( source : http://ow.ly/cYHES )
By now, you've probably heard of Dustin Dorough, the Atlanta, GA-based cosplayer who plans on visiting children who are in hospitals in the 48 states as well as a few cities in Canada. When I read his Indiegogo project, the paragraph about why he is doing this really struck a chord within me.
The character of Superman has had a profound impact on my life and the way I view the world. He's a man with the power to rule the world, but instead chooses to serve it. He lost his home planet, but chooses to protect ours. He has every reason to be angry, but he lives to inspire others with the sheer power of hope. I feel like Superman is exactly what these kids need when dealing with such intense struggles of their own.This reminded me so much of the DC Comics' We Can Be Heroes video where a girl admits she wanted to stand up for a classmate but she didn't for the simple fact that she didn't want to be embarrassed.
I also often see individuals who truly wish to do great things for others in the most selfless of ways, but unfortunately we live in a world where kindness is immediately cause for ridicule. Far too often do I see someone with good intentions hold back for fear of embarrassment. As part of this tour, I want to help inspire all those who hear of it to remind them that old-fashioned kindness still has a place in the modern world. I want to remind them that it's still okay to be a good person.
I admit it, there's been times in my life when I stood idlely by. Often I wonder what stop me from helping and maybe it was fear, or maybe it was the fact that I was taught to keep your head down and mind your business but reading Dustin's Indiegogo page, I realized this is probably the right time we needed someone to stand up and make a statement. With the Colorado tragedy recently, as well as the economy still not in great shape, we all could use a hero.
I emailed Dustin for an interview not realizing we had met before the year ago at DragonCon. He was one of the first cosplayers I photographed when I arrived on Thursday night. Interview after the jump.
( source : https://www.facebook.com/superherophotography )
Before we get into it about your project, tell me about how you first got into cosplay ?
Well, I was born on Halloween, so costuming has always been a relatively large part of my life. I always wanted to wear the costumes of my favorite characters, but I never had any place to actually show them off until 2007 when I made my first appearance at Dragon*Con as one of the Spartans from 300. Since then I've cosplayed as a pirate, Power Ranger, Mad Max, Green Lantern, Rambo, Wolverine and multiple Supermen. Compared to most, my cosplay resume is rather small, but it will certainly grow in time, especially as I'm able to attend more conventions.
lol, Halloween ! Many cosplayers I've talked to in the past were big Halloween fans. What were some of the costumes you did ?
Hahaha, oh man, growing up I was everything from a Ninja Turtle to the Fonz on Halloween. Being born on Halloween is absolutely magical for a kid because I was convinced that everyone was decorating just for me. Each year, though, my costumes grew to be more complex and detailed. By the time I was 18, I was doing a Terminator costume with prosthetics I'd made myself from latex and aluminum.
Dude, the Fonz !!! I know sometimes as kids get older, they don't get into Halloween as much so when you were still creating more complex costumes as a teenager, did your parents wonder about that ?
Heck yeah, the Fonz! He was my hero when I was like.... ten. The Terminator and Punisher costumes I had at 18 and 19 were the ones that everyone went crazy for. My costumes looked okay when I was younger, but I was also much... heavier. That kindof distracted from the costumes themselves. Then again, being generally unpopular and an outcast for most of my youth didn't really help me get invited to many Halloween parties. I barely had any friends until I was 18, to be honest.
Well, my dad left when I was pretty young, so he wasn't around to influence my costuming. I have a feeling he wouldn't have been a big fan though. My mother was always extremely supportive though, especially since she knew that it was my goal to one day be a professional actor. I suppose she saw all of the costuming as just training for the inevitable, since I would always practice endlessly to match the voice/accent and personality of whatever costume I was currently wearing. (Be it Jack Sparrow, Nightcrawler or the Terminator)
I'm honestly not sure whether theatre or costuming came first in my life. They've both just kindof been around since the beginning. I was in drama club and show choir in high school and have rarely missed a chance to be on stage. I think these two parts of my life compliment and fuel each other equally. Though, in the past few years I've been doing more film acting instead of stage work, but the conventions I attend help get the love of the stage out of my system since I get to stay relatively in-character while also interacting with tons of awesome people. It's a nice break where I'm able to enjoy acting without it feeling like a job, you know?
