CREATOR OF THE MONTH

What city are you based in?

Orlando

Tell us a bit about yourself!

This is where I blank and forget who I am 🤣

I’ve been a performer for most of my life; acting both on stage and screen, walking stilts, bringing characters to life in Parks, singing, dance, stage combat, and currently training for the stunt world. 

I adore creating new designs of classic characters, creating original characters, designing makeup looks, and shape shifting into my favorite heroes, villains, and everything in between. 

I’ve been Cosplaying for about 5 years now, and it has absolutely changed my life for the better. I’ve found a welcoming home in the Cosplay community, a place where I can be myself (while being someone else! If that makes sense?) 

I am proudly part of the LGBTQ+ community as a bi creator, and want to work hard to make the community a safe, inclusive place where everyone feels welcomed like I was. 

What fandoms are you into?

Oh man that’s a huge question. There's way too many that I don’t even know where to START. I guess the broad classics; Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Marvel, DC (especially Batman), anime (Fairy Tail, Black Clover, Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, the list goes on), video games (Bioshock, Paper Mario, FNAF, old school Pokémon).

I’m big into horror and nostalgia, Disney of course (mostly the classics)… this question will take me too long to answer; skip! 

Tell us how you got into being a creator.

I’ve been performing my whole life. Bringing characters to life, creating fun makeup looks, and designing characters was always something I had loved. I had no idea what Cosplay even was though until a group of my friends invited me to go to MEGACON with them in 2016, and be part of their Cosplay group. I loved dressing up and geeky stuff, so I was excited to go to my first Con. I had NO idea that this would literally change my life. I fell in love with the cosplay community and culture; the artistry, the comradery, the fun! From that moment on, with the help of my friends, I dove deep into the Cosplay world; I discovered uses for all of my random artistic skills by incorporating them into unique builds and designs. It has become such a big part of my life and heart. 

I'm constantly learning and teaching myself (or learning from other Cosplayers) new skills and ways to step up my cosplay game even further each time! 

Tell us about something that you created that you're most proud of!

It would have to be my Azula build and my Hades wig. The wig took me almost five weeks to finish, and Azula took almost five months! I had never made anything like either of these before, and I really had to push my creative limits and teach myself new techniques. I learned a LOT of new skills from building these! 

What do you hope to achieve?

I genuinely hope to encourage Cosplayers to be a positive part of the call for the Cosplay community to purge some of the toxicity, bullying, and gate keeping that has started to make its way in, and help the community become a safe, welcoming place where EVERYONE feels comfortable being who they are and doing what they love. Cosplay has become a safe place for myself and so many others; it has helped me in so many ways that I can’t put into words. And I want that for every member of the community. I want to inspire others to keep the community safe, to make them feel like an equal part no matter their skill level, follower count, or appearance. Cosplay is for EVERYONE, and I want people to believe that 

I want to spread the messages that:

EVERY body is a Cosplay body

Cosplay is NOT consent

Bullying is not welcomed or tolerated in the community 

No matter your skill level, if you buy your cosplay, make it from your closet, hand stitch every single detail; you are a VALID Cosplayer! 

Gate Keeping is lame 

And I’ll say it again; COSPLAY IS FOR EVERYONE! 

If you could give advice to new creators, what would it be?

Don’t get lost in the social media numbers game! I’ve seen so many Cosplayers lose the love they once had because social media made them feel like a failure because their follower, like, or share count wasn’t what they hoped for. And it breaks my heart. An algorithm doesn’t define your worth! A low like count doesn’t change the hard work, love, blood, sweat, and tears that you put into your work.

Create something because YOU love it and YOU want to see it! 

Also, never be afraid to ask for help from the community. It’s how I learned! I was helped by other Cosplayers, I watched tutorials, I tried and I failed and I learned until I succeeded. And I still do! You’re never too good to learn and improve. 

Oh and drink water!