The geeky community in the Philippines did not feel complete without the AsiaPOP Comic Con this year. So, to alleviate the heartbreak, we decided to share some of our favorite Filipino cosplayers for you to follow on social media. They go to different cons and events that you can catch them in to take pictures with them and keep the geeky vibes alive! ๐
21 Filipino Cosplayers We Absolutely Love
21. Jay Anthony Guillen, @mxpayne24
Jay Anthony Guillen has been cosplaying since 2011. “I got hyped and decided to try and bring joy to other kids while in cosplay and wearing my favorite character,” he shares. Jay always loves bringing joy to kids and also does charity work, including the ones in PGH. He also likes to edit videos in his spare time.
20. Claude Ang, 21, @claudeang
Claude Ang started cosplaying around 2016 as a way to express his fandom in a unique and different way. Although he has been an avid fan since high school, he shares that he only learned about the geek community when he got into college. Claude is a member of Fightsaber Philippines and he performs lightsaber choreography with a whole team of Star Wars fans. He is also a member of Justice PH, a group full of DC fans all around the Metro altogether in one DC cosplay group.
19. Michael Francis ‘Myche’ Garcia, 50
Myche Garcia has been cosplaying since 2012. His first cosplay was The Green Hornet during a ToyCon event in SM Megamall. After that experience, he thought of doing other cosplays, like Hawkman, Mandalorian, Black Spiderman, Rocketeer, and Appleseed. “My friend Myk encouraged me to do this because he said it would be fun,” he shares. “I was nervous at the time because people were staring at me; but after people started taking pictures with us, it became very exciting.”
Since then, Myche has been cosplanning for upcoming events. He has also done charity events suiting up as superheroes at some children’s hospitals. Myche is also into comic books, toys, die cast cars, and basically anything geeky. He also has a passion for art, like drawing and sketching. Myche works for Google and is such a huge fan of The Flash that he actually has a group page called Speedforce MNL dedicated to all things Flash.
18. Oliver King, https://www.facebook.com/Oliver48
Oliver King has been cosplaying for five years now after he got his first costume in a company cosplay event. “I find cosplay interesting not only because it brings his favorite heroes to life, but also because it connects him to other people with the same passion and increases his self-confidence.”Cosplay is supposed to be about having fun, making friends and expressing the characters you love,” he adds. Aside from cosplaying, Oliver also likes traveling and mountaineering.
17. Jeremiah “Miah” Layson, 32, @Ultimate_SpiderMiah / @SpandexHeroPh
Miah Layson started cosplaying in 2008 when he met plenty of veterans in the cosplay community. Although he went on a long hiatus from cosplay, he never really got out of geekdom. He eventually came back doing Spidey cosplays in 2018 after he lost a lot of body fat doing keto for six months. “I noticed that I kinda looked like how I did when I was 16,” he shares. So, for the heck of it, he tried ordering his first full spandex costume from the US and joined the 2018 Halloween Comic Fest as the Ultimate Comics’ Spider-Man. “The Spider-Verse PH family was cool enough to immediately welcome me in,” he reminisces. “They gave me the Ultimate Spider-Miah nickname in the group chat, which I’ve then adopted as my social media handle.”
Miah shares that he has always been into fandoms and geekery; comics, animation, and movies. He’s a fan of both Marvel and DC equally. He also paints and collects action figures, races Tamiya M4WD’s, flies small First Person View Drones or “Tiny Whoops”, and runs a costuming business called Spandex Hero Philippines. “Our goal is to make exceptionally high quality, source material accurate, body-fit Superhero costumes accessible to the modern Filipino,” he says. Check them out today!
16. Carlo Angelo Garces, 31, @integralheroph
Carlo Angelo Garces has been cosplaying for two years now. He shares how it began: “A certain Spidey cosplayer was in a mall helping promote Spider-Man Homecoming and a mobile phone back then. I had a picture with him and that triggered my childhood dream of becoming a superhero. Eventually, that dream came true – at least through cosplaying.”
By profession, Carlo works in finance. He also serves at church. Though these two other aspects of his may look serious, Carlo shares that he incorporates them quite well with his cosplay side. He also adds that he loves cosplaying even with his non-cosplay friends for fun and in public like tourist spots and malls. “I just love it when I see people (especially children) smile because they see their favorite superhero come to life through me,” he says. For him, the best experience you can get as a cosplayer is bringing happiness not only to yourself, but also to the people around you.
15. Sage GT, 19, @sage.propaganda
Photo by Moonstruck Creatives
Sage GT has been cosplaying since mid 2015.ย Unlike most people, he actually got into cosplaying because he lost a bet with a friend. Aside from cosplaying, Sage also likes to exercise, cook, bake, and walk his dog.
