Heroes of Cosplay Sanctuary
Welcome to Sanctuary: a Cosplayer haven where you - the person doing it yourself - can listen in to hear about the perspective of cosplayers, their struggles, their concerns, their stories...and it's open to you, both to listen and or to join in! It's not just Cosplay how-to or talking up the latest Marvel Movie, it's discussion about what you do and where Cosplay fits into your life.We get into current issues Cosplayers face, and offer to help bring your cosplay to life with tips and tricks in the world of social media and self-branding.There's a ton to talk about beyond pop-culture and what celebrities are doing - the major driver for Cons and the industry at large is YOU - the SuperFan and the Cosplayer!
Episodes
382 episodes
Gem Beauty Makeup
A distinct style, and a wonder to the industry, we're talking with Gem Beauty in this special Christmas Episode!Gem came prepared and shares some of her insights into makeup as a professional effects and makeup artist. Her creations are...
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Season 5
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Episode 48
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1:02:19
Balance the Darkside
Cosplay has its dark side - believe me. And if you don't, then in today's episode, you can hear it from Anthony Cosjitsu, as he returns to chat with me all about the depths that some go to inside of the community. Cosplay is and s...
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Season 5
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Episode 47
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43:49
Take These Steps - Season Finale
There are steps you can take in Cosplay, or anywhere. I'll take the time in this season ending episode (at least, standard episodes coming out regularly), to tell you what my process is.- Decide o...
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Season 5
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Episode 43
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16:09
FOCUS is a cliché, but it does work.
Follow One Course Until Success. Stay the course – small corrections as you learn, but you do learn, and you can see results – giving up is the only issue – but if you agreed to the ‘what is it going to take’ part, then you’re in charge of when...
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Season 5
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Episode 42
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9:21
Doing Hard S**t
The hard things we do – belief, consistency, skill building, failing, improving, and having a very solid goal will always pay off in some way. Difficulties do not need to be avoided in order to have a happy Cosplay life.
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Season 5
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Episode 41
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8:47
Advice on What People Pay You For
Selling yourself as the product to a fan is unsustainable and only works short term – you create more anti-fans in the process – focus on what’s sustainable – keep your distance if this is what you want.It doesn’t scale like a product or...
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Season 5
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Episode 40
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12:12
Personality is an Easy Sell
Just because you exist, doesn’t mean anyone owes you and it really isn’t a good reason to pay you – skills, knowledge, experience, expertise – sell that and use your personality to sell it. Chose ethical money making – coning people, pandering ...
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Season 5
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Episode 39
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7:49
Becoming What You Hate
Remember, you started this because you wanted to be with the people, not high above them – celebrities never interact, and when they do we go crazy – but this isn’t how it should be for us in Cosplay – we’re not Hollywood Actors...Non-re...
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Season 5
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Episode 38
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7:51
Avoid the Main Cosplay Traps
There are a few Cosplay traps that we haven't talked about yet - more to do with cosplayers supporting cosplayers or those outside of the community who think they're doing the right thing by over-extending themselves to buy other people Cosplay...
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Season 5
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Episode 37
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11:32
Do Not Set Traps
Do not go to Cons just to con people. Do not hustle to see what you can get for free. Diminishing the community, your value, and only seeing others for what they make and how many followers they have reduces you. Avoid being the gat...
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Season 5
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Episode 36
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9:30
How Cosplay Traps You
The fame monster is real and cosplayers chase it. Eventually it traps you and you're just as stuck in your online world and it's customer service as you were when you were answering the phones at work and getting yelled at by customers. You beg...
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Season 5
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Episode 35
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6:31
Authentically Fake
Avoid the authentically fake influencer, cosplayer, or person. Also, don't become this person. Selling and promoting the "fake" life on Instagram just leads to so many issues with yourself, with your following, and eventually - unless you...
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Season 5
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Episode 34
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11:30
Cosplay at Face Value
Do you have Con Friends? The people that only talk to you because you go to conventions and might see them there with their other friends? They might talk to you online, but ONLY about cosplay and they seem like they'd not even both...
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Season 5
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Episode 33
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10:05
Everything in Cosplay is based in Fiction
We’re only showing so much of ourselves, and that self is based in fiction – graphics, effects, quotes – it’s all made up so that you like it. Going overboard with "fake" – beyond makeup into alteration for validation and so much lack of authen...
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Season 5
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Episode 32
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9:46
Consequences of Keeping Your Job
Is there a downside to keeping your regular job when you gain some ground in the cosplay community? The short answer is yes, but there's just so much pressure to be in the space and be "the best" or rub elbows with celebrities, or get the...
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Season 5
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Episode 31
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13:22
It's OK to Have a Job AND Cosplay
Cosplay doesn’t need to be your full time thing – you don’t need to run a business small or otherwise - you can just enjoy being a cosplayer. Despite the online world and the pressure it places on you to make money as a cosplayer and an i...
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Season 5
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Episode 30
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8:55
Cosplayers and The 9 to 5
Being independent can make you really dependent. Everyone idealizes the "ditch the 9 to 5" without really telling you how hard things are to replace when you do. For someone starting out, it might be a little easier, but for all cosplayers - li...
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Season 5
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Episode 31
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8:20
Just Do Cosplay Less
There’s a difference between laziness and doing less – create space for creative ideas and projects. When you're just rushing and freaking out to get more content up to produce more reactions, you're not in a very creative space.Pick you...
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Season 5
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Episode 30
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12:51
The Productivity Trap
Time is your most precious resource – don’t waste it just to increase metrics. Being productive is great, but is it always necessary and what good is always checking off boxes if the boxes being checked don't move you towards anything. Yo...
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Season 5
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Episode 29
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13:51
Do Less More Often, Cosplayer
Just keeping busy isn’t the answer. Constant scrolling, fear of sitting still, fear of being passed up or passed by or just...in the past - obsolete seems to wear on us as adult cosplayers. You can actually do a lot less and...
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Season 5
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Episode 26
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9:52
Get Off The Soapbox
You can have an opinion, but if it’s not part of what your brand is about, then…it needs it’s own space. Don’t hide behind the causes and injustices. Save your energy for the battles that matter, not an ongoing never ending battle against ideas...
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Season 5
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Episode 28
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12:55
Is This Why You Built Your Platform?
The confusion about sales and marketing online and inside cosplay can lead to More followers – more justification – more arguing – more deciding who is right and who is wrong. It can get really political and have nothing to do with Cospla...
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Season 5
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Episode 27
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12:25
Everyone Online Has an Opinion
Cosplayers get on soapboxes. It happens. Cancel culture – you’re against it…so why are you on a soapbox? In this episode, we're going to talk about Cosplayers getting outside of cosplay and using their platform to discuss topics for which they ...
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Season 5
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Episode 26
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8:04
Disciplined Approach to Cosplay
There's a method and a formula to making your budget work for Cosplay. There is a definite discipline when looking to invest into yourself and into Cosplay. It's an expense. It's not always necessary to gain something or break even on a C...
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Season 5
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Episode 25
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9:40