Check Out Aubrey Sweet’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aubrey Sweet.  

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Before living in Colorado, I grew up in small-town Astoria Oregon. I had a very small group of friends, VERY strict and toxic parents, and I didn’t have much of a social life. I ended up getting married to my high school sweetheart then jumped to Colorado…things ended up not so great after 2 years of abuse, I ended up homeless living in my car and had to work my way up from there alone. I started cosplaying and after just one convention I began receiving invites to even more. Some people invited me to just hang, giving me an extra badge, they had and others invited me to collab whether it was helping them with a panel, at their booth, or even just tagging along for photoshoots, I was always being invited and people wanting me to be a part of something. It was a nice change to have people treating me so kindly and always wanting to be a part of my projects instead of constantly being shunned or made to feel different. Outside of cosplay, I would do drag/burlesque shows. I did theatre in high school but because I didn’t have time to rehearse or practice plays, I used this as a replacement. I ended up doing burlesque for two years, and after talking to a convention runner about some ideas, they had decided to invite me out as a guest to host my very first cosplay burlesque show: Peachy Sweets Peaches and Treats. I ended up hosting about 10 more shows and I currently am prepping for my next few coming up this year! 

After about 3 years of cosplay, I started dabbling in video game streaming, creating TikTok, and just being more active through different cosplay communities and before I knew it, my socials exploded! I started receiving emails from shop owners wanting me to promote their products. I’ve been invited to even more events, conventions, and parties, and have even had sponsorship offers. 

I’d say my more popular cosplays/costumes are my Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure characters. The series was one of the first that I jumped into after taking a break from anime (after getting bullied out of it through high school), and it STUCK. I enjoy the character designs with their outrageous fashion and cell shading, it makes for really cool photoshoots. The characters are also very well known for their “Jojo Poses” which are ridiculous fighting poses they have throughout the series 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
ABSOLUTELY NOT. I started with a HORRID deck of cards growing up and have been through a number of traumatic events that I’m still trying to cope with today. I was diagnosed with PTSD at the age of 17 and going through abuse by family and my ex definitely didn’t help. (The being homeless part also wasn’t a great time period for me) It’s been a struggle to unlearn certain things that the booth had stamped into my brain…it can even be a struggle going to these conventions so often because of all the social interaction and having to keep up with social etc. It can be very draining mentally. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a full-time cosplay model/ burlesque performer/ entertainer. I get booked at conventions to sell cosplay prints at my table during the daytime and to run my cosplay burlesque show during the night hours of the con. 

When I’m not at a convention I’m either doing photoshoots or streaming on twitch playing video games/doing convention recaps showing off all the goodies from vendors I got or shouting out other artists I’ve met. 

Another job I recently jumped into is being a Social Media Manager for a friend who does voice-overs. I get to update her pages, talk about her new characters, promote her store discounts, and even cosplay her characters to make fun TikTok/content for her page. It’s been a blast so far and I’m VERY thankful for it (1005 don’t miss my 9 to 5) 

What do you like and dislike about the city?
Downtown Denver is one of my favorite places to munch. There are some good hidden food spots if you know where to look…thing I like the least? TRAFFIC. 

Pricing:

• Signed prints for $10 at my booth at cons

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/ipeachysweet
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ipeachysweet 

Image Credits
Lucasour Films
Chiseled Light Photography
j.a.vilches