My cosplay interests started along time ago in our galaxy, Springfield, Mo actually. I was working at FYE as an assistant manager back in 2000. I would get these kids in the store dressed with cat ears and tails. I would talk with them and they would tell me about their favorite anime and that is why they dressed the way they did. This was the first, firsthand, experience of cosplay I had ever seen. I had heard of "furries" and of course seen photos and video footage of Star Wars and Star Trek Cons, but never knew it went beyond that.
I had always been a huge sci-fi nerd, growing up reading the Punisher and X-Men comics and reading books and watching movies with favorites ranging from The obvious Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, to the lesser known Earthsee Chronicles and the Redwall series. Books, movies, and video games were my entertainment.
I never really thought about participating in cosplay until I started seeing videos and pictures from cons on YouTube and Facebook. Up until then, I thought it was just furries, LARP and the occasional conventions. I started researching events like Comic Con and Wizard Cons and realized that people were taking their fandoms to amazing levels with artwork, photography, and videos. I knew I really wanted to be apart of that group of people.
You need to understand that my wife at the time did not share my nerdiness at all. She thought it was absurd and childish and only saw Star Wars the Phantom Menace with me because it was my birthday. She said she hated it. She had her reality TV and her resale shop and that was it for her. As my kids grew older I was the "movie" parent. I have seen every Harry Potter with my kids, even holding Keegan, who was around 3 at the time, as he slept. If it's a PG13 or less movie and I saw it in the Theaters, I was with my kids. My daughter started reading from my vast library of books and started listening to me about book recommendations when her friends were urging her to read the same books I had been telling her about for years.
I had made up my mind that I wanted to at least go to a convention, if not dress up for one, several months before Heroes of Cosplay aired. I had tried to talk about it with my wife at the time and the kids were excited and wanted to go with me. My wife, on the other hand said, "Why would I ever want to do that?" My daughter, bless her heart (about 13 at the time) replied, "To support us?"
My daughter, and sometimes my son, and I started watching Heroes of Cosplay every week and were getting more and more hooked with the idea of being involved with that group of people that shared our same interests.
It wasn't until my wife and I separated and I was lucky enough to run into an old friend of mine, Schuyler, who happened to be friends with an amazing group of people who not only shared the same fandoms, but were cosplayers themselves and told me about an up and coming local convention that was gaining in popularity called Visioncon. I was determined that this was going to be my chance to be involved with what, up to this point, had been something I was only a spectator to.
I ended up attending Visioncon with not one, but two costumes, The 10th Doctor, and The Green Hornet. That event changed my life, literally. I met even more amazing people and networked some great contacts.
My daughter got a great sewing machine for her 15th birthday this year and we plan to create some great costumes with it. My son is excited about getting into cosplay, his first one was Assassins Creed. We recently went to The Picnic at the End of the Universe and got to sample the upcoming Adventure Quest. My son wants to be in a team with me!
Growing up I was considered a nerd and a geek for what I liked. My ex-wife thought I was childish (still does) and never understood how grown men and women would still want to "dress up." Now I have some of the best friends I have had in my entire life and am closer than ever to my kids. I think I'm finally doing the right thing.
I had always been a huge sci-fi nerd, growing up reading the Punisher and X-Men comics and reading books and watching movies with favorites ranging from The obvious Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, to the lesser known Earthsee Chronicles and the Redwall series. Books, movies, and video games were my entertainment.
I never really thought about participating in cosplay until I started seeing videos and pictures from cons on YouTube and Facebook. Up until then, I thought it was just furries, LARP and the occasional conventions. I started researching events like Comic Con and Wizard Cons and realized that people were taking their fandoms to amazing levels with artwork, photography, and videos. I knew I really wanted to be apart of that group of people.
You need to understand that my wife at the time did not share my nerdiness at all. She thought it was absurd and childish and only saw Star Wars the Phantom Menace with me because it was my birthday. She said she hated it. She had her reality TV and her resale shop and that was it for her. As my kids grew older I was the "movie" parent. I have seen every Harry Potter with my kids, even holding Keegan, who was around 3 at the time, as he slept. If it's a PG13 or less movie and I saw it in the Theaters, I was with my kids. My daughter started reading from my vast library of books and started listening to me about book recommendations when her friends were urging her to read the same books I had been telling her about for years.
I had made up my mind that I wanted to at least go to a convention, if not dress up for one, several months before Heroes of Cosplay aired. I had tried to talk about it with my wife at the time and the kids were excited and wanted to go with me. My wife, on the other hand said, "Why would I ever want to do that?" My daughter, bless her heart (about 13 at the time) replied, "To support us?"
My daughter, and sometimes my son, and I started watching Heroes of Cosplay every week and were getting more and more hooked with the idea of being involved with that group of people that shared our same interests.
It wasn't until my wife and I separated and I was lucky enough to run into an old friend of mine, Schuyler, who happened to be friends with an amazing group of people who not only shared the same fandoms, but were cosplayers themselves and told me about an up and coming local convention that was gaining in popularity called Visioncon. I was determined that this was going to be my chance to be involved with what, up to this point, had been something I was only a spectator to.
I ended up attending Visioncon with not one, but two costumes, The 10th Doctor, and The Green Hornet. That event changed my life, literally. I met even more amazing people and networked some great contacts.
My daughter got a great sewing machine for her 15th birthday this year and we plan to create some great costumes with it. My son is excited about getting into cosplay, his first one was Assassins Creed. We recently went to The Picnic at the End of the Universe and got to sample the upcoming Adventure Quest. My son wants to be in a team with me!
Growing up I was considered a nerd and a geek for what I liked. My ex-wife thought I was childish (still does) and never understood how grown men and women would still want to "dress up." Now I have some of the best friends I have had in my entire life and am closer than ever to my kids. I think I'm finally doing the right thing.