The local hobby and cosplay community is a colorful and dynamic one as there are so many creative and imaginative individuals and groups who push the limits to deliver new and exciting things to the scene. DIBS E-Magazine is a new online publication that promises just that as they feature a breadth of hobbies and interests which includes cosplay, photography, toys and gaming, just to name a few.
We had the chance to do a short interview with Sotanghon, the one who conceptualized DIBS E-Magazine and who speaks for the team. We asked him how he came up with the idea of starting this project. “The whole thing started when I felt tired of doing the ‘typical’ photo shoots; like there neither was an urge nor an inspiration. I wanted a ‘purpose’ for our shoots and so I set a goal.”
Luckily I have talented friends from the hobby community (Bidj Señal, Bryan Mallorca, Chops Bardos, Marlon Alcazar and Paulo Saile who are my co-photographers; Jayve Morin who’s in charge of web dev, Ollie Samson on styling, Eman Baniqued on layout and Ayesa Mikaela San Juan on copywriting) who wanted the same thing too — which is to give proper recognition to deserving cosplayers with passion and enthusiasm, and to give back to the community which we all have the pleasure of being in.
He then got to describe his talented team. “We’re a bevy of normal nobodies, really. At any given day we’re talking about movies, games, toys, gadgets; the next, we’re all cramming to publish the latest issue. We’re a wacky, rowdy bunch but we take the e-magazine and our passions seriously. If there’s one word to describe all of us, it would be ‘FEELS’ – and that is a family secret.”
We got him to discuss what it is that keeps the team together. “Cliché as it may sound, but aside from passion and having one goal; it’s the friendship that keeps us together. Some of us have known each other before we entered the hobby, the others we met through it but it definitely feels like we’ve known each other for a lifetime; so much so that we get to work through everything effortlessly. We put each others’ personal priorities above everything else and understand that we all have roles to play in and out of the hobby. We have no hierarchy or titles and everyone gets to have a say on things – from something as miniscule as the fonts we use to the pictures we put on the mag. It’s a ‘TEAM’ in all sense of the word; for every decision and issue we put out, rest assured that it has everyone’s approval and has worked hard for and on it.”
Wrapping up, we asked what readers can expect from the DIBS team in the coming months. “We’ve been focusing on cosplay as of late but we’d also like to tackle different hobbies like Gunpla, gaming… the works. Aside from the usual improvements on the mag and with our snapshots (styles, features, etc.) they can surely expect more AWESOMENESS from the Team.
We indeed look forward to great things from them as they move past their fourth issue. Make sure to check out their great work. Catch their blog at http://dibsemagazine.blogspot.com/ and their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dibsthatmag. We at arkadymac.com always appreciate individuals and groups who continue to support the cosplay community, so we hope you’ll support them too.
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