollicious Cosplay, Byndo Ghek and KO Cosplay really set it off for me trying to become "known" in the cosplay/con scene. They inspired AOK Cosplay, and they also inspired me to run my bank account dry on cosplay and photoshoots. That's not a bad thing though! Thanks to them I've really gotten into an incredible hobby, and they've also taught me how to share it through social networking with all of the other amazing people that share this activity. I wouldn't even be taking this interview if it weren't for them.

Do you have any advice or suggestions for upcoming Cosplayers?

Do it for fun! I know it sounds cheesy, but if you over stress, your entire con will be ruined, wearing the cosplay won't be fun, and you'll just look grumpy in all of your pictures! Trust me on that one from experience! Also, don't worry if someone pulls of a cosplay better than you do. It's nigh impossible to look better than someone with a near-identical body type to a character who also put a lot of effort into the costume! And guess what? They're at every con! Hahaha! You just gotta find your cosplay comfort zone, find characters that you think you'll work well with (or not, cause screw it we're here to have fun right?) and rock it! One day, you'll find out that your the beset looking (insert character here) at the entire con! You'll have your moment, don't worry your pretty little head about it. Just do it because it's fun and the rest will come naturally :D

What is the most negative experience you've dealt with while cosplaying, and how did you handle it?

I got glomped by homestuck cosplayers at Colossalcon this year and they effectively ruined my Yu Narukami cosplay for the entire weekend. Luckily I had other cosplays to wear, but my word of advice is this: AVOID ALL CONTACT WITH BODY PAINT. It was very hard to get out ;^;

Any final remarks or shout-outs?

Shouts out to all of my fellow cosplay friends who are amazing cosplayers but don't have pages or try to appeal to social media! You've all taught me so much and helped me along the way, I really couldn't do it without you. Shouts out to all the people on online cosplay forums who put up with my seemingly endless amounts of dumb questions when I was first getting into cosplaying. And shouts out to Tax Returns for paying for my travel and hotel for the entire year. You the real mvp tax return.