FEBRUARY 2015
MAGAZINE
THE BLACK
LEADERS EDITION
ARTIST: Cryptik, Untitled
Street Art Save My Life
Facebook.com/streetartsavemylife
WHAT THE FUNK’S INSIDE 5..................THE RUNDOWN
9 ................. MADE IN BROWNSVILLE
6.................. EDITOR’S NOTE
23................. FLASH BLACK: Photo Spread
7................. OUTSPOKEN: Madi Dangerously
39................. LIVING DANGEROUSLY: Interview w/ Madi Dangerously
51................ DAVENCE’S COSPLAY ZONE: Raymond Ramos Cosplay
E EDITOR-IN-CHIEF C.E. LAWTON SENIOR EDITOR GENESE NICOLE CREATIVE DIRECTORS C.E. LAWTON & GENESE NICOLE FEBRUARY CONTRIBUTORS Davence Young, David Ochs, Nala Simone T., Mariama Rafetna, Leon Tillman, Treanna Neufville, Paula Sow ADVERTISING info@funktheformulamag.com FUNKTHEFORMULAMAG.COM It’s the commentary of your life ... but better. Art. Culture. And Then some.
FOLLOW FUNKTHEFORMULA FACEBOOK.COM/FUNKTHEFORMULA TWITTER: @FUNKTHEFORMULA YOUTUBE.COM/FUNKTHEFORMULA INSTAGRAM: @FUNKTHEFORMULAMAG
COVER: Artwork by Leon Tillman www.leontillman.com LEFT: Ray wearing clothing provided by Made In Brownsville Photo by David Ochs for Ochs Photography www.ochsphotography.com
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EDITOR’S NOTE Let it Ring ... I hold fast to my dreams with the determination to manifest them into reality. That’s what the leaders of my history taught me. That’s what I’m heavily reminded of every day, but more particularly during this month. The list is long, though only discussed in short measure, in regards to how American history, and history overall has been impacted by the celebrated as well as unsung heroes that have paved the way for people of color, such as myself, to, freely, live out loud ... To use the platforms availabie to me, as it is equally available to others, to share my voice in an emphatic way. To be the stand as a black leader of the now for the future black leaders to come; to let the next generation know, to remind them, that their voice matters as well, and has the capability to span seas, reaching the ears, hearts, minds and souls of masses across the globe. In the wake of events of 2014 and within the past decade of a “post-racial” era ... Right ... It’s been ever present that there is yet an still lots of work to be done in the battle for uninhibited equality. The deeper root of the issue that tends to elude the American black family, i feel stems in the lack of discussion around mattering ... Self-Worth ... Value. I once again express my gratefulness, and this time it’s for those ancestors that stood in visions of peace, equality and the empowerment of a people, and stood their ground for justice even at the price of their own lives; their focus was bigger than themselves, keeping in mind the construction of a legacy to inspire the minds of the future. The structural organization of protests, the strong sense of community, power in numbers, strategic tactics of battle while living out every day within enemy lines ... All for what we’ve received today. So if I can implore anything else be done this month, and beyond ... Connect with gratitude ... Gratefulness ... Understanding ... Compassion ... The application of these various ways of being, whether within the black community or communities of people of color over all ... Will guide the transformation and continued progression of the future, to greater heights. Connect with what history has laid before us and build on that foundation a greater school of thought ... Of Love ... And of Peace. Oneness. In this issue, we’re looking to celebrate a few of those heros of our time, past and present leading into the future. We thank you for your continued support, and trust you’ll enjoy our black history month edition of FunktheFormula Magazine. LIVE. -C.E. Have questions, suggests, comments? Feel free to contact us: info@funktheformulamag.com
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OUTSPOKEN Your words. Your thoughts. Out loud.
FLIGHT OF THE BLU3BIRD by
he flies so naturally, she wants me to fly too...
The view from up there she says Is a world i belong to But have never been
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Madi Dangerously
The world so high she says Is where we begin Like water she said
Except, above the clouds we’ll swim
To the stars she said Is the home of ours These feet she says Been on the ground for far too long
Air so rare she said It’s like breathing in gold Being so FREE she said, Is the gift we are meant
Madi Dangerously
to behold.
