Dat Ashe

General Information

Dat Ashe is a Finnish-Texan, transgender, aroace, neurodivergent cosplayer and performer. He began cosplaying in 2010, making cosplays in 2013, hosting cosplay meetups in 2014 and panels in 2015, and cosplay guesting in 2017. He specializes in wig work, sewing, and makeup. He began performing in 2001 and has been professionally trained in theatre and singing. After an injury which permanently damaged his vocal chords, he retired from singing and now focuses on both his cosplay and performance craft. He is part of the Shadarkness YouTube channel and writes and directs the cosplay music videos which appear on the channel. As of May 2020, Ashe regularly takes cosplay commissions for wigs, props, and garments. 

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Overall, Ashe desires to make himself available to anyone. There are no dumb questions to him. He wants to help show others like him that they are not alone and they are valued within the community, something he, himself, needed to hear on numerous occasions throughout his life.

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Awards

- San Japan Ani-Idol 2015: Best Performance (Sparked interest in doing performances for Cosplay Contest).

- Prince Nightmare's Online Cosplay Contest 2017: 2nd Place alongside Shadarkness Cosplay as Futaba Sakura and Akira Kurusu from Persona 5.

- SausomeCon 2022: Best in Division with Theodore/Genderbent Isabelle from Animal Crossing.

- Tokyo, Oklahoma 2022: 1st Place Skit alongside Court's Cosplay as Deku and Himiko Toga from the My Hero Academia Villain Alternate Universe.

- Otaku Nights: Demon Slayer Night 2023: Best Performance with Inosuke Hashibira from Demon Slayer.

- Tokyo, Oklahoma 2023: 1st Place Skit alongside Court's Cosplay and Chiivanna as Kanato Sakamaki, Yui Komori, and Shuu Sakamaki, respectively.

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Notable Accomplishments

- Worked as J-Fashion Coordinator at Delta H Con from April 2015 - September 2017.

- His cosplay as Lucy from Elfen Lied was featured in 2017 on desudaily.com, an online cosplay news and media website.

- His cosplay with Shadarkness Cosplay as Futaba Sakura and Akira Kurusu from Persona 5 was on Cosplay Amino's "Featured" page in early 2017. This occurred again with Nora and Ren from RWBY later in 2017.

- Partnered with flowtoys.com in 2018 as an approved seller and teacher for their levitation wands and poi.

- Appeared in Cosplay Music Videos by RealTDragon at Anime North Texas 2016 and Kevin the Director at Anime Austin 2019.

- Worked with Pixel-Vixens since 2019 and has content published on the website.

- Became a paid TikTok Creator in 2020 and later became an affiliate with OhMyKitty4U in late 2021 after hitting 50,000 followers on TikTok.

- Appeared in three online newspapers: The San Antonio Current in September 2021, The Arkansas CW in June 2022, and Corpus Christi Caller Times in October 2022.

- Praised for his Overhaul cosplay in 2022 in an article, dedicated to said cosplay, by CBR.com, a website covering comic books, movies, and TV since 1995.

- Interviewed for his cosplay work three times: Ultra Evil Media in 2016, Demon Interviews in 2021, and Cosplay America in 2022.

- Kabane cosplay from Kemono Jihen was noticed by the character's voice actress.

- Featured in Storytaler Studios' CyPhaCon 2022 highlight's reel.

- His award-winning Theodore cosplay was featured in San Japan 2022's Cosplay Museum.

- TikTok using "Happy Face" by Jagwar Twin was praised by the aforementioned music artist in the comments.

- While not a cosplay contest, Dat Ashe and Court's Cosplay won second place in Alamo City Swing Revival's Costume Contest. Alamo City Swing Revival is where Ashe and Court regularly go for swing dance practice.

- As of March 2023, Ashe is in the top quartile of creators on OnlyFans. All funds benefit his future top surgery.

- Featured multiple times on ArdaWigs's Instagram.

- Currently working on LGBTQ+ inclusive products for an artist alley booth!

- Invited as a part of The Burnt Courthouse to teach ballroom dance at Tokyo, Oklahoma,

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Cosplay/Performer Guesting and Responsibilities

- PokéFest 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. Judged Cosplay Contest and had a cosplay booth.

- AMA-Con 2017 in Amarillo, Texas. Judged Kid's Cosplay Contest, judged performance for Game and Comic Cosplay Contest, hosted cosplay panels, and had a cosplay booth.

- Animania Wichita Falls 2018 in Wichita Falls, Texas. Had a cosplay booth.

- AMA-Con 2018 in Amarillo, Texas. Judged Kid's Cosplay Contest, hosted cosplay and fandom panels, and had a cosplay booth.