I'm honestly not sure whether theatre or costuming came first in my life. They've both just kindof been around since the beginning. I was in drama club and show choir in high school and have rarely missed a chance to be on stage. I think these two parts of my life compliment and fuel each other equally. Though, in the past few years I've been doing more film acting instead of stage work, but the conventions I attend help get the love of the stage out of my system since I get to stay relatively in-character while also interacting with tons of awesome people. It's a nice break where I'm able to enjoy acting without it feeling like a job, you know?
( Dustin @ DragonCon 2011. He's one of the first cosplayers I photographed when I was there )
So your first con ever was DragonCon ? Man, how was that ?!?
My first time at Dragon*Con was legitimately overwhelming. I was performing there with a theatre troupe and I had no idea what to expect. I was rather nervous being shirtless around so many strangers because this was relatively soon after losing around 100lbs, so I was very timid at first, but the response from the con-goers was very encouraging. I made lots of friends during that first time that I still hold very close today. Before the end of the first day, I knew that I was addicted. I was already trying to decide what other costumes I wanted to do next. I never would have guessed that it would eventually lead to me doing around 10 cons per year though!
Tell me about acting. Loving costumes and Halloween must made it easy for you to slip in and out of roles as you do today ?
Acting has always been something that I really enjoyed. I love getting to use my imagination and to explore fantasy, so having a career that allows me to become someone else for a day at a time is an absolute blast. Given, I don't always get to play something completely outlandish. In the past, I was a recurring bailiff on "Drop Dead Diva", werewolf on "Vampire Diaries" and a zombie on "The Walking Dead". They helped pay the bills, but I'm not exactly going to get nominated for any awards for those yet, haha
So how did the Hospital Heroes project came about ?
The Hospital Heroes project began about three weeks ago, actually. I was planning to visit a hospital in New Hampshire where a friend of mine is a nurse, but my gig as an emcee for a sporting event that was bringing me to that area didn't pan out like we'd hoped. I was so upset that I wasn't going to be able to follow-through with the visit that I began researching options to go up there anyway. I was pricing plane tickets, bus tickets, fuel costs, etc. when I suddenly began to think, "Why spend all of this money to visit one hospital when I can do to ALL of them?" I posted a Facebook status about it and the support from my friends made me decide to go public with my idea on my official page. Within 48 hours, it had been posted on SuperheroStuff.com and I was scheduling a photoshoot with Adam Jay of Superhero Photography to help with the promotion. I began getting messages from strangers that were telling me how much this tour meant to them and how inspired they were to volunteer in their own communities. This went very quickly from being a fun idea to an absolute responsibility. I refuse to let those people down.
Before this Hospital Heroes tour, have you visited hospitals before dressed as a superhero ?
I've done tons of visits with children as a superhero in the past. I was actually a birthday party superhero for about two years. (Which, is basically two years of doing magic tricks and getting punched in the crotch for a living, haha.) When I was still working as a party character, I always had the most fun when I got booked to work at a hospital or a benefit of some sort. Those kids actually REALLY appreciated the character being there instead of just taking it for granted. It always warmed my heart whenever I got to make their day brighter instead of just being a spandex-clad punching bag.
There's been a wave of support since you launched your Indiegogo project to support covering your expenses in your adventure. Were you surprised at the outpour of support ?
To be honest, I'm really not sure what I expected. This entire idea was taken out of my hands before I even had time to develop any expectations. I must say, though, that I could have NEVER expected this response. When I was at Wizard World Chicago this past weekend, strangers were constantly coming up to me, shaking my hand and thanking me for what I was doing. I'm REALLY glad that I've been able to inspire people. but I was definitely not prepared for the celebrity treatment and hero-worship that I've been getting from a lot of the people I've encountered. As an actor, of course fame was always in the cards for the future career plans, but I never expected it to come from charity work. In the past, I've always preferred to keep my good deeds quiet and to never take credit for them. There's no option for that in this case though, so it's been a LOT to get used to. As far as I'm concerned, I'm still just a huge nerd with muscles and a cape, so whenever people react like I'm some sort of hero, I just giggle, blush and stutter.
Thanks Dustin ! I wish you success on your journey !
( Dustin gets a little support from Adrianne Curry )
For more information, check out Dustin's Indiegogo Project. Besides financial support, there are other ways to help him as detailed on his FB page . You can follow his twitter or FB page also. I'll be keeping an eye out on his journey and posts some of his updates on my Facebook.
