How to turn your passion into your purpose and profession, that’s just one of the many things that content creators and professional cosplayers Awie and Prince de Guzman shared with me in a recent episode of #PamilyaTalk. During our animated conversation, they appeared dressed as Alexandra Trese and Crispin, characters from the beloved local comic Trese that has since become a hit on Netflix.
Awie and Prince are now considered the country’s hottest cosplaying power couple. And rightly so. Because when this pair cosplays, they do more than just play dress up. Instead, they mean serious business, spending days, sometimes weeks and months, developing and executing their various looks—from their makeup and wigs, to their outfits, props, and demeanor, and even their own prosthetics.
Awie and Prince joined #PamilyaTalk dressed as characters from the comic-turned-Netflix-hit Trese. Awie took on the titular character of Alexandra Trese, whose odd, pointed bangs, she said, always takes some effort to style. Prince portrayed Crispin, complete with the mask and contact lenses that made his eyes appear totally black.
What a hot body…of work!
Fueled by their creativity and desire for constant improvement, Awie and Prince have brought to life an impressive array of characters in their joint and respective cosplaying portfolios. So impressive, in fact, that big entertainment outfits have been turning to them for the last five years to hype up upcoming shows and movies.
Prince says one of his biggest breaks was portraying Pennywise, the evil clown from “It.” For Awie, it was her portrayal of Alita Battle Angel. Since then they’ve gone on to professionally cosplay other notable pop culture figures such as characters from Stranger Things, Kingdom, and The Witcher, as well as those from superhero franchises like Shazam, Wonder Woman, The Suicide Squad, Doctor Strange, and Thor, among many others. They’ve also been commissioned to cosplay video game characters such as those from Garena Call of Duty Mobile, HoYoVerse Genshin Impact, and Ragnarok.
What’s the story behind their seemingly meteoric rise?
They said opportunity just came knocking. And knocking. And knocking. And it keeps knocking still.
Both marketing graduates, the two had held corporate jobs in the past. But Prince said he always had a penchant for creative expression. As a child, he loved horror movies but was rarely scared because he was too busy trying to figure out how the special effects were done. So when he got older, he started to experiment with cosplaying as a hobby. He honed his craft, learned what he can all on his own, and vlogged about it, though still all just for fun. He said this became his venue "to execute (his) passion for the arts."
But Fate clearly had other plans. As Prince was applying for another corporate job, the first knock came. Warner Bros. gave him his first big break and his vlog reached one million views on YouTube within a week. Needless to say, much to the chagrin of his parents, he didn’t pursue the corporate job.
As Prince’s videos and images began to gain traction, Awie, a self-confessed introvert, already had a long-term desk job. And she was more than content to stay behind the scenes as her boyfriend’s photographer and videographer. But around a year into Prince’s professional cosplaying success, opportunity also came knocking for her in the form of the offer to play Alita Battle Angel.
So was their rise meteoric?
Far from it, they said. According to Prince, it’s taken years of blood, sweat, and tears to get where they are currently at. Since almost everything they know is self-learned, he and Awie admit that they still have a lot of learning to do.
But passion is important. Though they do grab opportunities as they come—and with so much joy in their hearts, they added—there’s a lot of hard and painstaking work involved. If you don’t love what you do, “susukuan lang din agad,” you’ll just end up giving up, they said.
Just got lucky?
The couple said luck did play a role in their road to success. As did timing. For Awie, luck was on her side because she did already resemble Alita Battle Angel. For Prince, he was already out there with a loyal, if not exactly big, following. When the brands came looking for the right man for the job, he already had a good portfolio of an assortment of characters, from the good looking to the amusing to the downright horrifying.
Is cosplaying a sustainable profession?
It certainly isn’t a job for everyone, but Awie and Prince have been able to make it work. But that’s only because they’re never content with resting on their laurels. They are almost obsessive in their compulsion to improve their techniques and past work.
It took a lot of time and effort before they could show their parents that there's a decent living to be made in content creation. They said that parents should try to keep an open mind when it comes to non-conventional career paths. But the children, for their part, should be willing and able to prove themselves, Awie added.
Their burgeoning success is also because the cosplay power couple know their worth. They are very grateful to the international companies that don’t shortchange them and don’t rush them with impossible deadlines. “We can show what we can do (when) we are paid right,” said Prince. In return, they continue to demonstrate their commitment to giving only their very best work all the time.
Any tips for those who want to break into professional cosplaying?
Start small, but invest well
Though they started out of their own closets and with just a meager budget, they made use of their ingenuity. But Awie and Prince also never use fake or knock off brands, especially for makeup. Those may seem cheap to buy, they warned, but the damage that they can cause on the skin can be very costly to remedy.
Choose your characters wisely
Awie said that character background research is important. Unless you know the ins and outs of a character, you might not be able to do it justice. She added that it would also help to go for a look you’re sure you can pull off, whether because you already resemble the part or you’re confident that you can approximate it with makeup, costumes, and other tricks.
Have a unique selling proposition
Ever the marketing grads, they advised on finding a unique niche. While there were many cosplayers treading the same paths, Prince was noticed by the public and by big brands because he specialized in his love of horror. The scarier and more grotesque, the more he excelled.
Take care of your image
Cosplayers tend to become role models. It’s a big responsibility that requires you to be mindful of how you behave at all times. Just always be kind, they urged.
Special sauce
“We really love what we do, i think that's the special sauce," Prince shared. That and what he called their “craving to improve every day." It’s that level of commitment that has done them well and earned the trust of their followers and collaborators.
“Start small. Just have fun. And love what you’re doing. Before you know it, you’ll be surprised to see yourself going places,” they added.
Don’t miss out on all the inspiring and heartwarming stories shared by our favorite Cosplaying Power Couple. Watch Tita Jing with Awie and Prince de Guzman here on #PamilyaTalk!
Perfect combination
Awie and Prince are proof positive that it is indeed possible to make your passion your profession. Their admirable commitment to their craft plus their sheer joy in what they do make them the perfect combination for their chosen path and as a happy couple.
Though their professional cosplaying journey has taken them down the road less traveled, I for one can’t wait to see all the places they’ll go.. And, of course, all the wonderful characters they’ll bring to life.
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