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WHEN businessman Justin Walter, 33, and his teacher-wife Angela head out to an event, they’re are bound to turn heads thanks to their love for cosplay.
The eccentric couple, who are comic and superhero fans, recently won best dressed couple at Splashy Fen as Batman and Wonder Woman. More recently, they were in a pub crawl dressed as Goku and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z.
They’ve designed outfits of Thor, Terminators, Two-Face as well as Groot and Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy. But the icing on the cake for the Walters was when they did the unthinkable and designed outfits that could transform into cars. Their cosplay journey started in 2009 when they returned from a two-year working holiday in the UK.
“We heard about an event called Sissy Hankshaw’s Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster pub crawl that takes place in Durban once a year. Everyone dresses up and hitchhikes from pub to pub. Anything goes, so we decided to go as Hulk and She Hulk,” said Justin, who owns a scaffolding business.
The couple won best dressed and this was when their love for cosplay began.
“So, every year since, we’ve wanted to step up each costume to be better than the previous year. It became a passion.”
Their love for cosplay has rubbed off on their 4-year-old daughter, Chloe, who enjoys dressing up as superheroes.
The couple said Chloe also gets to dress up for the event. She has been Baby Groot, SuperGirl and Spiderman.
“She enjoys it more and more every year,” said Justin.
He said he has made at least a new costume every year, which the couple wear for the Sissy Hankshaw event.
“The event has been running for 15 years and we’ve participated in 10. My wife and I have started organising the event since this year. It took place on May 5,” said Justin.
One of their most remarkable cosplay moments was when they built their own tank and car transformer costumes, which transform from robots into vehicles, in 2011.
“People were blown away and we never outlived the success. To this day, people still call them the best outfits we’ve made.
“We loaded a video on YouTube of us transforming titled ‘tank and car transformer’ which has over 2.5 million views so far,” said Justin. As a result, they were given a nine-night free stay at a Malaysian resort to create the same costumes for one of its stage shows for a guest performance.
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At this year’s Splashy Fen, the couple said their Batman and Wonder Woman outfit made them feel like celebrities.
It won them a five-night stay for two on Eden Island, Seychelles. “We’re planning to go at the end of September.”
These outfits were inspired by the Batman versus Superman movie trailer.
“When I saw Batman’s awesome armour which he wears to fight Superman, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to build,” said Justin.
The intricate outfit of EVA foam took two months to make.
“This was done between the free time I could spare in between my day job and raising our daughter. I find myself often getting lost in the small details which tends to drag out the duration to build an outfit. I’m particular but it’s worth it when the product is complete.”
While Justin said his favourite superhero was the Hulk, Angela said hers had to be Wonder Woman.
“She is powerful, determined, independent. I enjoyed her first appearance in the Dawn of Justice movie where she stole the show,” she said. Justin said Hulk was raw, unfiltered, with unrelenting power that fuelled him.
“He’s arguably the strongest character in the Marvel universe.”
When asked who they are planning to dress as next, they said: “Watch this space!”
Justin said they did not have any new projects lined up as they had just recently completed their latest outfits of Goku and Vegeta.
“I’m taking a short hiatus until the build-up for Halloween. But I’m always on the lookout for my next source of inspiration.”