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MADE IN BROWNSVIL T
his interview was something special to my heart. I was born and raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NY, which is an area that has fallen victim to many varying negative stereotypes. Quardean Lewis-Allen, also born and raised in Brownsville, made the decision to start an organization to change the narrative that has been far too longstanding of the diamond in the rough of neighborhoods that is Brownsville. i had the pleasure of interviewing him for this month’s issue and picking his brain around the overall scope of his non-profit, Made in Brownsville (MiB), and seeing how it has outwardly impacted the youth and residents overall of “The Ville.”
-C.E.
Photos shot and edited by: David Ochs, www.ochsphotography.com Makeup: Nala Simone T.
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LLE RAY
What was the inspiration behind starting the Made in Brownsville organization? I was working in Nigeria designing affordable housing for a new eco-sustainable city. To advertise the project for community buy-in, my supervisor had some silkscreens made with the project logo on it. We were able to create branded apparel for the project for distribution to locals. I liked the idea about this accessible means of production that anyone could walk up and do and wanted to try it in my own neighborhood. This quickly became a larger idea around wanting to get young people involved in changing the prevalent narrative of violence and chronic disease in Brownsville through design, community planning and outreach. Having an architecture background, it was really important for me to address the lack of interest in students of color to go into architecture and the design professions. Less than 2% of licensed architects are black. This--in addition to the research around the age in which most young adults get off track-was the major impetus in creating the model of employment around design thinking and training such that young people from Brownsville can see a tangible economic trajectory into design. What does the clothing line aspect of Made in Brownsville represent? How involved are the community youth in the designing and manufacturing process? MiB Apparel brand is a means of adding value to and disrupting the misconception of the products that come out of Brownsville. If you googled “made in Brownsville” 2 years ago, the first things that would pop up were headlines like “More arrests made in Brownsvllle.” Now when you google it, it shows positives images of products and activities that are youth driven and produced. Within the next 5 years, what do you see for the neighborhood of Brownsville as a progressive result of the implementation of MiB in the community it’s servicing? We hope to see a living space that houses, engages, and employs youth and residents in design/build innovation, fabrication and community planning. Our hope is that residents will be able to gain marketable skills through interacting with MiB such that they can enter into similar fields that are underrepresented by minorities like architecture and urban planning. What’s a common misconception that organizations like MiB debunks in regards to the Brownsville community? I think the most harmful misconception is that people from Brownsville are less valuable, less talented, less educated than those from other neighborhoods. This just is not true. The rate of high school graduation has been rising every year for our district and many young people have dreams and aspirations that they wish to achieve in spite of the prevalent narrative.
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SHAMROC 12
What has been the reception/feedback from the residents of Brownsville as a result of MiB’s fruition and how do you feel it will affect the growth/future of MiB? I think the greatest acknowledgement is the anticipation. Many residents feel that the brand is really something that can grow to benefit local residents, and that’s exactly how we see it. We really look forward to being able to scale up to a place where we can employ many residents in low skill and high skill entry level jobs. What other services can be made available through MiB for the youth and community on the whole that has not yet been afforded to its residents? We offer an array of creative services that include but are not limited to promotional and event photography and videography, printmaking, mural making, sign fabrication, specialty promotional products, and design/build projects. We’ve been engaging young people in digital design workshops with training in Adobe Creative Suite for photo and video editing. We seek to make 3D printing and lasercutting technology accessible through core training in our program as well in our projected Innovation Lab space. 7. What’s been the greatest challenge up to this point in bringing MiB to the forefront of Brownsville creative culture? I think the greatest challenge is time. We are gearing ourselves to scale up but that requires time and patience. To your greatest ability, please share your experience of what the youth that have been directly involved in the organization have taken away as a result of being active participants within MiB. Youth participants in our workshops have been able to see and get excited about their ideas and input being realized in tangible products which, in effect, gives agency to their voices. Participants in the Brownsville Stronger Together campaign design workshop, for instance, think-tanked ways to brand the campaign and received training on good logo design that they can take with them when thinking about their own entrepreneurial ventures. Our intern in our Printmaking Entrepreneurship track has gotten really excited about starting his own hat line, a far goal from his initial interest in being a laborer when he started working with us. In essence, when we can validate a young person’s ideas, we feel that our mission has been accomplished. 13 13
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Where can MiB products be found for sale and how can you or the organization be contacted? We will launch the e-commerce shop on our website by February 2015. Until then, our other creative services and community planning expertise is available through our website madeinbrownsville.org or contact@madeinbrownsville.org. You can also find us on facebook.com/madeinbrownsville and twitter and Instagram @madeinbville. If you could have one artist/designer mentor (with the organization) or sponsor the MiB fashion brand, who would you choose and why? David Adjaye is a black British architect I really admire. He is the project architect for the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in D.C. I’ve met him before while at school at Harvard. I think as a high achieving man of color in a field dominated by white men, his engagement would really give our young people a new model for success and make the field accessible in their minds. What words of inspiration would you provide to other artists who may be looking to give back to their communities in a similar way as yourself, but may not know how? Someone once said that those that are closest to the problem are the ones that should be at the forefront of the solution. It is the role of the artists among us to lead the advocacy that needs to take place in our communities. Define Brownsville in one word. Resilient.
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Someone once said that those that are closest to the problem are the ones that should be at the forefront of the solution...
ELIJAH
... It is the role of the artists among us to lead the advocacy that needs to take place in our communities. -QUARDEAN LEWIS-ALLEN, FOUNDER OF MADE IN BROWNSVILLE 17 17
MIKALA 18
Define Brownsville in one word.
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Resilient.
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t u o k c e h C n o s e u s ! s i m t s o a c . p g a m a l u m r o f the
funk
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FLASH BLACK Taking a look back in time, we’ve decided to highlight 4 leaders who’ve built a longstanding impact on the leaders of tomorrow. Their strength, resilience and tenacity will live on in their legacy. Makeup Artist: Treanna Neufville Production Assistant: Paula Sow
“Without education, you’re not going anywhere in this world.” -Malcolm X
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“We had to learn that we’re beautiful. We had to relearn something forcefully taken from us. We had to learn about Black power. People have power if we unite. We learned the importance of coming together and being active.”
-Assata Shakur
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“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.� -Angela Davis
Makeup by Treanna Neufville
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“If you can’t fly then run If you can’t run, then walk If you can’t walk, then crawl But whatever you do, Keep Moving.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Nick Florest
-Educator | Hip Hop Artist-
What is the most rewarding aspect of being an educator? I love knowing that my influence really has no limit to where it can go - the infinite possibilities. I have the honor of working with some of the brightest, intelligent, brilliant, articulate young people to ever grace this earth and to know that they look to me as a resource and inspiration is humbling and amazing. I look to that that privilege,as a means of motivation to do more than what I am capable of for them. 33
LC the Poet
-Hip Hop Artist | Activist-
What does unity mean to you? To me, unity means being together mentally, spiritually and economically. Unity is a way to bring peace in different communities, cultures, and ethnicity. Unity can prevent violence and miseducation which is needed for all people of all races.
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Virginia La-Touche -Actress | Model-
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How would you define Mental Freedom? To me Mental Freedom is being free of your own thoughts. It’s finally being able to think without over thinking, thinking negatively or beating yourself up. Some people can be caged in their own thoughts, end up closed in. They can be their worst critic. Everything they do seems wrong or they think that other people will look at them differently or judge them because of it, so it has to be right. In the end you never know who will just agree with you or at least have the same mind set.
Derrick Clarke -Filmmaker-
What, in your eyes, makes a great leader? Direction. I think if you have a sense of where you’re going in anything, people will follow you. Not neccessarily the same path, but the idea that your moving towards something, rather than being stationary, and that therefore inspires others to be leaders, amongst those who watch.
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A Poetic Journey Volume I
By
Available Now on
SowPaula@gmail.com Paula Sow Ps1luvu
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I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Mariama Rafetna, aka Madi Dangerously for roughly 4 years, and she’s always exhibited an undeniable creative spirit. A rebel-minded counter attack to life’s norms that was not not destructive but absolutely constructive and expressive of her individuality. A leader in her own right, she’s shown what it means to take life by the horns and run with determination and rigor. So of course it was a true pleasure to have her interview with FTF, as an undoubted Formula Funker. What does it mean to live life Dangerously?
