The Secret Lives of Cosplayers

I asked 13 cosplayers at New York Comic Con the same question. Here’s what they said…

12115701_10153675630869508_7248763889041181088_n

I’m not a cosplayer but I really admire those who do it. It takes a certain amount of courage to dress up as your favorite character because one way or the other, you will be judged.

Is my costume good enough? Do I have the physicality to pull it off? Those are just two of the most natural questions I imagine most cosplayers ask themselves at one time or another.

I’m always interested in who decides to put the costume on — and more importantly what do they do the rest of the time? I’m not talking about the “professional” cosplayers. I’m talking about the workaday folks.

So I came up with one basic question to ask 13 cosplayers when I was at New York Comic Con this weekend. It wasn’t “Why do you do this?” That’s a question that answers itself.

And I could have asked a bunch of questions, but I really wanted to boil it down.

So I simply asked, “What do you do when you’re not doing this?”

Here are the answers:

Batgirl: “I’m an executive assistant.”

IMG_6166

 

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man: “I work in a bakery.”

IMG_6265

 

The Hobgoblin: “I work in a supermarket.”

IMG_6271

 

The Hound: “I’m a WGA writer and a comic-book writer.”

IMG_6261

 

Kylo Ren: “I’m a part-time tutor.”

IMG_6173

 

Groot: “I am Groot,” then, “I’m a project lead for a technology company.”

IMG_6256

 

Captain America: “I’m an engineer/salesman. I also work at fitness expos.”

IMG_6253

 

Catwoman: “I’m a librarian.”

IMG_6177

 

Thor: “I work in an office. I process paperwork.”

IMG_6249

 

Sam: “I work in a restaurant, but I’m starting a job at a warehouse.”

IMG_6240

 

Starman and Starman: “I’m in software development.” “I’m a systems engineer.”

IMG_6230

 

Dr. Fate: “I play video games.”

IMG_6225

 

The Flash: “I’m an executive assistant.”

IMG_6106

Author: Dan Greenfield

Share This Post On

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. The Secret Lives of Cosplayers | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture - […] the appeal. And I also like that cosplayers come from all walks of life. So, as we did last…
  2. The Secret Lives of Cosplayers | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture - […] the appeal. And I also like that cosplayers come from all walks of life. So, as we did last…

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: