Sami Bess Interview
All photos and cosplays featured in article by Sami Bess
CRM: Hey Sami! Could you please introduce yourself to the readers?
S: Hey there ~! I'm Sami Bess! I'm a Sailor Moon obsessed cosplayer, content creator, and streamer. I have been cosplaying since I was 14, and making my own costumes for the past 10 years! I have a great passion for all things anime, kpop, gaming and cosplay! I’m a proud cat mommy whose names are: Taro, Mochi, & Wasabi. In my free time I like to play MMOs and consume copious amounts of Red Bull & sushi!
CRM: We first featured and found your work in Spring of 2018 in our Gaming issue! What have you been up to since then cosplay wise?
S: Wow, it’s been a honor to be apart of your issue TWICE so far! Since then, I have just been in major gremlin work mode working on my craft haha! I have a lot of unfinished works from 2018 that I’m excited to finally debut this year along with a buncha new stuff!
CRM: You create a variety of content ranging from pretty spicy to beautiful armor builds, did you ever feel that you had to stick to one type of cosplay?
S: Thank you so much! I primarily focus on creating content from what I love/ things I am inspired to do. The driving force to my choices in cosplay will always be passion. To me, the creative process is much more enjoyable when I have the love for the character/series! It is important to me that my passion shows through my work!
CRM: We saw that you are a k-pop fan as well! Who is your favorite group? Do you have a bias?
S: Ohhh boy, here we go! I AM A HUGE FAN OF KPOP. I got into Kpop after I fell out of the Jpop/Jrock scene, and have been addicted since! It’s super hard to choose a favorite, but I frequently listen to these artists: EXO, NCT, BTS, Blackpink, Red Velvet, and Taemin.Mark Lee from NCT has definitely wrecked my bias list ( ...sorry Kyungsoo ).
CRM: You cosplay a lot of waifus, but who is YOUR ultimate top tier waifu? Have you cosplayed her?
S: Waifus are laifuuuu ! Wow, there are a few dream waifus I have been wanting to cosplay for so long! Yoko [Gurren Lagann] and Masane Amaha [Witchblade] are a major must do. I hope to be able to cosplay them soon!
CRM: You have a lot of Patreon exclusive content, what are your biggest tips to managing a Patreon?
S: Quality over quantity is a MAJOR must for me personally. While yes, in some aspects Patreon is a business, but I feel you must not get pressured to put out work you aren’t inspired to do/happy with to keep up with the unrealistic pace of social media. A lot of creators feel like they need to keep up with a demand, but I have come to find that having if you’re becoming a slave to creating content without any sense of passion or pride in your work you start to feel burned out, and ultimately, unhappy. Being comfortable with your OWN pace and self-care while you’re creating will really show in your content. It may take longer, and you may not pump out content as fast as others but it will pay off to some quality content that you can be proud of! The only driving force for your content should be your passion, not the pressure of social media, your peers, or even your audience.
CRM: Have you ever had to deal with someone leaking your Patreon content? How can this negatively affect creators who publish their work through Patreon?
S: Personally, I have not come across any of my content being leaked. However, I have seen many of my fellow peers deal with the negative effects of content being leaked and it is a very disappointing ordeal. Creators put so much energy, money, and effort into their content, and many of them rely on Patreon as a their sole source of income. Leaking of content definitely hurts their small business. I do hope someday there will be way to prevent content being stolen.
CRM: You also have a Twitch channel where you play games and work on cosplay! How often do you go live on Twitch? Have you noticed it make an impact in your online following?
S: I unfortunately haven't been streaming as much as I used to when I first started, because I believe I may have burned myself out a bit ! I think my focus lately has been on my cosplays, but I love to return to streaming when I feel that *spark* to start streaming again!
CRM: .On your Twitch page you have “Waifu Wednesdays”. Can you tell us a little about what this is?
S: Waifu Wednesday is a cute name I came up with for chill day streams when I work on cosplay and take song requests from my subscribers! Waifu is a term of a endearment, and I felt it was a nice way to describe the close knit vibe of my chill streams. To me, they are more personal as opposed to my gaming streams.
CRM: Thanks for talking with us Sami! Could you please drop your links down below where people can check out more of your work and support you?
S: Thank you so much for the interview! It is a pleasure and an honor to be apart of your issue among other talented cosplayers! If you would like to check out more of my work, I post frequently on Twitter & Instagram ( zerosuitsami )! If you would like to support my work, which is definitely not a requirement, I do have a Patreon (patreon.com/samibess)!
Check out more in the Waifu issue of CRM here: https://www.blurb.com/b/9282228-cosplay-realm-magazine-no-23
or by becoming a member of the Patreon community over at the $5.00 tier. https://www.patreon.com/CosplayRealmMagazine