Spotlight on Sassmira Cosplay

There are only a few weeks until Toronto Fan Expo. All the cosplayers are hard at work, making sure their armour, props and costumes are ready. One of those cosplayers will be Samira Khan, of Sassmira Cosplay. We got to sit down and talk with Sassmira about cosplay, gaming and geek culture.

Who are you, where do you come, and what do you do?

My name is Samira, a lot of people call me Sam, or Sassmira, which is my cosplay name. I’ve been cosplaying since 2010, it only recently started getting more serious. I’m based in Toronto, Ontario, but I’ve been trying to expand out to the states, and get out there more.

What was it that got you into cosplay?

It’s actually kind of a funny story. I didn’t get bullied in high school, but I’d get picked on by girls, from time to time. It was just for liking geeky stuff like super heroes, and video games. For some reason, that wasn’t cool to them. So, my parents noticed that. They saw that most of my friends were guys, and that I wasn’t getting along super well with the girls. My dad actually suggested that I go and try a convention.

His big suggestion was San Diego Comic-Con. He didn’t know much about conventions. It’s so expensive, and it’s so hard to get into. We did some research and found out about Fan Expo Toronto. We just up and went. I knew beforehand that people liked to get dressed up at these events, but I didn’t really understand it. I didn’t get that cosplaying was a thing, I just assumed that people dressed up in costumes for the fun of it. I researched it, and saw pictures from all over, like San Diego Comic-con, and Jessica Nigri. I thought, that’s kind of cool, I want to do that.

I went and bought a Bat Girl costume from a party costume store, something like that. It was the first costume I wore, and I didn’t make any of it. It was really fun. People were positive in responding to it, even though it was store bought. It just stuck. I should do more of this. I went back and researched more, and saw that people made their own costumes. It’s been getting more and more into my life. It’s becoming such a big part of it now, more than I ever thought it would.

When you look at movies, comics and games, which characters make you want to cosplay them? What about them makes you want to replicate their costumes?

Having done acting and theatre for a while, also doing writing and film production, I focus a lot on character development and it’s extremely important to me. Characters who have some sort of inner turmoil are the most interesting to me. I chose Deadpool and Talia for some of my first cosplays not only because they’re bad ass, but because I love how conflicted they always are. When you don’t exactly know what a character stands for, or who’s side they’re on, it makes it so much more interesting. Badassery and indecisiveness, that’s what I look for in a character. I’ve always loved Deadpool, always. He’s hilarious, he’s never afraid to say what ever the hell he wants. I’ve always admired that about him.

When you get into costume, do you stay in character, or are you just wearing a costume?

It depends, sometimes I feel like it’s a little weird to stay in character, all the time. A lot of my cosplay has been leaning towards gender bend, like Deadpool and Brock, I feel like I can’t really stay in character for that exactly. When I’m taking pictures or shooting video, I’ll stay in character. If people are coming up, just to say hi, I’ll be myself.

Who are your influences in cosplay?

There are so many. Obviously there’s Jessica, Kamui and all them, but the one cosplayer that stood out the most, just when I was just getting into it, was Amie Lynn. I used to watch all her YouTube videos. She’s down to earth, and has her head in what’s important, she knows what’s important in cosplay. I adore her. She’s awesome.

How was your costume making developed since you started?

It’s insanity. I keep getting more and more into it. I’m actually lucky, because my mom used to make all our clothes. She has a sewing room in the basement. It’s a legit room with three sewing machines, fabric everywhere, and a huge cutting board. It was last summer I sat her down and said, “Listen, I want to start doing this, would you let me utilize your room?” She was obviously so supportive. She said, “Go for it, take what ever fabrics you need. You’re able to use what ever you want in there.” She’s been helping the most, like learning how to sew vinyl. I only recently started getting into doing more armour and props. It feels like I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m going to keep going and expanding my scope, as much as I can.

If you could go back in time, to when you started, and give yourself some advice, what advice would you give?

It’s expensive. Be prepared for the expenses, and save up what you did. I’ve been to six conventions this year, all mostly local. There was a period where I was living pay cheque to pay cheque, and I was spending most of my money on materials, convention tickets, and food, it was about all I was covering. I’m very lucky to still live with my parents, because it saves a lot. They’ve always been very supportive, even when I buy a giant shaped skull, or insulation foam. I guess the best advice, for anyone, would be: Just be prepared for it. You do what you have when you love something.

When it comes to gaming, do you see yourself as a PC gamer, a console gamer, or a mix of the two?

If you asked me two months ago, I would have said console for sure. I have an Xbox, and I would play it all the time. Just non stop everyday, my parents would get mad at me. I would play late at night, with my DS in my bunk bed, under the sheets. They’d have to confiscate it away from me, and lock it away some nights.

