Cosplay Interview: Courtney Michelle

Shortly after our interview with Natalie Arvizu, Courtney Michelle contacted me. She expressed her excitement for our weekly cosplay interview and wanted us to interview her if possible. I gladly accepted. Unfortunately both of our schedules conflicted so it took months for us to find the time to go over questions. In the meantime I got a chance to check out her page and some of her streams, she is pretty charming! I was surprised by how hard she works at cosplay. I really enjoy her work and think she’ll rise in no time! I was glad such an awesome person wanted us to interview them!

Without further ado, here is our interview with Courtney Michelle:

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

Courtney Michelle: HI GUYS! I’m Courtney Michelle! I’m a cosplayer & streamer by day and an assassin by night. I like snacks and unicorns and I watch a lot of anime. Laughing is my favorite pastime. And I’m pretty much always hungry.

TGL: How long have you been into cosplay and what led you down this path?

CM: I got onto the cosplay scene about a year and a half ago. Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved making costumes – and every Halloween I always made my own costumes and would refuse to buy store bought ones. Once I actually discovered the cosplay, I fell in love with it immediately. I know its where I belong.

TGL: What has been your favorite moment?

CM: That’s so hard to say because there’s so many… but what comes to mind is a recent group cosplay I hosted at Anime North Texas ’15. Our cosplay group was ‘Disney Rave Babes’ and I have never had so much fun at a con (And I always have fun at cons, haha). It was amazing to see all the girls get together and show off their hard work. We all put a lot of effort into our Disney Rave Babe project and it turned out way better than I could have imagined! I can’t wait until our next project (tee hee ^.^)

TGL: Most frustrating?

CM: Most frustrating? Let me put it this way… the road to making a cosplay can be like 80% frustration. From not being able to find the right fabric, to making silly mistakes after being at it for hours on end, to having to remake an entire piece, to having to painstakingly trim and place one thousand feathers so it looks realistic… But once it’s finished, it’s always worth 100% worth it.

TGL: When you aren’t doing this, what do you two do in your spare time?

CM: SPARE TIME! *laughs maniacally*

I wish I had some of that…

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

CM: Definitely videos games and anime. I grew up playing video games with my brother. STARTED AT THE THE SEGA GENESIS, NOW I’M HERE *by here, I mean with an Xbox One*. I also grew up watching Pokemon and collecting Pokemon cards. I was definitely obsessed with Pokemon. Can’t say that obsession ever really went away. My brother and I did pretty much everything together growing up and video games was one of our main staples.

Also, my favorite movie of all time was Totoro. I need to get to work on a Totoro cosplay asap.



TGL: Zombie apocalypse has begun and the world needs to be saved from walking corpses. Which character that you have cosplayed in the past do you become and take their powers to help you in your mission?

CM: Most definitely Daenerys Targaryen, the baddest bitch in all the land. My dragons and I would save the world.

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

CM: I have so many plans and projects! A lot has had to have been put off due to me having to move but I’m back at – so expect a lot! I plan to launch so many new costumes and fun photoshoots and videos, more streaming, SO MUCH FUN STUFF!!

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

CM: Be positive. There’s so much hate and negativity these days, I think one of the most important things is to spread positivity among cosplayers and the cosplay community. It’s a place where you can be you or whoever you want and express yourself however you want. And I love that about it. So I just encourage others to be a part of spreading the positivity because it can reach so far.

I wanna give a huge thank you to Courtney Michelle for taking the time to answers our questions! She is a fantastic person and cosplayer. Be sure to follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitch!

Photographers:

Cover: Herbert Williams| Others: Alan Tijerina