Cosplayer Of The Week: Alana Waffles

Imagine for a moment you are the fan of an incredible cosplayer who lives 1,541 miles away in the exotic and magical land of Canada. You come to the unfortunate understanding that you’ll probably never get to meet nor see one another in person. You continue your life being a fan on social media, commenting with praise and appreciation for a good amount of their posts. Then you attend Wonder Con 2016 in L.A. and have a fantastic time. You head back to Arizona and write all about your event before checking one of your favorite cosplayer’s social and find out that she, who lives 1,541 miles from your state, was at Wonder Con every single day in fantastic cosplay.

Yup, you guessed it! This tragic protagonist was myself and this super dope cosplayer was none other than Alana Waffles! Haha, I have seriously been kicking myself for not checking her social media page sooner! I vowed that if I couldn’t meet her in person then the least I could do was reach out to her for an interview and she accepted!

I’m excited to present to you my interview with the wonderful Alana Waffles! c:

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

Alana Waffles: Hey everyone! I am Alana waffles! No that’s not my real last name and no I won’t be saying the real one haha. I am a cosplayer based out of Calgary which is in western Canada, and I travel anywhere from 5-10 conventions a year across North America. I have done over 35 costumes and every year I add more and more!

TGL:  How long have you been into cosplay and what led you down this path?

AW: I have been cosplaying for 5 years, and traveling with it internationally for 3. I started cosplaying just so I could show my geek pride at a convention I was attending anyway, and the thing that really fueled it was an image of Black Canary by Bruce Timm that made me truly go “wow” and want to become that character.

TGL: What has been your favorite moment?

AW: There’s too many to count! Anytime someone gets visibly excited at my costumes ether online or in person, and especially when kids get pumped and run over, its just a huge heartwarming moment for me. Most of my friends are the people who have no shame in showing their nerd and most come from cosplay so anytime I think of this hobby its just full of happy and favorite moments.

TGL: Most frustrating?

AW: Many moments in making costumes I find frustrating. Probably the most is every time I have to make gloves haha.

TGL: When you aren’t doing this, what do you do in your spare time?

AW: I work a full-time job, and then cosplay just as many if not more hours a week. I post new videos every Tuesday on YouTube and stream every Wednesday on Twitch. Besides all this with the time I have left I just try and spend with friends and family or traveling when I can!

TGL: What geek medium(Video Games, Comic Books, Novels, Movies, etc.) made the biggest impact on your life and why?

AW: SciFi is my first and greatest love, along with movies, video games, and novels. I’d say the greatest impact things have had on my life have all or mostly been from novels.

TGL: What is your zombie survival plan for the first weeks after riots begin and why?

AW: I know houses nearby my house that have chickens, weapons, extra food and even a house of a medical doctor! Those would be the places I’d go to first, then try and make it out of populated areas!

TGL: Do you have any projects in the near future we should be excited to see?

AW: I always have cosplays on the go, so fans of cosplay might be interested in some of those like my secret San Diego Comic-Con cosplay or one of the big ones I plan to make later this year. Fellow cosplayers might also be excited about the videos I plan to put out this year since I’ll be starting at the most basic and moving my way up through everything you’d need to know to make your own cosplay!

TGL: What advice do you have for any aspiring cosplayers out there?

AW: Do what makes you happy, ask for help, don’t start any projects the same month as the con.

Ladies and gentlemen, Alana Waffles has left the building and she is off to do incredible things with the rest of 2016! I recommend you go now to her Facebook page, Youtube, Twitch and give her all your love since she grows with every single con! I want to give a huge thank you to her for answering a few of our humble questions!