Conversations with Dr.Despair

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr.Despair.

Hi Dr.Despair, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My first proper exposure to cosplaying was in 2019 at Denver Pop Culture Comic Con. After attending the convention, I was in awe of the fantastic cosplays from multiple fandoms. After attending Denver Pop Culture Comic Con, I followed numerous cosplay influencers on social media. Seeing these cosplay influencers build their cosplay and make funny, entertaining cosplay content soon inspired me to do the same.

By late 2020, I started my TikTok account to post silly content. My TikTok account started as a fun hobby of me making comedic videos in cosplays. Slowly, my videos gained traction, and the account gained followers as I continued to post on the platform. This motivated me to improve my skills in cosplaying and video production.

Soon, I was rapidly gaining followers on the platform, reaching 22,000 followers by the end of 2021. 2022 was the year of big plans for expanding my persona online. To improve the video quality, I created a video setup that gave my videos an attractive and aesthetically pleasing feeling. In the background of the setup, various artworks from different artists were displayed to help support their artwork. From the Colorado Anime Festival to Nan Desu Kan, I attended six conventions in 2022 throughout Colorado.

There, I met many other amazing people who shared my interest in cosplaying. They provided the opportunity to create collabs for videos and photoshoots. The collaborations brought us closer together and helped us learn new techniques, from learning how to pose for shoots to improving the cosplays themselves. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

In 2023, I started tapping into making my own props, accessories, and costumes. My first big cosplay project was to create a complete armor set of Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail. My main goals with this project were to showcase my progress on my foam smithing and get a sense of competition in cosplay competitions, as I planned to compete with cosplay. I learned how to manage time, budget the materials needed for the cosplay, and use multiple mediums to make the details in the cosplay stand out throughout making it.

After 6 months of hard work and practicing my performance for the competition, I won the Audience’s Choice award and a Judge’s award at Daku Con’s Cosplay Competition. It is now 2024, and I continue improving by learning new costume-making skills, such as sewing, foam smithing, wig styling, etc.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a smooth road for the most part. My main obstacles are money management, time management, and adapting to social media algorithms. Although they are all challenging, the obstacles will not get in the way of me posting fun content and enjoying the hobby of cosplaying.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. I apply my current knowledge to my cosplay content. I also specialize in video making and creating unique content. I am most well-known for my anime content, which helped my social media pages grow.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
My luck has frankly just been getting me to where I’m at today. I never thought I would get to this point at all, especially when I first started out. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who chooses to follow me and enjoy what I have to give each and every day. To all the other amazing cosplayers I have met and get to call my friends in this community.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.despair_/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dr.Despair_
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.despair_

Image Credits
@Helix.Photography_, @Yuki_Cat_Captures, Ty Lee, @LostStarsImaging, Ai Hoshino, @Helix.Photography_, Erza Scarlet, @_LightingShots, Blair, @Helix.Photography, Ruby Rose, Gabe Harmoush, and Eula