A Comic Conversation Ep 23 - Barrie Evans - Powerhouse Comic Con 23

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[00:00:36] Nerds, how many of you grew up as fans of the Power Rangers? Kicking and screaming

[00:00:40] at the top of your lungs. Fun fact, did you know that the Power Rangers was a Japanese show

[00:00:44] that was repurposed into a new one for American audiences? Well you're learning all about that

[00:00:48] and more in today's...

[00:00:49] A Comic Conversation!

[00:00:54] In this episode we talk with Barry Evans, a stunt performer who was most famous for doing the Institute's work

[00:00:59] for such Japanese properties as Super Sentai, Kamen Rider and even Ultraman. And on top of all that fun stuff,

[00:01:05] he's a cosplay builder too. So get ready to fight kaiju, fix your bike chain and fight some putties.

[00:01:10] It's time for... A Comic Conversation!

[00:01:16] Ladies and gentlemen, Barry Evans is a stunt suit actor who has worked in Japan and in the US

[00:01:21] in film and on stage. In Japan, Barry worked on Super Sentai and Kamen Riders as well as Ultraman,

[00:01:29] the live stage show. He has judged costume contests in Japan and appeared as a cosplay guest at events in Europe.

[00:01:37] Barry is also a cosplay builder as well as doing live events. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the show

[00:01:44] already here, it is Barry Evans!

[00:01:49] Oh, I'll adjust your mic in a second. But hey, we... Let me... We start things off with like...

[00:02:02] We have a segment on our show called Growing Up Geeky. What did you geek out on when you were a kid?

[00:02:10] Ultraman, Universal Monsters...

[00:02:12] Universal Monsters...

[00:02:17] There you go. Whoa! There you go. Stop!

[00:02:21] Technical difficulties.

[00:02:22] I'll close my nose.

[00:02:23] We should be better than this.

[00:02:27] Ultraman! That actually worked out for you.

[00:02:30] It did. Well, we had... Back in like the 70s, we had Kimo Channel 20.

[00:02:37] Okay.

[00:02:38] Which used to be an international channel. So Sundays was all Japanese programming.

[00:02:43] All right.

[00:02:43] So we saw Kikaida, Akamizer 3, Gorenja, Raidin, Mazinger Z, and then Channel 2 and Channel 44 would show Spectraman, Ultraman.

[00:02:55] Two and four... Where did you grow up?

[00:02:56] Here.

[00:02:57] Really?

[00:02:58] Yeah.

[00:02:58] That's awesome. In the bay?

[00:03:00] Yeah.

[00:03:01] That's awesome. I'm from Santa Rosa, so like... I used to get some of the San Francisco Channel,

[00:03:07] so...

[00:03:08] Oh yeah. We had Japantown here, so...

[00:03:11] Yeah.

[00:03:11] It was like a wealth of everything.

[00:03:13] And at a time, like in the 70s, 80s, San Francisco Berry was the hub for conventions.

[00:03:19] Like LA had a few, but San Francisco Berry was the hub. Like there's conventions almost every

[00:03:26] other month.

[00:03:26] Mm-hmm.

[00:03:27] Time Con, which was the Doctor Who Con. The Fantasy Symposium, which a bunch of us put together.

[00:03:32] We had like Bob Burns.

[00:03:36] We had...

[00:03:37] Geez, I forgot.

[00:03:39] We had a bunch of...

[00:03:40] Michael Renny.

[00:03:41] We had a bunch of people come, you know, from a lot of the 50s movies would come down.

[00:03:45] And we tried to get some of the Japanese guests, but they made more money going to San Diego Comic-Con

[00:03:49] than they did coming to cons that we would put on.

[00:03:51] Yeah.

[00:03:53] I remember.

[00:03:54] So, I was born in the 70s.

[00:03:56] I remember growing up and I was like the coolest kid because my family would go back to the

[00:04:03] Philippines, but stop in Japan, get toys, and bring them home.

[00:04:09] And I'd have all the coolest like Ultraman or Voltron toys or...

[00:04:13] A lot of stuff played in the Philippines.

[00:04:15] Right, yeah.

[00:04:16] Shider, Ultraman, Bio-Man, Changey Man, Just Beyond, a bunch of shows.

[00:04:22] And everything was metal.

[00:04:24] And I'd run into Filipino people.

[00:04:24] Yeah, I'd run into Filipino people like, hey, I watched that shit when I was a kid.

[00:04:28] That stuff when I was a kid.

