Here comes the Spider-Man aka William The Greatest!

First name and last initial: William E.

Where are you from originally or reside currently?
I am originally from Durham, North Carolina, and still reside in-state.

How long have you been cosplaying?
Technically since my first convention in 2009 so about 15 years.

What characters have you cosplayed the most?
Spider-Man of various backgrounds (MCU Peter, Miles Morales, an OC Miles design) 

[Social Media Pages] Instagram/ Threads: @willthegreatest Youtube: Will the Greatest

Who or what inspired you to cosplay?
Attending that first convention I wanted to be like everyone else that was dressed up and have fun as a character I loved. At the time I did Light Yagami which was a very simple costume made up of clothes I had in my closet. Plus convincing my best friend to be L, helped us both get recognized and feel more comfortable. Since then I just keep finding more and more characters I love and keep wanting to bring them to life.

What do you do when you aren’t cosplaying (day job/hobbies)?
My day to day work is in Mental Health but for hobbies I enjoy acting, writing, and hosting my pop culture podcast, The ACE Podcast with my good friend Aaron. I also occasionally co-host the ReviewAnew Podcast with Rap Critic.

What costumes have provided the biggest challenges/rewards so far and why?
My original Miles Morales was a LONG night of continuous puff painting and glueing plastic to fabric. While it’s one of my favorite costumes, It has also had the most work done to it continuously over time. New zippers, new paint, even a whole new symbol after the original came off in an unfortunate dryer related accident.

What is the best advice you would give to other cosplayers of color?
Just do it. Start simple. All forms of cosplay are valid, bought, homemade, a hybrid, just have fun and dress as characters you like. They don’t have to be popular or well-known. They don’t even have to be some pre-existing property. Plenty of people cosplay from books or put their own spin on a character. Make it yours and enjoy it. A lot of people will try to say “you cant cosplay X because you don’t look like them”, but really we’re all just dressing up. If it brings you joy and doesn’t hurt anyone, then the best thing you can do is live for you. Don’t be afraid to turn off comments either to protect your mental health.

What one thing could the cosplay community do better when relating to one another?
Not being overly serious about the hobby. Just like any interest, obviously, anyone can invest in themselves and have successful careers and platforms like CutiePieSensei or Demtrius Holt, but they also aren’t solely cosplayers. They have a wide range of really impressive skills and if you get into it expecting to be an overnight sensation, you may wind up disappointed. So, do it because you have fun doing it, get your friends to try it with you, and make sure you take lots of photos over time cause you may want to share to your own social media and only have 1 or 2 that don’t really show off your cool costume. 

PC: The Variant

PC: SF Design

PC: The Variant