Episode 3 Self-empowerment through Cosplay

In this episode, we have Mais Semblante who found her mojo and chose Cosplay as her profession. She knew that she was different, unlike other girls since she was a kid. An introvert, she built her own world, found comfort in comic books, play-acting the characters from her comic books and pretended to have superpowers.

She started taking Cosplay seriously when she found that playing dress-up, doing what she loved as a child can help her make money. In the beginning, she invested serious time, effort and whatever little money she had crafting and sewing her own costume. She also did her own make-up. She got invited and sponsored to participate in Cosplay events as participants and judges in Cosplay competitions, as her popularity grew in the industry. Her last public appearance was in SM Seaside in Cebu City in 2019, which attracted over 20 thousand people from all over the Philippines.

As social events were banned during COVID, she started doing live streaming for gamers. Not an easy feat, she had to reinvent herself, learning new skills in streaming, building her confidence in attracting people to watch and listen to her streaming channels, in her own skin without the costume.

Without fear of being judged, she found ways to express herself through the visual art of Cosplay. She has risen up at every challenge, reinventing herself, pushing her boundary to achieve the goals and high standards she set for herself.

The key learnings from Mais are:

Build your network of cheerleaders - a group of people around you that share your vision and drive, who will always support and motivate you; Pay great attention to every detail and be very meticulous in everything you do; and Set a high standard for yourself of what you want to achieve and be fearless to achieve that standard.