[00:04:29] Yeah, that's awesome.

[00:04:30] Like I was wearing a shirt or something.

[00:04:31] Come on, I'm like, oh, it's showed in Manila.

[00:04:33] I was like, really?

[00:04:34] He goes, yeah.

[00:04:34] Yeah.

[00:04:35] That's so cool.

[00:04:36] So, okay.

[00:04:37] Let's get into your career.

[00:04:39] So, how did you get into stunt acting?

[00:04:43] I don't know how it all worked out.

[00:04:45] Well, I used to make a lot of amateur kung fu movies and stuff with friends.

[00:04:49] And then we started doing like Super Sentai type characters.

[00:04:53] We did Ultra Cyborg.

[00:04:54] We kind of made up our own characters and did those movies.

[00:04:57] And then when I got out of high school, I just grew up here.

[00:05:00] So, we were immersed in a lot of Japanese everything.

[00:05:02] I was in Japan town.

[00:05:03] Right.

[00:05:04] And I wanted to go to Japan.

[00:05:04] So, I just graduated and went to Japan.

[00:05:08] Wow.

[00:05:08] I was there just teaching English.

[00:05:09] And through teaching English, I grew up, I was doing martial arts all my life.

[00:05:13] Okay.

[00:05:13] That makes sense.

[00:05:14] So, when I went to Japan, I just had a job teaching English.

[00:05:18] And one of the people I was teaching English was, hey, my brother does that.

[00:05:21] I go, what?

[00:05:22] Because I was wearing a Kamen Rider shirt.

[00:05:24] He goes, he does that stuff.

[00:05:25] I go, what?

[00:05:25] He goes, he's Kamen Rider.

[00:05:26] I go, what?

[00:05:27] He works on the show.

[00:05:28] He goes, yeah, I'll show you.

[00:05:30] So, I would teach him on Tuesday.

[00:05:31] He goes, come meet me at whatever station it was on a Sunday.

[00:05:35] So, I met him on a Sunday.

[00:05:36] He took me to watch his brother do that.

[00:05:38] And I was just like, I go, that's what I want to do.

[00:05:41] That's awesome.

[00:05:42] So, I'd hang out with him all the time.

[00:05:44] Like whenever they would.

[00:05:44] You found like your people.

[00:05:45] I found my people.

[00:05:47] That's awesome.

[00:05:47] So, I would just go to all the rehearsals.

[00:05:49] And when I started out, I would just help them get dressed.

[00:05:52] Uh-huh.

[00:05:53] And then I said, I want to do it.

[00:05:54] So, I trained with them.

[00:05:56] So, they had everything on like cassettes back then.

[00:05:59] The 80s was everything was cassettes.

[00:06:01] So, what they do is have all the music on the cassette and a lot of the vocal cues.

[00:06:05] Because people were off stage going, you know, because they're all wearing masks.

[00:06:08] Oh, okay.

[00:06:09] So, the guy goes, okay, I'll let you, we'll play the whole thing.

[00:06:13] And if you can understand the story of what's going on, if you understand enough Japanese

[00:06:18] to where you understand the story of what you're supposed to do, we'll let you join.

[00:06:22] So, I listened to them.

[00:06:22] By that time, I was speaking pretty good Japanese.

[00:06:25] So, I listened to the story.

[00:06:26] I go, oh yeah, I know what the story was.

[00:06:27] And so, they let me join.

[00:06:28] So, it's like a putty.

[00:06:30] And then I got to be a monster.

[00:06:31] Then I finally got to be a ranger.

[00:06:33] But the very first time I ever got to do an actual hero on stage was Ultraman Taro.

[00:06:39] Because Taro is the tallest of all the Ultramans.

[00:06:42] And the actor who played him was a tall guy.

[00:06:44] So, I was like, hey, I fit the suit.

[00:06:46] So, that was the first thing.

[00:06:48] You got to fit the suit.

[00:06:49] That's the first thing.

[00:06:50] And with the Ultraman suit, it's basically, you know, like a, it's like a rubber skin diving

[00:06:55] suit with a fiberglass handle with two little pinholes and a little slit.

[00:07:01] So, we rehearsed the whole, you know, all the blocking where you jump and do all that stuff.

[00:07:05] Then he put the helmet on.

[00:07:06] It's just like the mask with the hood.

[00:07:08] So, it restricts your breathing.

[00:07:10] He goes, just walk around in that for like five minutes so you're used to the breathing pattern.

