Blake Hall
If you are looking for a bunch of card-carrying nerds that could probably beat up the jocks, look no further than these military veterans. To show their love for their favorite media, these veterans dress up as their favorite fictional characters and create new communities united by a nerdom and patriotism.
#TeamCoslove
This nonprofit organization was founded in 2014 by military veterans-turned-cosplayers to give back to the community and reach out to other veterans. Its members include cosplayers, artists, comic creators and other professionals who mentor other vets and host meetups at large comic conventions.
Most recently, Team Coslove hosted a meetup at the Baltimore Comic Con. How many characters do you recognize in this crowd?
Loot Crate
Loot Crate is a subscription service that delivers cool collective items to half a million gamers and geeks. Every month, the company puts together a new crate of cool stuff based upon a certain theme, such as “Time,” “Villains,” and “Heroes.” The service offers a 15 percent discount to active duty and veteran military members.
Loot Crate subscribers pose with their new stuff and share it online. Here’s a picture of Kaeona, an eight-year U.S. military veteran and popular gamer, enjoying her Loot Crate goodies.
Karen Sakai
Navy veteran Karen Sakai is a one-woman cosplaying force. She served in the Navy for four years as a Master-At-Arms and was honorably discharged in 2013. Now she models and travels across the country meeting fans–many of whom are veterans like herself.
“I loved being in the Navy,” Sakai told We Are the Mighty. “I met a lot of gamer, nerdy folks in the Navy and they thought it was really cool that I am a female who loves this stuff. Everyone was so accepting of me. They didn’t care where you came from as long as you came in and did your job and had a good personality.”