14. Niccolo Javier, 32, https://www.facebook.com/JustNiccoJavier
Niccolo Javier has been cosplaying since around October 2012. “My decision to get into cosplay as a hobby was partly due to how it let me escape from my real world problems, and partly because I found the idea of role playing while in character quite interesting,” he shares. Niccolo is presently an assistant teacher at a small school in Makati. He also practices photography and sewing on the side.
13. Vinni Todd, 25, @VikingVinni
Photo by Just Nicco
A frustrated actor who needed an outlet for studying characters backstories, accents, and mannerisms;ย Vinni Todd has been cosplaying for six years now. Vinni studies history as a pastime. He also has a knack for studying people’s accents. Watch out for his next acting role as Prince Diego for Repertory Philippines’ The Quest for Adarna!
12. Cholo Tolentino, 24, @cholo_tolentino
Cholo Tolentino has been cosplaying for a little more than four years now. He actually got into cosplaying mainly because the return of Star Wars in 2015 reignited his nostalgia. He joined a group called Fightsaber Philippines and soon found himself performing on the main stages of Nexcon, Toycon, Asia Pop Comic Con and the like. “I fell in love with representing characters that served as role models for me growing up,” he shares. “Plus, the smiles on peopleโs faces as they saw their favorite characters brought to life? Priceless.”
From there, Cholo branched out into cosplaying characters from comics, anime and even video games. “I cosplay with family, friends, and even my significant other, which made everything all the more enjoyable,” he admits. “I fell in love with the community and Iโd like to think that they are proud to call me one of their own.”
Cholo currently works in the entertainment industry as an event organizer, performer, and host. He also has a couple of singles that you can stream on Spotify, as well as a music video released under Rebel Records Philippines. “Iโm also learning how to eat chicken,” he adds.
11. Tim G. Villasor aka Timzster, https://www.facebook.com/Timzster
Tim Villasor is a multimedia artist, blogger, writer, influencer, and pop culture crusader who mostly cosplays Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, and The Green Arrow from “Arrow”. Tim has technically been cosplaying for over a decade now! He started unofficially in Halloween 2007 when he cosplayed a character from the anime “Trigun” (Nicholas D. Wolfwood). In 2011, he officially started cosplaying at his first toys and hobbies convention as “Batman” – the comic book version based on the artwork of artist Alex Ross.
Aside from cosplay, Tim enjoys going to events, hosting on occasion, writing articles and doing coverage, as well as sharing some of his interests, hobbies, and stuff he’s very passionate about through his social media platforms. In his spare time, he loves to collect toys and play video games (specifically action games and fighting games), as well as read and browse hobby and pop culture news on the web.
10. Glenmarc Antonio, 39, @i_am_flash
Glenmarc Antonio has been cosplaying since 2010 when he decided to cosplayย as an extension of his fandom. Since he’s one of the biggest Flash collectors internationally, he finally got the courage to wear his very own Flash suit back in 2011. Glenmarc also enjoys performing for Fightsaber Philippines, a Lucasfilm-recogized lightsaber performance group. He is also an active member of the Rebel Legion Bagong Pag-Asa Base, and a founding member of various cosplay groups such as Justice PH, The Flash Philippines, and Westeros Cosplay PH. He is also an active social media manager for AND1 Philippines (footwear and apparel), Flash Caps (caps and headgear), and Flash Kicks.
9. SpiderDan Geromo, 37, @spiderdangeromo
SpiderDan Geromo has been dressing up as Spider-Man in public since 1999. He shares that this is the closest way to become an actual superhero, as well as his way of contributing to the fandom.ย Other than cosplay, SpiderDan also makes art, vlogs, works in advertising, and performs in bands.
8. Zack Tolosa, 21, @zacktolosa
Zack Tolosa has been cosplaying for five years now. He got into cosplay becauseย he has loved portraying characters that were dear to him ever since he was a kid. “I kind of took that to the next level through cosplaying,” he shares. “It has taught me a lot of both artistic skills, work ethics, and even life skills.” Aside from cosplaying, Zack is also a dancer and an illustrator/animator. Sometimes, he even finds himself integrating all of that into cosplaying.
7. Carlo Patrick Torres, @joestarscream
Carlo Patrick Torres is more commonly known as JOESTARSCREAM in the cosplay community. JOESTARSCREAM’s first cosplay was in 2014 asย Kyouraku Shunsui of Bleach.ย He shares that it was memorable because he also joined a cosplay competition that day with zero knowledge of what his opponents would look like. Although he lost, it didn’t stop him from cosplaying or joining other contests.ย “I cosplay because it makes me feel young,” he shares. “I also want to be an inspiration to others.”
