In a world where cuteness is a norm, she stands out and makes a name for herself with her outlandish and outrageous cosplays. Indeed, to those who have been to a convention or two, her portrayals never fail to leave an impression. From a rampaging female titan, to a three-sword-wielding pirate, to an obnoxious Miley Cyrus, she makes sure she gets to live out a character and have the most fun out of it. We are then of course happy to have Gaby as our latest Cosplay Model in her first online feature for arkadymac.com as genderbent Sanji. Shot from our headquarters in Ortigas. Photos by Bryan, with Bless and Alice as executive producers.
Most cosplayers portray characters they have a lot in common with, but Gaby admits no such thing with Sanji. “Sanji cooks and I don’t,” Gaby was quick to say. “He is cocky and a bastard toward guys—choosy! But when it comes to girls, he gets swoony and sweet to them but that doesn’t change the fact that I love him!! I guess the only similarities we have is that we’re both cool and funny in a way.” She tells us that Sanji wasn’t that hard to cosplay. “His costume is easy. Probably when it comes to stances and kick poses that gives off the challenge yet even then I can still manage it actually.”
Having cosplayed so many characters from the manga and anime One Piece, we ask her the reason behind her fascination for it. “It’s because as a kid, I really love pirates, and the ocean. One piece is really a funny, adventurous, romantic anime that makes you just feel free and wild. Really inspirational. To date she has cosplayed Franky, Ace, Ms. Doublefinger, Boa hancock , Marguerite, Doflamingo, Zoro, New World Zoro, and New World Sanji, with more to come.
Of genderbending and crossplaying, she tells us that sometimes male characters have admirable qualities and therefore she’d want to cosplay them. “I admire men a lot in real life because they are just so funny and cool and strong and so awesome. And if you adore, like, or look up to them, you wanna BE like them. And when you’re happy portraying them, it gets really, really enjoyable.”
Her love of cosplay is something she could never, ever hide, and Gaby never tires of showing that in her words and in her actions. “I like cosplaying so much. I just love the feeling of having awesome pictures. I’m like, ‘Dayuuum, Gurl. Is this even me?’ Can you imagine that when you’re old and have a family of your own, you’re just gonna look back on your youth especially your cosplay pictures and tell yourself ‘Was I always been this crazy?’ It’s amusing.”
We ask her what aspects of cosplay she likes. “I love cosplaying because I love to portray a character. I dunno, creative and artistic people just love to express ya know? When we portray a character, we portray a little bit of ourselves. Some of us may not be aware of it, but we choose characters because they remind us of us ( or some of us may be unaware of it ).”
We then point out how much people admire her cosplays and, of course, the person behind it too. “I love to cosplay because what I do doesn’t only affect me, but also the people around me. It feels good to know that when I cosplay, someone gets inspired. I guess that’s the best motivator of all. People love you for what you love doing. When people approach me and asks for a picture, they become so happy.” And indeed Gaby never has a dull moment at events as people flock for the chance to have pics with her. “I’m glad. When they tell me they started cosplaying because of me, I am touched. When I make them happy, I feel happy supaaaaaah happy. Seeing their smiles and hyperness is just so good for my heart.”
This is in contrast to how she describes her usual self. “To be honest, I’m an antisocial being. I find it hard socializing with people, I’m quiet, I like listening rather than talking. The only thing I’m loud at is when I’m using my Facebook. HAHAHAH! ”
As she has been cosplaying for quite a while, we ask her what still keeps cosplay exciting for her. “The things that excite me while cosplaying are of course the people I encounter. I am just soooo happy when they approach me, greet me and say “Gaby!” and such. I just want them to be happy so every time I see a person giggle or smile after they had taken a picture with me, I’m so happy. So glad because they’re glad! I just find it really beautiful when they smile!”
For those who continue to support her, she has this to say: “I would like to say thank you so much to you guys who believe so much in me. I will continue on…keep doing my very best! And for those who want to cosplay but are discouraged, I say just go with it and follow your heart! Just have fun and YOLO! We only have one life. Do not mind other people, what’s important is that you do not hurt anyone! Just keep chasing your dreams! I love you all!
We hope that you’ll also continue to support her too in her endeavors as we always expect more great and fun things from her. Thank you for visiting our feature on Gaby, and expect to catch more of her soon here at arkadymac.com.
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