Cosplayer of the Month: Dio Brandon

Being a huge fan of the Avatar universe, I typically search the web for all things regarding the Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra stuff to satisfy my addiction. It is then that I came across a great cosplayer by the name of Dio Brandon. I immediately asked if it was alright to feature his cosplay and he happily agreed. A few months later, I decided to begin interviewing cosplayers to help promote them and educate the viewers on their craft and them as a person. Dio Brandon is incredibly kind and hard working, I am honored to be able to feature his work on our site!

Without further ado, here is the interview!

The Geek Lyfe: Although I have been a huge fan for quite some time, there may be a few Geek Lyfers who have not seen your work before, would you be alright introducing yourself?

Dio Brandon: Thank you for giving me the opportunity! The fact that you mentioned that you’ve been following my work made me super excited! Well my name is Brandon, Some know me as either Dios, Black Miroku, or Black Jiraiya! I recently changed it to Dio Brandon because I wanted a bit of change, and also I’ll be making a cosplay/craft page soon on Facebook(So be on the lookout for that!)

TGL: You’ve done quite a few cosplays from Avatar to Doctor Who, all of which look incredible! How long have you been cosplaying and what led you down this path?

DB: When I started cosplaying it happened in 2004, while convention going was at Megacon 2003 my senior year in High School(That should tell you my age lol). What led me down the path was the fact that I was intrigued on all the costumes I saw during Megacon. Many were good, while others were DAMN good, and I wanted to do it too, except for the fact that I couldn’t sew worth jack! So I came to my mother to have her assist me in making a costume(and I still have that costume to this day for reference purposes)! During the process, she told me, “Once I show you how to do this, I’m only helping you out this one time”, she totally meant it lol! After that year was done I found myself self teaching myself the basics for a couple of years. Constantly learning from different people and getting faster at the craft. Even though I still don’t know some sewing terminologies, I work my way around it and still make something badass!

TGL: What has been your favorite moment either cosplaying or building costumes?

DB:My favorite moment while cosplaying is costuming as the 4th Doctor from Doctor Who! I love the hell out of the series, and I mostly do the costume during Dragoncon(My favorite convention of all time!) I get a super kick while partying way too hard in that costume, and I have a lot of pictures to prove it! I’m even in the D*C parade cutting up something fierce!

TGL: What has been the most frustrating piece that you’ve had to deal with?

DB: The most frustrating piece of clothing I ever had to do was the cape for Tenzin from Legend of Korra! Just trying to accurately place the collar around the neck of the cape left me in a lot of rage and A LOT of needle stabbings to my hands! They were brutal, but it really paid off in the long run!

TGL: When you aren’t cosplaying or building costumes, what do you two do in your spare time?

DB: When the cosplay season is slow, my hobbies consist of Drawing, Filming, Voice Acting/Making Dubs with good friends, Gaming while Streaming as well, Lego Crafting because I’m a Turbo Nerd, and Weightlifting to better myself!

TGL: A Vampire Apocalypse occurs. What character that you have cosplayed in the past would you like to become to fight the horde of sparkling vampires?

DB:If it came right down to it for the Vampire Apocalypse, I’d 200% go back to my Alcard(Hellsing) cosplay from 2010 and level out the competition! Match SET!

Thank you once again for the opportunity for the interview slot on your site! If anyone wants to follow me my twitter site is twitter.com/Dio_Brandon