Makeup by: Nala Simone, @visionsofnala
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Who is Madi Dangerously and what makes her so dangerous? Madi Dangerously is Mariama Rafetna. Writer. Artist. Photographer. Thinker. Lover. Warrior… From Crown Heights, Brooklyn... To be Dangerous is to be free. It’s to be authentic. It’s to live in the moment. To live without “security” to take things as they come. To RISK for the REWARD. To LIVE FEARLESSLY is to LIVE DANGEROUSLY. “Madi Dangerously” reminds me to live the life of my dreams and that I owe it to myself to go get it and never settle for anything less. How do you define Leadership? “If you’re looking for a leader, be one” - Elijah Muhammad For me leadership is being confident to stand up for what you think/feel is right in all instances. Having a solid vision or a plan for how to make things better… Speaking up for your beliefs speaking up for others and using your God-given talents to help those around you be better… therefore helping create a better world for us all to live in. Artistically, what was/is your first love? I think it’s a tie between my love for enjoying and experiencing music… and writing. Most of my favorite writing (and art) has been done to music or inspired by music in some way. My father is a musician and my mom is a dancer so there was always that element in my life as long as I could remember. But also as long as I could remember - I’ve always written stories. Always had several composition books in rotation. I’d watch people and fantasize about characters, put them in scenarios; Stay up all night to write it out and see where it would go. What was the turning point at which you decided to take your career into your own hands, leave the daily hustle and create your own lane? In about 2010 I finally GAVE IN... To what I knew I needed to do for a long time. Being a “creative” and “free thinker” I’ve always known corporate environments weren’t the best for me. I was laid off from a job I thought I wanted a future in. Ended a relationship with my boyfriend of 10 years. Was living on my own and struggling. Was extremely far from being happy. All that time I had been in the workforce for a bit and ignoring my creative outlets. I was feeling detached from everything around me, depressed. I started writing every day again, the way I used to when I was younger... That brought me some relief. Then I began to dream about painting. Something I always wanted to explore when I was younger but never had the right opportunity to. I said to myself, when I get the money I would go get supplies. And I would just make stuff. Maybe 6 months later I got a freelance gig, blew the first check on art supplies. Taught myself some basic oil painting techniques. Made about 20 pieces that I decorated my apartment with. And people would come over and tell me how much they liked them not knowing they were mine. I’d even get offers to buy them… And I realized I would never be happy until I put my energy into the things I was really meant to be doing. I decided then I’d do everything that made me happy. I started photographing the skies everyday, taking long walks. Walking new routes discovering new streets... And writing all along the away. I didn’t realize it then, but this was the start of my book. I didn’t realize my book would be my book until about 2012. But I knew then – then I needed to live a freer life. An existence truer to who I really am. I would focus my energy on putting my art out into the world and making a living off of my art and talents. And I knew that job I had lost was the last one for me as far as full time company gigs were concerned. What inspires your pieces? I’m very inspired by nature, by music, day-to-day human interactions, human experiences, heartache, family love, self-love, and intimate love. Spiritual love. I’m very captivated by lights and shadows, geometry & symmetry... Color theory.
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Fill us in on what the HALF-BAKED Experience is. The Half Baked Experience is about treating yourself! Enjoying life and treating others well in the process… Through my developing brand, I create event experiences for like-minded,
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like-hearted, like-spirited individuals like myself who want more than just club parties, pretentious vibes with cliquish crowds and predictable music. HBE began in 2013 with the monthly HALF BAKED DAY PARTY, and once a year we run a winter clothing and book drive called TREAT THE WORLD, donating items to nearby shelters and church programs for those in need. This year we launched the new concert series, ELEVATED TRAP, showcasing live beats and live bands, and live art with dope DJs creating a diverse musical collage... The Half Baked Experience is about ART in all its forms. It’s about EXPRESSION. It’s about FREEDOM. It’s about COLLABORATION. What is the overall vision for Madi Dangerously and her brand within the next 5 years? Welp. I want to be doing everything I’m doing now but BETTER. SMOOTHER. in various warmer climates... And making more money doing it. More resources. More connections. In the next five years, I want to build more on my travel and nature photography. I plan to go on a book & exhibit tour for my upcoming project HELLO BLU3BIRD… Land a profitable book deal with a reputable publishing house, and release an accompanying spoken word music project. I want to travel the world shooting festivals, and concerts; become a successful tour photographer for artists that I absolutely love. I will show my photography & paintings all over the world. Release another book. I’d like to produce a successful concert tour under HALF BAKED EXPERIENCE, creating an international platform for emerging and established artists alike. I’d also like to orchestrate more “give back” opportunities through the work I put out into the world.
