INTERVIEW WITH WESTHEDRAGON
July 26, 2025
Remi Stamatellos: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. Before we begin, I wanted to go over some of the basics. Could you tell me your name, pronouns, and a little bit about who you are and what you do?
Wes The Dragon: My name is Wes. I’m known as WesTheDragon across the internet and literally every social media ever. My pronouns are they/them. I’m a plus-size cosplayer and I advocate for body positivity in the cosplay community, share tips from wigs to guesting, create content for conventions, and do wig commissions!
RS: So, I wanted to dive in and discuss a little bit about how your cosplay relates to your nonbinary, plus-sized, and neurodivergent identities. How has cosplay aided in expressing your multiple intersectional identities? Would you say that cosplay was a factor in your self-discovery?
WTD: I would say that cosplay is a big part of my self discovery because cosplay has helped me come out of my shell. In high school, I didn’t talk to anyone and stuck to myself. I never found myself putting thought into my outfits. I didn’t like my body, and I struggled with self-esteem.
Cosplay really gave me the confidence to be myself. I think it’s a little weird that “dressing up as a different person” helped me find MY confidence but it absolutely did. I’m able to talk in front of crowds now and host classes/panels to instruct and educate others all because of cosplay.
RS: It’s always a good thing to have a creative outlet, and I’ve always greatly admired cosplayers for all the effort they put into tiny details. Do you feel as if you’ve been able to connect with others within the cosplay community?
WTD: Oh absolutely! I’ve met some of my best friends through cosplaying. I love this community. I’ve even become the person people come to about wig advice, or just them saying “hey, I love your cosplays. You’ve inspired me to start cosplaying and gave me the confidence to love myself.” And every time I get those messages I cry knowing that I can make a difference and someone doesn’t have to feel how I used to is just incredible. I’m crying just a bit writing this right now, just thinking about it.
RS: I love that. I would definitely describe myself as a beginner-level cosplayer, so if I ever go to a con, I know who to talk to about making my wigs more Normal lol.
WTD: Yes absolutely! I love helping people with stuff! Wigs have always been one of my favorite elements to cosplay!
RS: I’m so relieved. I tried to cosplay Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs last year and the wig was an absolute mess. What barriers do you think the cosplay community imposes, purposefully or unintentionally, on queer, disabled, and/or plus-sized folks?
WTD: I gotta find an old video of my first wig I tried to actually style. It was my first wig ever; I had just parted it so I could see, but the first wig I ever tried to style looked so rough. It was Koga from Inuyasha.
I do think there are a few barriers regarding all of these, especially POC cosplayers, and I have made a few posts about them. I’m gonna give each of them their own paragraph.
For plus-sized cosplayers, the main issue finding pre-made cosplays in our size and being told “that character isn’t fat.” I’ve actually been told that I’m glorifying obesity/an unhealthy lifestyle simply by existing.
For disabled cosplayers, the barrier is also with finding cosplays that work with mobility aids (wheelchairs, canes, crutches). Venues and transportation are not usually accessible for these aid uses.
For me, it can be really loud, and really big cons can take a lot more out of me because of all of the noise, people being close together, and all the starting and stopping to navigate the crowd. I only do a few big cons a year since they absolutely take so much out of me, and sometimes I’ve lost friends because they don’t understand why it takes so much out of me, why we can’t hang out during the con, or why plans change. Honestly that part really sucks.
For LGBT+ cosplayers, one thing I’ve had issues with is that it can be hard to cosplay characters or find your femininity/masculinity again in cosplay if you’re trans, nonbinary, or another gender identity.
For POC cosplayers, the obstacles are usually the constant harassment of being told that “this character isn’t a POC,” and that they can only cosplay POC characters.
"I’ve personally been told numerous times that me being plus-sized is “ruining the character” and "promoting unhealthiness'" when I’m just living my life and being proud, happy, and loving myself."
WTD: Minority cosplayers in general are discriminated against because we don’t fit in the conventional beauty standards of not only the character, but also cosplay in general, We are all beautiful and talented in our own ways and shouldn’t be left out of photos, events, and conversations because we don’t fit the mold.
RS: I definitely agree with all of the above. Do you have any advice on dealing with potential dysphoria in cosplay?
WTD: Honestly, my biggest advice is if you’re not comfortable, you won’t be confident. My Zhongli cosplay has two outfits; one is a suit and the other his Archon outfit. My first cosplay in 2016 was a suit and I was so uncomfortable and didn’t like how I looked in it. So when I was choosing a Zhongli cosplay in 2022, I chose the Archon cosplay that was more like a jacket and baggy pants– stuff that I was already comfortable wearing– and then I slowly branched out to wearing clothes/cosplays out of my comfort zone.
"If you're not comfortable, you won't be confident."
RS: That’s some solid advice. I’d love to know if you have any cosplay-related resources you would recommend to other members of your communities, though I’m sure you have plenty of stuff on your social media already.
WTD: Very true. I have a lot of great stuff on my Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. I’m also a resource myself, so anyone can reach out to me on social media or by email. Facebook groups are great places to find your community and make friends! I’m in a few plus-size cosplayer groups for support and selling cosplays and everyone is so nice!
RS: I’m a huge fan of Discord support groups myself! What’s your favorite cosplay that you’ve done to date?
WTD: My favorite cosplay is always such a hard question, but I think it is my Sombra from Overwatch cosplay. The cosplay is her LESSERAFIM collab skin, and I thrifted every piece of it. Let me walk you through how I made it:
WTD: The hat was thrifted and painted, the jacket was made from old pants that my uncle was going to throw out, so I patterned, painted, and sewed the jacket.
I already had the black tank top, but the blue shirt is actually part of the pants I thrifted and used to make the split pants. It’s split with a pair of black (also thrifted) pants, and all the details were hand-painted on.
Finally, the shoes are where I used the last bit of the blue jean fabric to cover the black boots I thrifted, and all of the details were also painted on. I think I made the whole thing for around $50 USD, including the wig that’s a helmet wig. I did the bangs with wire and tape and painted the tips of the bangs myself!
It was a lot of work, but I’m so proud of it and I’ll definitely be sharing pictures with you of her! Also, when I posted her on Twitter/X, her voice actor reposted it and I cried.
For more information and rad cosplay tips, check out Wes' social media accounts on their Linktree!