What city are you based in? 

I am in Dallas, Texas.

Can you tell us about your first cosplay? 

My first ever cosplay was the 11th Doctor from Doctor Who. I went to the North Texas Comic Book Show (a smaller local convention) and had such a great time! 

Do you have a cosplay piece that you are most proud of?

I am most proud of my recent Tia Dalma Cosplay (I have a few cosplays in the works that may take her place - but no spoilers!) This cosplay and I were recently featured in Entertainment Weekly’s in print and online magazine - which was a very exciting moment! And she was a lot of fun to put together and to shoot. She’s in retirement for now but that is what’s great about this cosplay - she’s a perpetual work in progress. I expect I’ll be adding to her and finding pieces to complete her for years. 

What do you hope to achieve through cosplay? 

I hope to help foster an environment where it is perfectly ok for a black woman to be a total nerd. Representation is important - the cultural impact of MCU’s Black Panther film taught us that.

Is there a cosplayer that you look up to or inspires you?

Too many! Lexi (@undidiridium on Instagram) is such a talented local artist and her transformations leave me speechless. She can really transform the structure of her face (thanks to makeup and an understanding of shadows/highlights) and shape-shift into virtually any character. Krystina @krystinaarielle is present in so many nerd spaces (D&D, cosplay, the list goes on) and she is passionate and vocal in these spaces. @ugoandcosplay proves over and over again that, yes, black men do belong here. I admire and value @krystinaarielle and @ugoandcosplay for their role in fostering this safe and impactful black nerd environment before I even arrived. 

If you could give any piece of advice to new cosplayers, what would it be? 

As long as you are enjoying it, then you’re not doing it wrong. In the past, a lot of our hobbies were shared with a select group of friends and family. Now our hobbies are shared with a few hundred to a few million “followers.” This can be great - I’ve met so many amazing people through social media. But it also invites unsolicited advice, comparisons between friends/peers, jealousy, feelings of inadequacy, etc. And these things are, well, not fun. This is a hobby - not a career defining fashion runway (we call things like that “A Job”).

What would you say is the hardest part of cosplaying? 

Dealing with racism. And it’s worse today than it ever has been for me. The number of “but this character is white,” “why do I keep seeing black people on my page,” vomit emojis, and explicit racial slurs that have graced the comment section of my posts and my DM’s is quite frankly disgusting. I think many of these people are trolls with a sad desire to be seen or heard. I personally think making fun of a grown adult woman who likes to dress up as comic book characters in her spare time is pretty low hanging fruit if you really wanted to poke fun (that one was for free, haters) but nope. All of my hate comments are entirely about the color of my skin and why it’s horrible. It makes you wonder why people are suddenly feeling real bold, you know?

In honor of spooky season, what are you being for Halloween? 

I’m not sure yet! But I very strongly suggest we all wear costumes that require masks!