 |
| Photo by Affliction Cosplay Photography |
There's a pretty good chance you've come across this good looking guy here if you've perused the male cosplayers that exist in the community. In fact, I showcased Moderately Okay's slew of FFXV cosplays close to around the time the game came out last November. I'm beyond thrilled to have this interview for you all today. By the end of this you may feel that his cosplays are definitely more than just Moderately Okay. John's first foray into cosplay came from wanting to dress up as Draven from League of Legends for Halloween several years ago. Course the month this thought occurred in was not October and LoL costumes were not traditional in Party stores. After a friend told him about conventions, he formed up his own Draven with thrift store items and hot glue. Things progressed and now he's earned a spot in the community, even if he consistently harasses Danielle Beaulieu for laughs XD. (There you happy I added this Danielle?).
John's last convention was relatively not long ago with Supercon being the event in Florida. There, he brought out Rock Lee from Naruto and Noctis from FFXV in his ChocoMog outfit. You'll see in the questions below how his older brother kicked off his gaming love with watching FF7 being played. Potentially I imagine this kicked off his immense love for the RPG giant. This of course led him to cosplaying as Cloud, Sephiroth, Squall, most of the FFXV men, and many more. VI was actually the first entry he cleared, with revisiting VII later on. The rest of them were done in his high school years!
 |
| Photo by Sang Lee Cosplay Photography |
In the questions that follow you'll get a glimpse at how MOK grew up playing video games and collecting action figures. How Ignis in XV grew on him as character while playing through the game and much more. He's also one of the few male cosplayers that has managed to find success in Patreon with many females turning to that in evolving to cosplaying full time. John mentions how his patrons are incredibly kind and give him the drive to pump out new outfits. Favorite props, cosplay entering mainstream media, all these things and more you'll get to hear! Enjoy guys!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
What got
you into cosplay and how long have you been doing it?
I got into cosplay because I wanted to dress up like
a League of Legends character, but it was June, and nowhere near
Halloween. Plus no Halloween store sold
League of Legends costumes. So a friend
told me about cons, I made the costume from thrifted stuff and hot glue, and
the rest is history!
Which
cosplay was the first you ever created?
It was Draven, from League of Legends
Thinking back to the last convention
you were at, did you enjoy it?
My
last con was Supercon, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It was a great time! Supercon events are always sure-fire good
events with great atmosphere and guests and all that cool con stuff.
What
cosplay(s) did you bring to this convention?
I brought Rock Lee from Naruto, and Noctis (in his
Moogle-Chocobo Carnival Outfit) and Ravus from Final Fantasy XV.
What
is your favorite cosplay you’ve made so far?
That’s like asking me to pick my favorite
child! I would have to say Genos from
One Punch Man.
 |
| Photo by Krashly |
What got you into being a geek?
I’m
not sure when I went from casual gamer or whatever into full-blown geek. I was always super into video games and
action figures and stuff ever since I was young. I never grew out of it!
Do you have any other members of your
family who are into what you enjoy? Or are you at present the only “geek” in
the family?
My
older brother actually got me into video games when I was young. I watched him play all of Final Fantasy VII,
and we used to play Sega Genesis together before that. He’s not really into that stuff anymore, but
he has kids now and they’re SUPER into gaming.
So I’m kind of the “cool uncle” to them!
Many of your cosplays stem from gaming
with Final Fantasy being a forefront. Do you relatively enjoy gaming much more
in terms of cosplaying from it?
I
mean, I guess first and foremost, like I said earlier, I’ve always been into
video games. So cosplaying from them
comes naturally. I had a while where I
was like, making mostly anime cosplays, but video games are what I’m mostly
into, so…yeah! I really enjoy gaming
cosplays.
You cosplaying as most of the boys from
FFXV sold me on your work as a whole. Since then I’m simply amazed at all the
characters you’ve chosen. Getting back to FFXV for a bit, your Ignis has become
the head-cannon for me and many of your other fans. Was he the first character
from XV you cosplayed as? What is it you like about Ignis?
The
first Chocobro I cosplayed was actually Noctis, back in June of 2016. That being said, Ignis was always my favorite
design of the four boys when they revealed the redesigns in 2015. He had a suit and glasses and cool hair. That was all I needed to be like “Yeah, he’s
the coolest, that’s the best aesthetic out of the four.” Hahaha!
Then the game FINALLY came out and Ignis is just…he’s the best. He’s the glue that holds the main group
together, he cooks, he’s a badass in combat, he makes the best puns, his accent
is cool…I could go on and on about this!
Your other Final Fantasy cosplays
include Squall, Cloud, and Sephiroth which was more recent! Is it safe to say
that Final Fantasy is one of your favorite franchises? Why is that?
Oh
absolutely. Like I said earlier, when I
was young I watched my brother play all of Final Fantasy VII. And I thought Cloud was the coolest person
ever. Then after that he got VIII, and I
watched all of that one too! I think the
first I played on my own was…VI. And
then I revisited VII after that, when I was in high school and then I played
all the rest of them. I don’t know where
I’m going with this, but yeah, I love Final Fantasy a lot. It’s always been a part of my gaming life.
