Story & Lesson Highlights with SJ Slays of The Bahamas

SJ Slays shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning SJ , it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Creating, always.

I learned a long time ago that if I don’t give myself the time and space to create, I become a very bitter and miserable person. It’s the gift I’m still learning to give myself, even if I’ve proven the theory time and time again. The hard part is figuring out which creative muscle to stretch. I hold the privlege of possessing a mind that is always at work and always seeking new ideas, but the also the struggle of limited time and resources to act on them. I used to wish I could dedicate myself to one thing, and felt it was a failure on my part when I couldn’t. That I somehow lacked the discipline. With time, I learned to appreciate and honor my multi-passionate way of life.

There is a saying that “you can do anything, but not everything”, that, while true, has also served as a sort of personal challenge to me. Everything, no, but I intend to do anything that I set my mind to. So I Cosplay, I Write, I Draw, I Stream, I build Community whenever and where ever I can.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Oh hi, I’m SJ.

I’m a multi-passionate creative hailing from the islands of The Bahamas. The web of my life has many through lines and tangents I’ve woven myself into with the goal of crafting the life I choose to lead.

I am a multi-media enthusiastic Cosplayer that both crafts and curates my cosplays. I’m even currently teaching myself to hand sew. I also have the honor and privlege as serving as Founder of The Bahamain Cosplay Community affectionately known as 242 Cosplayer Nation.

Outside of Cosplay, I’m also the Executive Assisstant and Lore Wrangler for the House of SoveReign, (formerly known as SoveReign Comics). We’ve recently expanded to a multi-media publishing mansion to be inclusive of novels, games, apparel, collectables, animation, and much much more. I’m also a Writer with a comic being published in the SoveReign Orange imprint of the HoS, and am a proud member of the SoVerse Cosplayer Guild headed up by our incredible Guildmaster Mutant Glue.

I also dabble in Art and Streaming. Sometimes even at the same time.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I’ve always been a lover of folklore and mythology so this question really sparked something in me. It’s very Pheonix-coded, the idea of reducing something to ashes to rebuild yourself a new. A baptism by fire.

Seeking, or more truthfully, having the expectation of validation, is something I am working on releasing.

It’s a reminder I have had to constantly make to myself, but I get a little better at it every year. The truth is you can’t create something worthwhile if you’re always seeking out illumination from those eclipsed in the shadows you cast.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I think I’ve always to a degree been empathetic, but being born in a third world country that is predominantly Black, and getting the unique opportunity to experience life as a minority (to a very small degree) helped instill a much higher degree of Empathy than I might have had otherwise. It’s an experience I’ll always be greatful for.

I also grew up in a single parent household where my mother’s work ethic was the only thing that kept us from dipping below the poverty line. I definitely inherited her resilience, but I also saw her struggle alone for so long it also conditioned a sort of hyper indepence that could border on unhealthy. It took me a long time and a lot of failing alone to realize that it is ok to ask for help, and that there are people that are willing to do so. In a way, it also taught me to be Supportive in kind, because I experienced first hand how difficult life can be without it.

Despite the life I’m leading now, I’ve failed at a lot of things. But every failure illustrated what I should be doing instead. Sometimes it was as simple as realizing I wasn’t happy where I was, other times I was giving my all to something, and it just wasn’t meant to be but every time it led to something new and better for me. No matter how hard I took the failure at the time, and I took many of them brutally, I always came out the other side better for it.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
The inherent creativity of Bahamian resourcefulness.

It’s the pillar of what I built 242 Cosplayer Nation on and why I am motivated to protect it at all cost from people or corporations that would seek to take advantage of it. The Bahamas, though fortunate enough to have proximity to larger nations, has few resources of it’s own. We as Bahamians have to be 10x more creative or extraordinary to get anywhere in our desired fields. This is true of Cosplay as well.

Cosplay is an Art Form that deserves to be respected and recognized for the value it holds beyond the bottom line. We call Junkanoo ( a Bahamian festival in the form of a parade featuring vibrant, beautiful, and elaborate costumes) the greatest show on earth, but at the heart of it it consists of putting on a Costume and having fun. That is the essence of Cosplay. I’m grateful for the opportunities that have arisen in the past year for both our Communities to come together and collaborate so that we can sharpen skills on both sides of the field, as well as integrate our Culture into our Craftsmanship. Thanks to Junaknoo pioneers like Angelique McKay and Sadira.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
In truth, I’ve accepted that most of what I’ve built will likely not “pay off” in my lifetime.

Though some of the Community has already reaped the benefits of the safe spaces and creative projects we’ve curated, we are still leaps and bounds away from what I envisioned for 242 Cosplayer Nation. I also recognize that I have a lot of work left to do to if I want to see those things come to fruition.

The 242 Cosplayer Nation Awards that we pulled off for the Community was just the start, and even that is primed to expand in the coming years.

At my core, I just want to see the Community outlive the flash bang of trends. I hope at the end of the day we created an environment where Cosplayers felt safe, encouraged to express themselves, and like they were given the opportunity to thrive in a creative way.

With House of SoveReign, we’re only just now seeing the ripple effects of work we put in six years ago. With the rebrand and expansions. we’re operating at a much higher alignment now. My only hope is that these stories will connect with all who they were meant to.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
1. Cheetara – Photo (c) Breanna Neilly
2. Spider-Verse – Photo (c) TFL Studio ft. Jussy-Sama as Spider-Noir
3. Lyanna Mormont – Photo (c) JJ Bethel
4. Chun-Li vs Yor- Photo (c) Chappelle Whyms JR FT. Modern Day Alchemist as Chun Li
5. Raven & Red Hood – Photo (c) Shadow Creatives Entertainment ft. Jaystothetiger as Red Hood
6. Cosplayer of the Year Nominees of 2024 from the 242 Cosplayer Awards.- Photo (c) Wednesday Tuesday Ft. Geminicloudysei, Vampy Yuuki, Seiryou,Modern Day Alchemist, Pastel Ocean Cosplay, and Samuel Jervis
7. Bahamian Cosplayers at BlerDCon: Flare, Pastel Ocean Cosplay, Bunpatchi, Samuel Jervis, Carib Crochet Cosplay, Chibi Pastel, Savannah, Jussy-Sama and Ringo Kosplays

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