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What have you found to be the most fulfilling aspect of your career thus far? What makes it so? I must say, I’m really in love with the process of just creating. It’s so satisfying. It’s so therapeutic and healing… The moment I “get over myself” and decide to share my work is pretty fulfilling,
too. Then you get to see that others appreciate your vision or understand your perspective… Or sometimes make you appreciate your work in ways you didn’t see right away. Right now the fact that I’m nearing the launch of my book project that I’ve been working on since 2010 Is pretty major for me. I believe its going to be a piece that changes everything for me once its out. The summer of 2014 was pretty dope for me because I got the chance to shoot Little Dragon, Outkast, TV on the Radio & Lauryn Hill. Photographing Lauryn Hill’s performance was almost emotional. She’s been one of my all time favorites since high school - It was my first time seeing her live and she was AMAZING!!! As I was shooting I just felt like something magical was being created. So far my photos of her are among my personal favorites. You mentioned that you are working on a book of poetry, HELLO BLU3BIRD. Would you be able to tell us more about it and what you may feel the impact will be on the readers? My book is called “HELLO BLU3BIRD: A Brooklyn Love Affair” – a mixed media book compiled of poetry and nature photography to be released this summer, release date TBA. Hello Blu3bird is about awakening to the beauty around us and the power within us. It’s an ode to Brooklyn, it’s an ode to love, it’s an ode to growth. I think the readers will appreciate seeing elements of Brooklyn and our idea of nature under a new light. It’s my goal through the stories told via poetry and photography that they feel a connection and understanding. Creating this book has brought me some peace and I hope to pass that on to others… And at the very least I want people to enjoy my book as a piece of beauty to add to their homes, art and book collections. 44
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Is there any one particular artist you’d like to work with that you haven’t, whether it be to paint, or photograph or collaborate with your events in any aspect? Maaaaaaan, I’d like to work with every artists I love and enjoy, haha. I’d love to shoot with Mos Def, Kanye, Common, Erykah Badu; be a tour photographer with Little Dragon or TDE… I absolutely LOVE Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Schoolboy Q & Ab-Soul. I’d love to work with Saul Williams. Have him mentor me on this poetry game, haha. It would be a dream come true to produce a concert with any of my favorites listed above! I’d like to collab with some producers I truly enjoy, like Dam Funk & Iamnobodi & Blu on one of my future poetry albums. I had a dream I wrote songs for John Legend once, If I could make that happen in real life that would be DOPE. It’s also my dream to be a National Geographics photographer. What’s your Top Five? Top 5 fav music artists??? Kind of insane to answer. But I’m gonna go with Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Kanye West, Jimi Hendrix, Coldplay, Little Dragon, TV on The Radio, Biggie, Jay Z, and Nas. My favorite writers include Langston Hughes, Octavia Butler, Alice Walker, Chuck Palahniuk and P.T. Anderson. Favorite painters are Van Gogh and Georgia Okeefe. Nas comes up to you and says “the world is yours.” What is your unencumbered vision for it? My vision of the world is really a vision of peace and balance. Where people aren’t thirsty for control. Where people are valued more than money. Where life doesn’t revolve around money. Where we give to one another and accept one another. Help one another. Where we acknowledge our spiritual existence here on this earth and honor our connections to nature. Where the LOVE outweighs the HATE... Racism doesn’t exist. LIFE is actually FAIR. Women are truly respected and valued. What words of encouragement would you provide to young women, women of color or artists period who may be looking to follow a similar creative path as yours? TRUST YOURSELF. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. DO WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE THE MOST YOU. DO WHAT MAKES YOUR SPIRIT SMILE. Where can people find your work or get in touch with you? Behance.net/Rafetna HelloBlu3Bird.tumblr.com Facebook.com/WorksByDangerously Twitter: @MadiDangerously, @ HalfBakedEXP @HelloBlu3bird IG: @MadiDangerously @DoItDangerously @HelloBlu3bird @HalfBakedEXP
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To be Dangerous is to be free. It’s to be authentic. It’s to live in the moment. To live without “security” to take things as they come. To RISK for the REWARD. To LIVE FEARLESSLY is to LIVE DANGEROUSLY.