You’re one of few male cosplayers that
has a successful Patreon as well. How has that experience been like since you
started one up?
Man. I can’t even describe it. I feel so incredibly lucky. I have the best patrons. They’re awesome. They’re so kind and caring and like, they
love the rewards and I love making them for them but they’re really just there
to be your constant support system cause they love what you do SO much. It’s humbling, it’s crazy humbling. Like, whenever I think about it, all I can do
is say I’m lucky. Lucky that it grew so
quickly, and even more lucky that I have such supportive people as
patrons. We’ve formed this super
tight-knit community, they call themselves the “Moderately Okay Peeps”, MOPs
for short, and they’re the best. They
make sure I get enough rest and eat every day, it’s funny! Like, it’s awesome being able to have an
income from cosplay but I greatly value them as people wayyy more than I do as
like…pledgers. Pledgers isn’t a
word. But I’m making it one for this
instance.
 |
| Photo by TEoSB - Cosplay and Photography |
Some of your cosplays involve some prop
making in terms of mainly with weaponry and accessories. Is there a personal
favorite you’ve made?
The
Buster Sword. Always wanted it as a kid,
now I have it on my wall. Life is
amazing. Hahaha
What do you think about cosplay as it
is now hitting the mainstream?
I
think it’s great. I think it’s so
awesome. There are so many talented
people that deserve to be called talented and badass and praised to high
heaven. So it’s not like, “Wow look at
that nerd” to the common person, it’s more like “That’s a cosplayer! Wow!
Awesome!” and stuff like that.
It’s such a demanding hobby, but so much fun. And if it’s mainstream, more people get into
it, more people go to cons, cons get better, more resources become available,
etc. There’s so many benefits to it. People can make a living off it now! That’s amazing! I recently saw someone say that they
remembered when “having a Facebook page or selling prints was scorned and
frowned upon” and now that’s like, a standard for a lot of cosplayers. So who even knows where we’ll be five years
from now!
Do you have any upcoming cosplays for
this year that you’re able to share?
Zack
Fair from Final Fantasy VII, some Persona 5 stuff, at least one more Final
Fantasy cosplay, and a few surprises. My
list of cosplays I want to do is a long one, and I’m chipping away at it. It’s just like “what do I wanna make next”
and then I run with it!
Do you imagine cosplaying being a part
of your life within the next 5 years and do you hope to evolve your skill set?
Who
even knows! I could call it quits in 10
days, I could call it quits in 10 years.
I’m interested to see where cosplay evolves to next.
I’m
always looking to improve! If I don’t
improve at least a little bit with every costume I make, I’m not trying.
 |
| Photo by TEoSB - Cosplay and Photography |
What’s a day in the life of Moderately
Okay Cosplay? Where did that name come from?
I
sleep a lot. I eat a lot of chicken
nuggets and cheeseburgers. I work on
cosplay for longer than I should without breaks. I play guitar. It’s not really interesting. Hahaha! The
name was like. I was making a page and
needed a name. And originally it was
just gonna be “Okay Cosplays”. But I
didn’t think that was like…catchy? I
don’t know. It seemed too “bland”. So I just added an adjective that ended in
“-y” to keep with the theme, and dropped the “s” from “Cosplays” cause I didn’t
want people to think I was a page that shared cosplayers who were okay, like I
was this super judgmental prick or something that was like “yeah THIS cosplay
is mediocre, look at it” hahahah! I made
the name that because whenever I see people present their costumes that are
super grandeur, a lot of the time it’s like “Look at my perfect armor” or “I
just made this impossibly crazy thing” and it’s super awesome that they did
that, but also super discouraging to newcomers cause they look at that and say
“How can I get there? There’s no way I
can”, even I felt like that. So I wanted
people to look at my cosplays and be like “Yeah, if this guy who’s just an okay
guy can do it, so can I!” because they can!
Anyone can do what I do. I’m not
out here calling myself “Fuckin Rad Amazing Cosplay”, I’m out here being the
World’s Okayest Cosplayer!
Any upcoming game releases you’re
looking forward to?
Super
Mario Odyssey, that’s top of my list.
Do you
have a favorite convention?
Holiday Matsuri in Orlando, Florida. Easily the best.
Can
you cook like Ignis and in fact, came up with new recipehs?
I can’t cook like Iggy. I don’t think many people can, he’s a
machine. I make a mean grilled cheese
though!
 |
| Photo by TEoSB - Cosplay and Photography |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well there you guys have it! Moderately Okay Cosplay is a pretty rad person and I do hope I get to meet him sometime in the near future. I know all the pictures I threw in were MAINLY Final Fantasy related but he has a lot more rad stuff you can check out in the links below! Thanks again to John for giving me this opportunity and for you guys with reading this <3
