When I brainstormed ways to help my blog and my fellow geeks, the idea of getting together with our friends at Photo Arcade and contacted local, Ariozna cosplayers to do free photoshoots, free promotion, and new content for our blog! It worked surprisingly well! However, I had no idea that I’d meet someone as awesome as Sara Cosplay! She was one of the first to respond, was incredibly professional and just a fantastic person in general!

Enough talking from me! Let’s get to the interview!

The Geek Lyfe: Although I am a fan of yours, there may be a few Geek Lyfers who have not seen your work before, would you be alright introducing yourself?

Sara Cosplay: Well I’m a cosplayer from Arizona. I love sewing and am actually self taught for the most part. I’m a geek and am proud of it. It’s a huge part of who I am so I fully embrace that. I love encouraging others to embrace that part of themselves as well.

TGL: I’ve followed you for sometime yet never learned the origin story! Could you tell us how you got into cosplay and what led you to where you are now?

SC: My very first convention was actually all the way back in 2007 and I begged my dad to take me and my friend to Anime Expo. I was so excited that I threw together a makeshift Catgirl costume and went and had such a blast! I went back the next year with a store bought costume as Kagome from InuYasha. I’ve only recently gotten into going to conventions again, I made my very first costume made entirely by myself to wear to Phoenix Comicon 2014. I went as Elsa from Frozen and it took me about 5 months to complete. But I grew up watching so much anime and going to those cons, experiencing that atmosphere, just made me know that this was where I belonged.

TGL: What has been your favorite moment so far Cosplaying?

SC: My favorite moment would definitely have to be during Phoenix Comicon 2015 when I was wearing my Elsa costume. I saw some of my other cosplay friends dressed as other Disney princesses and went up to chat for a bit. All of the sudden, we got swarmed by photographers wanting pictures. Then a little girl runs up to me with the biggest smile ever and eyes wide with

excitement. I kneel down and she holds my hand and we all take a picture together. Then later on that night my news feed blows up with notifications to check out this picture. I open it up and it was that picture I took with the little girl. The caption was saying that meeting Elsa made the little girls entire con and they wanted to make sure that I saw the picture to say thank you. At that instant, all the long hours and sleepless nights made the costume worth every minute. If I can make at least one person smile, then the entire process was worth it.

TGL: What is the most frustrating part?

SC: The most frustrating part would definitely be the long hours that go into my costumes. I am such a perfectionist so if something doesn’t turn out exactly how I envisioned, then I redo it completely. It makes for some long nights but in the end I think it’s completely worth it.

TGL: Is there one situation in your cosplay career that you can always look back on and laugh? If so, what’s the story?

SC: So on my Dryad Soraka costume, the shoes are resin hooves attached to heels that have had the heels ripped off. Makes for a great effect, but absolutely killer on the feet. So sometimes I need to give the pads of my feet a bit of a rest, so I drop down and stand on my heels and it looks like I break my ankles when I do that. I’ve freaked out so many people by doing that haha.

TGL: When you aren’t doing making costumes and attending conventions, what do you do in your spare time?

SC: I don’t have too many hobbies, but I do love puzzles, reading, playing League of Legends or World of Warcraft, hanging out with friends, watching Netflix, or just planning new costumes.

TGL: What geek medium(Video Games, Comic Books, Novels, Movies etc.) made the biggest impact on your life and why?

SC: My dad introduced me to computer games at a young age and that always stuck with me. To this day, I still love to play Age of Mythology, even though I’m really not that good haha. But reading Manga and watching Anime also really helped me embrace my nerdy side. But nerdy movies are definitely up there as well, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is still one of my favorites.

TGL: You are a super villain and are moments away from completing your master plan, however heroes are on the way to stop you. What three people do you have by your side to assist?(Real people(Macho Man Randy Savage is always a good choice!) or comic book/novel/film/video game characters can be good or bad. Ex: Luke Sky Walker)

SC: I’d probably go with Batgirl, the Doctor, and Sailor Mercury.

TGL: Do you have any projects in the near future we should be excited to see?

SC: Be on the lookout for a few more Sailor Mercury designs, some more League of Legends, and a design of Batgirl.

TGL: What advice do you have for any aspiring cosplayers out there?

SC: Don’t listen to the masses when it comes to what you want to make for yourself. Make costumes that make you happy. In the end, you’re the only one that you have to please. If you’re happy with something, screw the rest. Also, don’t worry if you’re not the best at sewing, or making props, or making armor, or anything like that. I know for a fact, I can’t really make armor or props to save my life. But I do try my hardest and am happy with the results when I see my work slowly improving over time. But in the end, just have fun with it.

A huge thank you to Sara Cosplay for taking the time to hang out with us, do the photoshoot, and answer a few of our questions! She is without a doubt one of the coolest people I have ever met and completely support her and her cosplay career! You should definitely check her out! Click Here For Sara Cosplay Awesome! Soraka photo by Con Freaks And Geeks!