Welcome to Meet the Cosplayer, where I introduce you to some of the fantastic, creative talent within the Rainbow Six: Siege community. This series is meant to showcase the amazing cosplayers no matter their skill level or experience.
I sat down and spoke with cosplayer AgentAden about his history with cosplay, what got him into it, the challenges he faced and other things.
Aden has just graduated from high school in Northern California. His family owns a small woodworking business, with which he helps.
What got you interested in cosplay?
“I have been a fan of videogame characters for as long as I can remember. At the age of 6, my friends and I would buy Nerf gear and have huge Nerf wars in the neighbourhood. My step-dad was in the Air Force and Nerf quickly turned into tactical gear. I loved to customise pouches and vests to represent the styles of various characters. Around age 14, I started searching the internet for characters that I liked but were harder to find images of. I came across Matt Shields and his Hunter cosplay. He inspired me and opened up a whole new world of character design with foam.”
How long have you been cosplaying for?
“About 5 years.”
What has been the most difficult part about cosplaying for you?
“The hardest thing for me has either been looking for armour pieces that sometimes don’t exist, or drawing the shape of each armour piece to make templates.”
When cosplaying, what have been three most important things for you to have with you?
“The three most important things for me have been water, comfortable clothes to change into when I’m done cosplaying for the day, and plastic bins to put my gear so it doesn’t get damaged.”
When you started cosplaying, what was an obstacle or challenge that you encountered?
“Like everyone, I have gone through a few challenges. I think that is part of life. Two that stand out the most for me personally are a lack of time and my struggle with my weight and health. I found out about my first ever convention a week before. I wanted to cosplay as Vigil but felt a huge rush to make the vest. It was my first time making something out of foam and I had to start from scratch. A friend of mine spent time watching tutorials on YouTube. I bought the materials and got it all done in time. Looking back, I see all the flaws and things I wish I had done differently but I am still proud of it as my first EVA project. As far as weight, I love that cosplay is for everyone and anyone can dress up as their favourite character. My personal obstacle was that I was struggling with my health and I wasn’t fitting into any of the gear I wanted to wear. I have been working on improving my health for years with the support of my family and friends. Now I have a lot more energy when I cosplay and I am proud of how far I’ve come.”
What advice would you give to people wanting to start cosplay for the first time?
“My advice would be to pick something you love and keep at it. As people, we are always learning and if you keep at it your cosplay will only get better!”
AgentAden can be found on your favourite social media channels here:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/agentaden
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/d3_black_mamba