I have been leaning more towards PC now. I just got a new one a few months ago, and it’s been serving me very well. It’s has a lot of memory, and a lot of space. It’s very fast, and I can get any game at the click of the button, and spend a lot of money on games, the steam sale was ridiculous.

What type of games are you into right now?

I lean more towards the Assassins Creed type of games, anything from Ubisoft, I love. I was so so excited for Watch Dogs. It looked so awesome, I’ve always wanted to hack things. When it came out, a lot of people said it wasn’t what they were expecting. I don’t care, I freaking loved it. It’s takes patience, it’s a thinking game.

When it comes to FPS for consoles, I have terrible aim. I know it’s a television screen, it messes up my hand eye coordination. Unless I’m in a shooty mood, and want to blow something up, I’ll play some Call of Duty.

What are you looking forward to playing when it comes out?

Obviously the AC Unity and Destiny games, the Borderlands prequel that’s coming out. I’m working on a new cosplay for that one. The one I’m most excited for, and it doesn’t get a lot of hype is The Order 1886. I saw the trailer for it, and it was pure insanity. Speaking of insanity, I’m excited for FarCry 4. It looks really good, they all look good. I get astonished at what graphics are doing right now.

I don’t dive into mmo’s and stuff like that, because I don’t have the time for that. There’ll be sometimes when I need to sit down and game for four hours, or I’ll need to play for 10 minutes. Maybe in the future, but I don’t have the time right now.

For anyone on the outside, what is it about geek culture that makes it an amazing place?

It’s the acceptance. Of course you’re going to come across people who say negative things, but compared to the amount of support you get from the community, it’s amazing. I have met some of the closest friends that I’ve ever had, in this community. Even just the ties inside the community, I went to high school with this girl, we both enjoyed the geek culture, but never hung out at school, which is weird. Then we saw each other at a convention, and now we hang out all the time. It just goes to show, if you’re heavily interested in it, there’s someone else who is as well. I love this community so much.

It’s weird to think there was a time there was a stigma with being a geek. What does being a geek mean anymore? We’re all geeks. The walls have been torn down.

Where do you think Geek Culture is going to in the next few years?

I don’t see it stopping. It’s going to reach the deepest corners of the world. I think everyone is going to get involved somehow in geek culture. I don’t see an end for it, but it is the fad of the now.

What does it mean as a woman to be called a “fake geek girl’?

It sucks, I’ll say it. It feels demeaning. The fact that we’re saying being a geek is so common, or being into the culture is common; and yet there are people who are questioning women specifically on it. At first I was very hurt by comments like that, I used to get them all the time in school, but lately, I just say, “Forget you guys, if you don’t want to believe me, that’s fine. I don’t need to talk to you anyways.” I think that’s the mindset that people are lacking, is the not caring. Just don’t care what those people think. I’ll do whatever I want, and I’ll love whatever I want. It doesn’t matter what you say or do.

What advice would you give to women want to get into the culture, and encounter that mentality?

Yeah, that’s tough, because I was the same way. I wanted to learn more about gaming, and until a few years ago I knew nothing except for consoles. So, I asked my best friend, who was into PC gaming, to teach me. You have to be around people who’ll be open to showing you new things. Often that comes with older friends you trust, new friends can help you out as well, but you need someone you can trust to give you support.

For anyone trying to get into cosplay, what’s your best piece of advice for them?

Don’t be afraid of anything too big, or anything too complicated. When you start to get afraid of a costume you want to make, that’s when problems arise. That’s happened to me so many times. There are three costumes I’ve got going right now, that I’ve considered dropping, because just looking at it scares you. Just break it down, break it down into smaller pieces. Just breathe, and say you’ll do this part this week, and this part the next week. Even just picking an easier costume and working on that for a bit. There will be people who say negative things, for every one who says something negative, there’s going to be a ton of people with positive ones.

For someone who wants to break into gaming, and doesn’t know where to start, what would your advice be for them?

Do your research, but what helped me the most was watching E3. The live coverage of E3 helped so much, because you listen to the developers talk about the games, and you’ll find out what you’re into. Don’t let anyone else tell you what to get. Watch the game play videos on YouTube, that will help as well.

Last question, for Geek Culture and people who want to get into, what advice would you give them?

Normally I’d say, go to a convention, but not everyone has one that happens in their city. We’re lucky that Ontario has one almost every other week. I’d say emerge yourself in the forums and fan bases online. The internet is crazy for resources. There’s so many YouTube channels on geek culture, people need to utilize it more. It’s really easy to get into once you’re there.

Samira has great talent when it comes to cosplay, she’s worked hard and learned from scratch. The thing that makes her amazing is, she’s only going to get better. Give her a follow on Facebook and Twitter, because Sassmira Cosplay is a name we’ll be hearing a lot.