- Magic City Adventure Experience 2020 in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Performed a 30 minute flow performance and had a booth where people could learn flow arts and buy flow props and prints.

- Kilgore Geekend 2021 in Kilgore, Texas. Performed a 30 minute flow performance, judged Kid's and Adult's Cosplay Contest, hosted cosplay panels with other guests, and had a booth for cosplay and performance pieces.

- Arkansas Anime Festival 2022 in Bentonville, Arkansas. Judged Cosplay Contest, hosted cosplay panels with other guests and alone, had a booth.

- Ba-Con 2022 in Houston, Texas. Judged Kid's and Adult's Cosplay Contests, hosted cosplay panel with other guests, had a booth.

- New Wave Xpo 2022 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Had a booth.

- Anime STX 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. Judged cosplay contest, had a panel alongside fellow guests, had a booth.

- YUMiCON 2023 in San Antonio, Texas.

- Ba-Con 2023 in Houston, Texas. Judged Adult's Cosplay Contests, hosted cosplay panels with other guests, had a booth.

- ColossalCon 2023 (FEATURED COSPLAYER) in Round Rock, Texas. ColossalCon Meet & Greet. THE BURNT COURTHOUSE.

- KadabraCon 2023 in Portland, Texas. Judged Adult's Cosplay Contests, hosted cosplay panel with other guests, had a booth. THE BURNT COURTHOUSE.

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Panel/Relevant Event History (Not Under Texan Heat Nerdlesque) Within the Past 5 years

- San Japan 2019 in San Antonio, Texas: Nerdy Side of Burlesque (18+) Co-host, Cosplay ASMR 101 Host, and Flow Arts Workshop Host

- Ichibancon 2020 in Concord, North Carolina: Welcome to the Fandom Host

- Kilgore Geekend 2021 in Kilgore, Texas: Cosplay Guest Q&A Panelist

- Pensacon 2021 in Pensacola, Florida: Welcome to the Shie Hassaikai Co-host

- Anime Lubbock 2021 in Lubbock, Texas: Nerdy Side of Burlesque (18+) Host, Story, Story, Die (18+) Co-host

- MechaCon 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana: Story, Story, Die (18+) Co-host, Welcome to the Shie Hassaikai Co-host, My Hero Academia League of Villains Panelist

- Tokyo, Oklahoma 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma: Welcome to the Shie Hassaikai Co-host

- Arkansas Anime Festival 2022 in Bentonville, Arkansas: Cosplay 101 Panelist, Cosplay Guest Q&A Panelist, Gender Diversity in Cosplay Co-host, Cosplay TikTok 101 Host

- Ba-Con 2022 in Houston, Texas: Cosplay Guest Q&A Panelist

- Tokyo, Oklahoma 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma: Gender Diversity in Cosplay Co-host, Cosplay TikTok 101 Host

- Anime STX 2023 in San Antonio, Texas: Leveling Up!: Competitive Cosmaking alongside fellow guests.

- Ba-Con 2023 in Houston, Texas: Cosplay Guest Q&A Panelist, Co-Host of Gender Diversity in Cosplay

- Tokyo, Oklahoma 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma: Gender Diversity in Cosplay Co-host.

- KadabraCon 2023 in Portland, Texas: Co-Host of Gender Diversity in Cosplay

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Topics He Can Speak on in Panels

- LGBTQ+ issues and inclusivity inside and outside of the cosplay community and convention scene.

- Gender-affirming cosplay for transgender and gender-diverse individuals.

- Cosplay on a budget

- Cosplay on TikTok

- Cosplay and coping with mental health disabilities and issues including: ADHD, PTSD, chronic depression/dysthymia, generalized anxiety disorder, burnout, and more. This also includes physical disabilities, as Ashe has scoliosis with chronic back pain and is a cane-user .

- Doing 18+ cosplay content as someone on the aro/ace spectrum and works with Pixel-Vixens and OnlyFans.

- Skits and performance tips and tricks for cosplayers. His college education as a Film-Drama dual major as well as being a professional performer outside of cosplay also plays a role in this.

- Cosplay guesting.

- Cosplay tips and tricks related to makeup, wigs, and sewing.

- Cosplay scenes in out-of-state and out-of-country conventions.

- Cosplay music videos.

- Non-Cosplay topics including, but not limited to: Writing fanfiction, horror anime and film, classic anime and film (1930s-1980s), film-making and audio production, digital and traditional art, fandoms and fandom history, early cosplay community history (1930s -1960s and onward), and Japanese fashion and world fashion history.

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