Before gracing into the scene, Charess had to hide her cosplaying career

There's more to Charess than just her resting b*tch face
by Carlos Pineda | Jul 26, 2023

Charess wasn't just a boss lady by her looks, but also in real life

JUST BY LOOKING at her photos and videos on social media, one can have an impression that Charess is the intimidating boss lady, full of confidence not caring about what others think.

Her natural resting b*tch face was already enough to leave an impression.

"It's actually a double-edged sword because it makes people admire me sometimes, but most of the time, it makes people scared or they don't want to approach me," she mentioned in an exclusive with Spin.ph.

But while others may feel overwhelmed by her presence, her content would reveal that Charess also knows how to lighten the mood. Some might argue that Charess' content may go overboard and while she gets judged by the public, the cosplay sensation simply ignores their comments.

"Yeah that's my humor, very authentic. Before I used to be very conscious about what I post because of the public judgment but right now I kind of don't care so much. I just wanna show my true self so I am a true to myself so that I could enjoy content creation more, but of course I still have limits," she revealed.

It may seem like Charess is full of sass and confidence based on her public appearances, but deep inside she is a shy lady especially once a fangirl moment occurs.

In her recent adventures, Charess was able to personally meet her idol, the popular gaming and social media personality, Imane "Pokimane" Anys.

The once confident Charess was melted by her presence, which she narrated.

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"I followed Pokimane ever since when I was just starting streaming. I think it was even before I started streaming and I've always admired her because she's resilient and I like her content. It's funny. But I never expected to meet her in real life."

She added: "So that time also, I was just in the backstage waiting for my turn to go on stage for the cosplay competition and they were there. They passed by, I saw that as an opportunity. I was not able to speak actually, I was not able to talk to her, but we just asked for a photo."

"I was with my manager and he was like, oh, you should take a photo together because if it was just me, I won't be able to speak. I won't be able to approach her. I was so happy that time and I can't believe I saw her."

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This moment truly showed Charess' true personality, something which she initially struggled to display.

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Defying tradition

Ever since she was young, Charess has always been a huge fan of anime and Japanese rock. She grew up watching numerous anime shows like Yamato Nadeshiko, One Piece, Dragon Ball, Air Gear, Samurai X, Vampire Nights, and everything else.

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Her fascination with Japanese pop culture paved the way for her introduction in the cosplaying world upon looking at public figures in costumes back in the early 2010s.

Yet despite her undying love for anime and J-Rock, her parents weren't in favor of her hobbies.

"My parents were not supportive of cosplaying because it needs a lot of money to dress up as a fictional character and I came from a very traditional background, so they didn't understand what cosplay was," she recounted.

In order to showcase her passion in life, Charess did what most of us would do...hide our intentions.

"Multiple times, my parents used to reprimand me if I try. There was a time I even lied. I told them I'm going to my friend's school but I didn't tell them that there's a cosplay event and I told them I'm going to sit into my friend's class. Which I did."

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She further elaborated: "Then after that we attended the event because they never agreed of me joining events. I felt like my parents didn't understand the hobby. They told me why I'm into cosplay? Why am I copying fictional characters instead of copying successful individuals? And I have to prove to them that there's something good about what I'm doing."

Had Charess followed the advice of her parents, she would never had attended one of the biggest events back then, OtakuFest, held in her hometown Cebu.

And there were other events she attended where she dressed up as characters from Vampire Nights, Blood-C, and other anime titles.

However due to cosplay's expensive nature courtesy of the inflated price tags in making or renting costumes, Charess needed to find other side hustles to sustain her, most of them are related to her craft.

"So I did my best not to ask anything from my parents, so I had to come up with my own cosplay budget. I did a lot of part-time jobs and photography was one of them. But I really enjoyed doing that as it also helped me improve my cosplay photos also."

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"I also did makeup artistry, so I used to do makeup for brides, for debutantes, something like that. Both of my part-time jobs are related to my cosplay, so well it helps me improve my skills while I earn money," explained Charess.

And due to her passion for cosplaying, Charess spent most of her time and energy investing on it, even sacrificing her sleep.

"When I was younger, I had so much energy. I don't feel tired doing this stuff because I love them. Everything I do, I love them. So I don't really feel like it's work. I just feel like I'm doing my hobbies. The only problem with that is that I don't sleep. I lack sleep. Well until now, it's still there," she explained.

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A breakthrough moment

It turns out burning the midnight oil does have its benefits as seen when she slowly rose to fame with her 2B Nier Automata, and Nero Bride Fate Grand Order cosplay around 2017.

And while she did manage to attract the attention of the community, Charess' breakthrough moment happened when she decided to cosplay as VALORANT's Viper.

Just like what happened in her encounter with Pokimane, Charess was left stunned with the outcome.

Her Viper became viral to the point where Riot Games took notice of her work, leaving her totally starstruck.

"They asked Sir Emile (Tanglao) then he talked to me, and when I was talking to Riot I was not able to speak because I was in shock."

"Why me? Of all the talented cosplayers in the Philippines, why me?" she reflected.

It was indeed a daunting experience for Charess as she realized that her career is about to erupt as one of the biggest gaming companies knocked on her door. Eventually, she accepted their call and was honored to be invited to cosplay as Filipino VALORANT agent, Neon.

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And the opportunities with Riot didn't just end there as she was invited by Grab as a special guest for VCT in Korea.

It was a refreshing experience and she even said: "It was surreal. I never expected or I never dreamed of being there. I was just dreaming, but I never expected it to come true."

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Reflecting on her journey

Nowadays Charess is freely open to express who she really is to the point where her parents no longer question her decisions, instead they're the ones praising her work.

"They're actually very proud of me right now. Like when my mom talked to her friends about me. She would always say, Oh, this is my daughter. She's a cosplayer!"

But it wasn't just them who look up to Charess as numerous fans and personalities have approached her. Some would unveil their inner fan, crying to her, a familiar feeling for the !rregular Programming star.

"I've seen a lot of people crying just because they saw me and it's something, I don't know why, it's something I can't believe also by myself because people crying just to see me is something really, really big. It feels like I did something to have a big impact to their lives and I didn't know that I am capable of doing that."

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Looking back at her success, Charess realized that she didn't do this for the sake of gaining followers or popularity. She did this because it was fun.

And overall she remained blessed with her experience.

"Well, I loved doing cosplay way back then, but I never dreamed it to become a career. I never dreamed of cosplay to become my career. So everything that is happening to me now is something I am very, very grateful and thankful for," she reflected.

In the end Charess wasn't just a boss lady based on her looks but also in her character in real life.

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