Heroes of Cosplay Sanctuary

What are you driven to do?  What motivates you and keeps you making Cosplays and keeps you putting out content week after week...for years and years. Part of it is your passion for the fandom you create and portray.  Part of it could be many other things. We're talking about your drive and your "why" in Cosplay and that it can grow into something more if it's where you want it...

Cosplay can be a Marketing Frenzy. You create a lot of content, and you share it...everywhere. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Patreon, Ko-Fi, Vero... You make Fan Films, you sell products, services, prints... You're a brand ambassador, you're building a brand, you're breaking into other industries... There's a lot going on.  So, how do you navigate all of that? Aside fro...

Happy Halloween everyone!! If you're in Cosplay, you may like this time of the year ;) This week, we're talking to the multi-talented Marvelous Rachel. Her work as a cosplayer is inspiring, as is her message for Body Positivity in the Cosplay Community. She is well-traveled and like many of us, does her best to find time for her fandoms and Cosplay builds when not hard at work. Learn abo...

In this episode, we're talking to athlete, actor, cosplayer, Host of Breaking the Barrier Podcast (and dancer), Andrew Lorenzo. He has many great things to say about his fitness journey, his cosplay journey, on being an actor, and the many people that he supports through his efforts into charity, mindfulness, coaching & personal training. We also talk about his inspirations with Superman,...

My next guest is a man of many talents. We talk about his experiences inside of Cosplay and the Fandoms that he's found as an avid collector of Comics and through Cosplay. We also talk about the many events that Joe 'The Beast' McCoy has contributed to, charities, fundraisers, and giveaways alike as well as his fantastic YouTube Channel, All Comics Access . You'll also learn ab...

This week's guest is the Colorado Kryptonian. She is Host to the amazing Podcast, Double Feature , and does so much for the Cosplay Community through media, and with the content she creates.  We talk about many aspects of Cosplay and details about her Podcast. From her love of theater to the rich & vivid edits she shares on Instagram, Kristina shares what keeps her motivated to continue t...

This week, we're talking to @Sydrelx, one of the youngest guests we've had on the show. We talk about the involvement of the next generation of Cosplayers, it's acceptance, and there are changes coming as we look into the future of Cosplay. This year has been very uncertain for the Fate of Cosplay - will Cons return, and if they do, how will any of us interact with Social Distancing...

Every day is Snarky Jay Day at Heroes. In this episode we're talking to @snarkyjaycosplay on her many accomplishments inside and outside of Cosplay.  She's an amazing artist, and designer, who has put together graphic arts for the show, which I am very excited to share with all of you online!  Thanks to all who were involved with the piece itself. Jay talks about her builds, which there...

This week, we're talking to @captian_watts81 about Cosplay, community, giving back, and what it means to be an underdog in the Cosplay industry.  More than that, it's about thinking about the smaller accounts, the beginners, the side-hustle creators, and everyone in your space that creates content. Content creators do not have to be big to be significant. Let's support each other, a...

Cosplay really is the everything industry.  From building to creating digital content to community outreach and even building a self-brand, Cosplaying covers it all. There are many skill you need, and some you do not think about. In this in-depth Cast, I talk about self-branding, outreach, and methods in development. We talk about the encouragement needed to move from hobby to transition into self...

This week, we're talking to @TattedKhaleesi about her inspirations, origins, and everything that she puts into her builds. In a short time, she's created so much and in a very energetic and genuine way. We discuss her armor build videos, which you can find on IGTV , her methods to creating Cosplays, and how she finds time and energy in her very busy schedule not just to create the Cospla...

ReBirth is Next Week!  Thanks so much to everyone who participated in the first give away and for all of the support you've provided for the cast. Why ReBirth?  Am I rebooting the cast?  Yes and no.  I have a few thousand downloads and 10s of thousands of impressions to see what you liked and what you didn’t.   You really want to know more about monetization.  You want to see more from Cospla...