JOESTARSCREAM says he is very flattered that people still recognize him as Loki even without the costume or if he cosplays a different character. What he is most proud of, though, is when a photo of him as Jotaro Kujo from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure went viral, and is still an ongoing Jojo meme. ” I am looking forward to being noticed by Marvel or Tom Hiddleston, and by sensei Araki Hirohiko,” he adds. Aside from being a cosplayer, he is also a Sprinto influencer, host, model, voice actor, gamer, streamer, and toy enthusiast. He has also recently ventured into vlogging.
6. Sean Price, 24, @TheSeanPrice
Sean Price has been cosplaying since mid-2017, but he has dreamt about giving it a try ever since he was a child. “Ever since I was young, I thought cosplaying was the coolest thing in the world,” he shares. “I grew up with anime, video games, and lots of geeky movies and shows, and always wanted to be a part of those universes in some way. When I saw on the Internet that people were dressing up as and actually personifying the favorite characters that I looked up to so much in real life, I was in complete and total awe!”
Sean says the bestย thing about cosplaying is that it’s something that everyone can enjoy. “I think it’s important to have heroes that you can look up to and they don’t just need to be real people as long as they are real to you,” he says. “I’ve learned so much through my experiences in these fandoms and they have shaped the person that I am today. There’s so much to learn and grow from these experiences, and being able to personify these characters in real life and bring the same joy and happiness to others that I once felt as a child is something that’s really important to me.”
Aside from cosplaying, Sean is actively developing himself as a health, wellness, and life coach. “I’ve dedicated myself to being an advocate for positivity and to help change the lives of anyone that I meet,” he explains. “If we all do our part, then we can make our communities and the world a better and more positive place for all.”
5. Wreidyl Denorte, 32, https://www.facebook.com/kino.kaoru
Wreidyl Denorte has been cosplaying for almost 12 years now. “Cosplay has become an outlet for me to show my artistic side as I have been a frustrated painter during my college days,” he explains. “Whenever I create a prop or a full costume, I treat it as a unique artwork and not simply mass produced piece. I always take pride on all the pieces that I make whether it’s for me or a commission work.” Besides cosplaying, Wreidyl also likes toy collecting. He is also a casual console gamer in his free time. Cosplay has become his main source of income now along with his wife, who does the sewing jobs.
4. Gelo Grayson, 27, @gelograyson
Gelo Grayson has been cosplaying for six years and has been working as a professional prop maker for three years now. He shares that he got into cosplay mostly because he always wanted to make the props and costumes he sees in movies. “Iโm a scale model builder and I use the techniques I learned over the years and apply it to the props and armor I create,” he explains. “The fun in cosplay is taking something from a show or a movie into something tangible and wearable (or wieldable for weapons).” From there, Gelo started creating things for other people and cosplay turned from a hobby into a profession.
Gelo actually used to work an office job for a few years, but then transitioned to freelance cosplay/production work. He is also a jazz flautist for their band Extrapolation, a figure skater, a Kendo practitioner, and a scale modeler.
3. Prince de Guzman, 23, @PrinceDeGuzmanTransformations
Prince de Guzman has been cosplaying for three years now. Prince is really into horror and monster making and he shares what got him into the world of transformations: “It became my avenue to express my love for horror genre and my obsession in the dark side of arts.” In contrast to his artistic content, Prince is also a professional events host, commercial model, and actor.
2. Myke dela Paz, 40,ย @phoenix_force_creations
Myke dela Paz started to cosplay in 2012 as Cyclops for a comic book series launch where he met a lot of other cosplayers who eventually became friends. The community and circle got bigger and bigger from there. Myke was actually already curious about wearing costumes as his favorite characters or superheroes back in college, but it was considered “weird” at the time. In the mid 2000s, there was a rise in anime cosplays; but Myke was still looking to join a group of comic book superhero cosplays. That’s when he found the Fil X-Men group in 2012. “I wanted to cosplay to be able to express my creativity in making the costumes and also expressing my love for the character and fandom it belongs,” he explains. “In addition to that, it gives me joy to make people, especially the kids, happy and entertained while in costume and in character, which they adore.”
Myke isย an artist, but he is mostly focused on customizing and creating action figure toys through sculpting and modification right now. “I usually enhance and do a makeover for factory made figures with a more realistic touch to them,” he shares. You can check out his work on his Instagram account mentioned above.
1. Chris Cantada, 34, @CantadaForce
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