We were lucky to catch up with SJ Slays recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi SJ, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is establishing and building the cosplay community in The Bahamas with 242 Cosplayer Nation.

Before 2018, cosplaying was something done either exclusively for Halloween or as an occasional challenge MUAs delved into. (Though I consider Junkanooers to be our country’s OG cosplayers). Now in 2022, we have a thriving community full of passionate Bahamian creatives developing their skills. In fact, this was our first year as a country competing in the Caribbean Cosplay Championship ran by Panterona Cosplay of Alias Entertainment Expo in Trinidad and Tobago. I’m proud to say two of our cosplayers (Bunpatchi and Carib Crochet Cosplay) took home two wins for The Bahamas.

SJ, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is SJ and I am a professional cosplayer hailing from the islands of The Bahamas. I started cosplaying in December 2018 with the intention of normalizing cosplay in The Bahamas by making a brand for myself as well as constructing a community for Bahamians interested in becomming cosplayers themselves. This objective was helped largely with my efforts in guesting and becomming the cosplay coordinator for The Geek Out and GOM Con, both ran by Ashley Adderley respectfully.

The Geek Out is our monthly event ran on the last Sunday of every month for the nerd,blerd, and geek community in The Bahamas. GOM (Geek Out Massive) Con is our larger scaled event, a three day mini convention that we established this year and are working diligently to make even bigger and better in 2023. I am also a comic book writer, editor and Bahamian distributor for SoveRegin Comics, an independant comic book publisher in Colorado that specializes in creating The Comics You’ve Been Missing. I take no small pride in saying I’m also the sponsored cosplayer for many of their characters. [Jordyn Brown aka Tectonica of STARS, Mia Sicilliano aka Breather of Cypher Team, Kiyiti of Ayanmo Stigmata and Hell-Cat, the title character of my own comic being released by SoveReign Comics]

In the comming months leading into 2023, I’m devoted to developing my craft and community further by strictly making my own cosplays and hosting workshops locally for those who’d like to do the same.

For those interested in supporting or investing in my various personal and community driven projects, they can do so by subscribing to my Patreon, donating to my Ko-fi, purchasing a cosplay from my wishlist on my behalf, or purchasing from my stock of SoveRegin Comics, stickers, prints, etc. (I also have a discount code for those who’d like to purchase directly from the publisher: ‘ SJSlays ‘ gets you 15% off your purchase).

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Invest in your artists. I think a lot of people fail to understand that while interaction (likes, comments) and exposure (shares) are helpful…they don’t pay our bills. With cost of living going up globally, the only way to ensure your favorite writers, artists, content creators and creatives can keep making the media and things you enjoy and derive fullfillment out of is to invest in us. How you go about doing that is different for each creative you are looking to invest in.

The best way to start is by asking the individual artists what they need.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creator will forever be self-expression. As someone who struggled to do just that and as a result was often misunderstood for the majority of my life, nothing compares to the feeling of cosplaying a character I heavily relate to and in that way continuing their story.

Or writing your own…and having others connect with it in a way that is meaningful to them. At the end of the day, stories are what I find most rewarding about life in general.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beacons.ai/sjslayscosplay
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sjslayscosplay
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sjslayscosplay
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sjslayscosplay
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sjslays?_t=8VAABCrp58A&_r=1

Image Credits
1) “Tectonica of SoveReign Comics” taken by De-Nature Photography 2) “Cheetara” taken by Chaotic Curls Cosplay 3. “Tomb Raider” taken by TFL Studios 4. “Gotham City Sirens” taken by Hiram C Photo, ft. Kevi as Harley Quinn and AudaciousAlexaJay as Poison Ivy 5. “Into The Spiderverse” taken by Hiram C Photo ft Kadesh Collie as Spiderman 6. 242 Cosplayer Nation at BlerDCon, ft PastelOceanTea as Perona, CaribCrochet Cosplay as Carrot, Ringo Kosplays as Brook, and Flare as Zoro