I’ve talked about this program here and there. This is a somewhat large and comprehensive project that I will produce for you as an online community and resource.  This is only a few minute cast, but I wanted to explain what it will be and what it will not be. It is NOT a get rich scheme of any kind – for you or me.  There are benefits, but it isn’t a guarantee of any kind – but it will come with...

Making these three things work together inside of Cosplay is my goal.  All of it leads to your service or product (or both) and gives you a consistent way to product content and funnel traffic to what you create in cosplay. Why didn’t I take a more general approach? Because I didn’t want to serve the ‘anything and everything’ market.  I wanted to serve people who have something in common with me. ...

What are we Expanding into next season? More interviews. I may have mentioned this earlier. I want to hear more from you – the Cosplayers. I’m very excited to have more opportunities for guests and guest panels to be on the show and I hope to bring you more of what you asked for last season. New / Different YouTube Content! Live Content – Q & A time and just me being available weekly to build...

One thing I hope to do more of in Season II are Offers & Give-aways. You’ll be seeing some new things go into both Patreon and Ko-Fi during Season II and both will have their own focus.  I don’t mention this because I want you to donate to the show, but these will be the first spaces that you’ll see both what I’m working on in Cosplay and what I’ll be doing behind the scenes to build Avalon an...

Remember when Cosplay was about having fun and being expressive?  Is it still? I’m not a makeup artist, nor am I great at any one skill that goes into Cosplay. But, I do find that the creators inside of the industry are very interesting and expressive with what they create.  It’s something that I strive to create the time to do. For me, production is the creative outlet.  I enjoy editing the audio...

Know that what you’re doing, going to do, thinking about doing – probably has already been done or is being done somewhere.  There are rare occasions when you can set up something completely new or different, but even being new and different has been done a lot. Think of Cosplay as a conversation that’s been going on – many people talking.  You join that conversation and add to that conversation....

What is the least amount you have to do in order to get the content out?   Minimum viable product. If you want to launch – I recommend not waiting for everything to be perfect.  You should focus creating and getting started versus being perfect in your approach to starting. It’s not that you don’t care about the result, it’s that if you wait for a perfectly produced shoot, for all the photos to be...

Neutrality and staying neutral. Why are there certain topics I do not cover in my casts? Primarily not because I want to stay neutral, but because there are too may ways in which what needs to be said can be said wrong and is being said better by many other people. Political commentary requires a lot of research. I also want there to be good rationale to acting out or speaking out. What I mean by...

Ask yourself what you are producing?  As I’ve said before, it goes beyond the Cosplay itself It’s videos, podcasts, photography, design, art, and many other creative elements that make up a self-brand Understand that it does not have to by movie-quality from day one.  If you want it to be, that’s up to you. Chose a level of production that clearly communicates to your audience, does not diminish y...

You may need to lighten up.  When are you being too serious or critical and when do you know when to go light on yourself? It’s different for everyone, but knowing yourself and looking at what you do from the perspective of a beginner, as someone who can accept mistakes and learn from them can be important for what you’re building. Getting too serious shows. Not talking about being hard on yoursel...

You are enough.  Often, when you want to start making money at something, you feel like you’re not ‘expert’ enough to do so. You might even think that being confident in who you are and what you offer is wrong at some level. It’s not, but impostor syndrome – something I’ve talked about before – can come up a lot.  I felt it needed an update. There’s often a lot of comparison to others in Cosplay –...

FOMO  One feeling I’ve often had with Cosplay is missing out on things.  Cons, builds, the stuff, building a following – there’s a lot to miss out on – at least that’s the feeling. FoMo is marketing.  Its building the emotional response to a product or a service to get a click, a download, or even a follow. It has a motive.  There’s a reason you want to use it or create it, but realize this is oft...

Nervous to be on camera, be in crowds, be in the spotlight? Is this way the eff out of your comfort zone? Let me tell you.  Being “on” in front of people can be overwhelming.  I still have my moments where I really don’t think I’m ready for Live streaming, or public speaking, or getting back in front of the camera What do you do about social anxiety when cosplay is a very social space to be in? It...