-Madi Dangerously
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MadeinBrownsville.org
Hello my fellow cosplay engineers, we are blessed today to be able to chat a bit with Raymond Ramos cosplay! Thank you Raymond, for making the time to be here with us. Thanks for having me. I wanted to discuss a few of the cosplays you are noted for and some of your passions behind them. One of your most arguably famous cosplays is Blade, what drew you to that famous character and what drives you to continue improving on him? Well I found the sword at a store one day and thought it would be cool to try to make a costume to go with it to wear to my job for Halloween. The costume at first was okay but being the artist that I am that any artist would want to do is to try to improve on what you are working on. So up to this point I have redesigned the costume about three times to get it to the 51
state that it is at now. I feel there is always room for improvement. And Blade, being that he is a person of color and a martial artist, I just gravitated toward that character. Yes, I have seen the improvements that you have made; you changed up some of the materials that you normally used and it added a great effect in the level of detail on your cosplay. Very good improvement! Thank you. The original chest piece was flat. I came to a point where I wanted to contour it to fit my chest better, and then I was able to locate the actual buckles that were used on the vest well they were pretty close, anyway. And then I decided instead of using the jean pants that I wear to try to go with some leather.
BEFORE
Yes, the buckles were extremely close to the ones used in the movie. What improvements did you make on the vials? They look so much better. Well with the vials I have a friend from New Zealand who was working on something similar and once I started talking with him, he was kind enough to send me the test tubes that they used and I decided to redesign the entire things that I had and used PVC piping for the bodies. With this I was able to get a much more accurate look to the vials that were used in the film. Gotcha. Do you have any pics of them, like a before and after for folks to see? I am pretty sure I do have some pictures let me find them. (See Right) Yes huge difference. So for those folks that do not know how were you able to trap in the blue fluid? The main body was made from PVC piping the vials themselves are test tubes that have the rubber stoppers on the bottom to keep the fluid in place. I then just inserted the test tubes with the blue fluid into the PVC piping bodies. Which fit perfectly.
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my costume so much. We, too, dressed as Blade. But before he tracked me down, I was friends with one of his friends who also had a Blade cosplay. So before you knew it I was tracking down as many Blades as I could find and adding them with the help of my twin, Eric Brooks ,to create this brotherhood. How has starting the Blade Brotherhood affected your cosplay life? Well it allows me to showcase the pictures I have taken as Blade, and any other cosplayers who have dressed as Blade. It really has just grown over the years, and now it’s to the point where most of the Brotherhood or some of the Brotherhood are able to get together at other conventions in multitudes. This makes me very proud to have been able to start something that is being shared globally now. Awesome! have you had the opportunity to do any charitable stuff yet as the Blade Brotherhood? A few of the members have been able to go out and do charities, which I’m very proud of, but I plan in the future to organize some events in hopes that other brotherhood members are able to attend, being that most of us are separated over great distances. But I have made visits to Children’s Hospitals and dental clinics as Bane and Roadblock from G.I. Joe. I look forward to doing more charitable work in the future. Very nice. It always amazes me just how much cosplayers across the world do for each other and for charitable organizations; it is always a good look in my mind. I have to also say your Bane cosplay is rather epic! Well thank you very much. it was debuted at the Boston Comic Convention, which I reluctantly entered their costume contest being that our friend talked me into it and this costume walked out with first place. But I must say, the way I first got into cosplay, being that my martial art teacher had a former student who is opening and starting his own comic convention in the local area I am from and thought he might want someone in costume. So I got in contact with him and I was the very first cosplayer he had dressed as Blade. Slick and smart. It always amazes me how sometimes the simplest solution is best. Well, cosplay is like a network and I wouldn’t have been able to get those darts as accurate as I did without the help from another Blade brother in New Zealand.
