Meet Alex Villarreal | Profesional Cosplayer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Villarreal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Persistence. You gotta keep going even though others may try to drag you down, you have to have the will power to keep going forward! Growing up, I was super fascinated with cosplaying and dressing up. I made it a goal to have the best Halloween costume every year since that was the one day that I knew I could dress up. One day as a normal 10 year old would I found a YouTube video with animated characters in real life which is how I found out about cosplaying. Looking back on it now. It is a little silly but that’s genuinely how I found out about this community. I went to my first convention in 2017 for Atlanta comic con I didn’t compete in anything but it was such a lovely experience to have participated in. I went with my family and they also realized how fun it was. And since then I started putting a lot of my energy into this hobby that I wish to turn into a career. Another thing I can say that attributes to my success, as those who have supported me since then, in partaking in this hobby. I’ve been growing my platform on TikTok since 2020 and since then I’ve gained over 62,000 followers which in itself is a blessing. And I sincerely thank those who have supported me since then, since I wouldn’t be anywhere where, I wouldn’t be doing this without your support. Growing up, I didn’t have that kind of outlet to express myself and I’m genuinely glad I was finally able to find this to express myself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Starting off in such a large community of cosplayers is not easy. Especially if most of them have the funds and resources to get where they want to be within this big community. Something that definitely sets me apart from others is I tend to add a splash of my personality to my costumes . I come from a minimum wage/low income background, so I wasn’t given the opportunity as others to purchase costumes. I’ve had to either thrift my stuff and adjust clothing to make it look like a certain character or straight up just hand sew, hot glue, and stitch it together by hand. With the limited resources that I’ve been given, I’ve been able to create incredible designs, such as my Anhka and Jinx cosplay. One of my biggest achievements was this year for momocon, 2023 I was outwardly recognized for my efforts. I’ve been working on winning first place in the costume contest for about four years now and it has been one of my greatest achievements within this community for as long as I’ve been in it. Sometimes it’s a win. Sometimes it’s a loss, but it’s always the experience that I wouldn’t change for the world.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to Momo con if it was in town or any convention for that matter. There’s so much to do with these events, people are so inclusive and welcoming, and theres always delicious food nearby. The best time to visit a con is when you have never been to one. If I were to be more specific cons take about a week so. On day one we would get up early get dressed and spend maybe half an hour/ an hour at the event. Afterwards we can take lunch at the CNN Center which is usually the closest center for these events. At conventions they have panels so if there is a concert or a panel happening, I could take them to that afterwards. Usually at the end of the night around 12 to one in the morning they have after parties so that’s something else I would bring them to. And the following days would just go on as the first one did. Though I will say on some days I do have photo shoot, but photo shoots are pretty quick and easy and also really fun experience to have. most of the friends I’ve made are through photographers, so that’s cool!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Im self made but there are those who motivated me to continue in my craft. I want to thank my mom for pushing me to be the best I can possibly be and my very supportive partner Benjamin for believing in me and always telling me to shoot for the stars! And to all of those who have supported me in my craft since 2019, a huge thank you to my followers since then. I would be nothing and wouldn’t be here without you all. I’ve made some friends along the way that I have definitely motivated me to continue my hobby in pursuing my goals in this community. I took a long break back in 2021, until now in regards to my content. Social media can be incredibly draining and such a burden to some people, and it was definitely a burden and exhausting to me back then, but my recent win at Momo con 2023 for the costume contest, motivated me to go full, send back into my hobby and I’m glad it did because it showed me that I could take myself somewhere with what I’ve learned within this community and what I have made. I can definitely give it to the conventions and the people online who have been a source of inspiration for me as those YouTube videos used to do for me when I was a kid. The Internet in itself is another thing I can give credit to as if it weren’t for the Internet I would’ve never learned that I could wear costumes and pursue this as a career outside of Halloween. Halloween was such a good holiday for me to be able to explore that kind of content and then branching out and doing it every so often on a weekly basis is awesome.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/nanecchi?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@irlshinjiikarii?_t=8e2TCZLrgJW&_r=1

Image Credits
mercy overwatch picture:: @the_dr_black Lucy elfin lied picture: @crazycraneladyy jinx arcane picture: @geekykokopuff