The Pro and the Con! (Patreon)

In 2015, I received an email from a man inviting me to appear as a guest at a ComicCon in Mexico. At this point in my cosplay journey, I had never been a guest before, and I had what I considered to be a pretty small following. It genuinely didn't make sense to be contacted by a major convention, so I immediately assumed it was a scam.

I decided to investigate, checking out their Instagram account. To my surprise, I discovered it was the biggest convention in Mexico, and several cosplayers I knew personally had actually attended. I reached out to my friends with the email, and they confirmed it was legitimate. I was in a complete state of shock to think I was invited to do this, and I emailed back as soon as possible, screaming, "YES, YES, YES!"

I was terrified about going to this event because I fully expected to be sitting behind an empty table the entire time. I was struggling with some major imposter syndrome, but there was no way I was turning down a free trip to Mexico and the chance to attend this massive convention. I was incredibly excited, but I knew that if I was going, I needed a truly impressive costume to prove I deserved the spot.

Fast forward to two weeks before the convention, and I had absolutely nothing ready. I was still in school, and cosplay wasn't exactly at the top of my to do list. However, that intense pressure ended up being a blessing in disguise. The rush is what led me to design my Punk Robin costume, which inevitably became one of my most popular looks and a design that is constantly replicated by others due to its relative simplicity.

When I finally made it to the convention, I was met by the best staff in the world. They took us to see the pyramids and the museums and fed us an incredible amount of food. The convention itself was just as wonderful because, even though I was new to this whole scene, my table was almost never empty. There were a handful of people who knew me, some who had just discovered me through the convention, and others who simply wanted a picture with a white guy they might have mistaken for a famous actor. It truly didn't matter to me why they stopped by; it was just wonderful to have them there.

After three long, successful days at my first convention as a guest, I knew I was hooked on the cosplay scene. I was able to leverage that initial guest spot to secure other convention appearances. Now, ten years later, I truly am a full blown cosplay professional...and that still feels so weird to me.