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Most definitely, it is all about those connections. Speaking of networking in cosplay, tell me about the Blade Brotherhood. Well with the Blade Brotherhood, that was something I started once I realized that there were more than one day walker in a costume out there and I had a friend track me down on Facebook because he liked
Very nice. I will never forget the first experience; the show was named South Coast Toy and Comic Show. Since then the show has grown so much that now they have branched off and do shows known as the Rhode Island Comic Con, where most people recognize me from an I/O. Thanks to them for allowing me to be a part of their show and walk around and take pictures with the fans. Being a cosplayer just feels good. You get to share your artistic expression and costumes with other people who are passionate about the same things and love to see other people and costumes.
What is your favorite outfit to date? Well that is very hard to say because I like each character very much, that’s why I made them. But I would have to say Blade will always be my top favorite; then it would have to be Bane. Being that when we make costumes you never really know how the costume will hold up until after you have been at a show and Blade has been battle tested at many conventions and I know it is very comfortable for me and very durable. I have to admit that Bane cosplay was insane, you so embodied the essence of him. Thank you that costume came about inspired by my cosplay brother Matches Malone who does an epic Batman from the Dark Knight Rises. With my costumes I usually do a lot of research online to see how other people took approaches at it and then I just go for what I know and put my own particular spin on it. Awesome. Very smart, research is so important. It truly is such a crucial point to a successful cosplay. With Bane I don’t have to worry about weapons policies at conventions but I still get a kick out of the reaction from the fans; some of them look terrified. Others are in awe, and then once they hear that I have a microphone inside of the mask, their faces light up with excitement. So I would have to say that Bane is one of the more popular costumes I have. Yes I love those reactions. Ok you recently debuted Gaiking. how was that received? That costume was received very well being that I like to post a lot of progress pictures on Facebook of my builds. A lot of the people I know have been very excited to see the finished product. And people were telling me that the pictures did not give the costume justice to how well it looked in person. And being that I had another microphone in that costume, people got a kick out of it that much more. Oh nice, you altered your voice in it as well. Definitely taking your cosplay to that next level. But I really did need the microphone to warn the crowd of the wings I had on the costume so I would reduce the amount of people that possibly could get hit in the face with these wings. True true, having a handler helps with that immensely, too. Yes I was very fortunate to have one of my friends walk with me to ensure the safety of the crowd. So what is the next cosplay you want to tackle? Well, I started with Blade and then did Bane, followed by Road Block from G.I. Joe (which the vast from that costume was entirely made from scratch, and as far as I know the only movie accurate vast that is out
there). Then I worked on Thunder Blade (which was a cross between Liono from Thunder Cats and Blade) and finally Gaiking. So my next project I might keep under wraps for a little while until I figure out how I really want to go about it. Yes Thunder Blade, how did you come across the idea of that mashup? Well I grew up watching Thundercats as a kid and just a couple years ago they came up with a new reboot of the cartoon, the armor for liono was more samurai based so I thought it would be cool if I could make this costume and combine the old cartoon with the new. This build was the first time I had work with EVA foam so once I made the claw shield I was ready to tackle the rest of the costum; but being that I can’t wear make up to look like the classic character and I really didn’t want to wear a wig I decided to combine blade with this character. So I incorporated the silver stakes and the EDTA darts with some of the other weapons from Blade and work them into the costume.
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Nice, I really loved the results of that mashup. The cool thing was that people were able to recognize both characters within this one. What is the next convention you will be attending so our viewers will have a chance to see your amazing cosplays in person? Well cosplay season might be over for me this year but I would like to go to Anime Boston, Boston Comic Con, Baltimore Comic Con, Terror Con in Rhode Island, Rhode Island Comic Con, and, if possible, New York Comic Con. Those are all great cons to attend. Some I try to attend every year there are others that I would like to venture out and get to see in the following year. Well if you ever come to the west coast I will be attending Emerald City Con in Seattle, WA next year. It would be awesome photo opp for us both to take some shots together. Indeed and I would also like to take the time to thank you for being one of my motivations and one of my go to people for advice as I had started to take this journey into working with foam that I have never worked with in the past. Thank you very much. My pleasure man! Knowledge is power and I intend to continue sharing it with all those willing to listen, learn, and raise their cosplay level up a notch or two. Thank you so much for your time Raymond I know you are definitely a busy man so I will not hold you up any further. Where can folks see your cosplay pics? On Facebook at Raymond Ramos Cosplay or Raymond Ramos Blade-Eca.
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FunktheFormula, Inc. 2015