[00:07:14] I was like, well, that's no problem.

[00:07:16] As soon as you start jumping around, you're going, you start getting claustrophobic.

[00:07:20] I just pulled the helmet on.

[00:07:20] I can't do this, right?

[00:07:21] He goes, oh, just get used to it.

[00:07:23] So, I put it back on.

[00:07:24] So, I got used to doing that.

[00:07:25] Then you put the suit on.

[00:07:27] And when you're in the suit, it's like, you know, it's foam rubber.

[00:07:30] All that heat.

[00:07:31] Yeah.

[00:07:31] It's all that heat.

[00:07:31] And then you have these two little holes.

[00:07:33] So, we're running around trying to do flips and stuff and running back.

[00:07:37] And, you know, the stage is a little bit longer than this row.

[00:07:40] And deeper.

[00:07:41] So, you're running back and forth and tumbling and fighting.

[00:07:43] And your field of vision is like this.

[00:07:45] Yeah.

[00:07:46] So, like when you're coming out towards something, you've got to be on the side of the stage with a flashlight so you know which direction to go.

[00:07:51] Because you could barely see.

[00:07:53] Right.

[00:07:53] And then after a while, you get used to that.

[00:07:55] But when I graduated after doing like Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, you have a big field of vision.

[00:08:00] So, I was like, hey, this is great.

[00:08:01] So, I started doing that.

[00:08:03] And then I kind of didn't want to do Ultraman anymore.

[00:08:05] But I ended up doing Ultraman for like a year.

[00:08:08] And then I hooked up with a group to start doing the Power Rangers style stuff.

[00:08:13] And then with them, I got to do other stuff.

[00:08:14] And that's why I kind of...

[00:08:15] By the way, Super Sentai...

[00:08:17] Is Power Rangers.

[00:08:18] Is Power Rangers in Japan.

[00:08:20] Just so everybody knows.

[00:08:21] Yeah.

[00:08:22] This is OG.

[00:08:24] It's what got cut around to be Power Rangers.

[00:08:27] Yeah.

[00:08:28] So, Super Sentai is a different show in general.

[00:08:30] Yeah.

[00:08:31] So, I did a lot of the stage shows for that.

[00:08:34] I worked on a few of the episodes.

[00:08:37] I did a lot of the TV specials.

[00:08:38] Wait, stage shows for Power Rangers?

[00:08:41] Yeah.

[00:08:41] Oh, okay.

[00:08:42] Not Power Rangers, but Super Sentai.

[00:08:43] Oh, Super Sentai. Okay, okay.

[00:08:44] In Japan, it's different.

[00:08:45] Here we have Power Rangers.

[00:08:46] In Japan, when a new season comes out, they do a stage show and it tours around Japan.

[00:08:52] Oh, interesting.

[00:08:53] So, they introduce everybody to the new heroes in person.

[00:08:56] So, they do like a...

[00:08:56] You basically do an episode of the show live on stage.

[00:09:01] It's written like an episode.

[00:09:02] That's pretty dope, actually.

[00:09:03] Yeah.

[00:09:04] Yeah.

[00:09:04] So, it's very bizarre.

[00:09:05] So, we went around Japan doing that and then they were doing them in malls or amusement parks

[00:09:10] and stuff.

[00:09:10] Uh-huh.

[00:09:10] Uh-huh.

[00:09:11] Uh-huh.

[00:09:11] Uh-huh.

[00:09:14] So, I got to...

[00:09:14] I was in some of the shows and then the year-end special...

[00:09:17] Like New Year's Eve in Japan's all night long TV programming.

[00:09:22] So, we have a big superhero thing.

[00:09:24] So, I'd always do those year-end specials on TV.

[00:09:27] So, I was like one of the heroes doing that.

[00:09:29] And, um...

[00:09:30] I moved back here.

[00:09:33] So, when I moved back here like three years later, one of my guys I was working with in

[00:09:37] Japan started working on Power Rangers.

[00:09:40] Oh, really?

[00:09:40] So, they brought...

[00:09:41] They brought him over.

[00:09:42] Because Koichi...

[00:09:43] There used to be a guy, Jeff Pruitt, American guy doing the stunts.

[00:09:46] For season one, season two and half of Zeo.

[00:09:48] Sorry.

[00:09:49] And half of Zeo.

[00:09:50] Okay.

[00:09:51] So, when Jeff Pruitt left, Koichi is the stunt coordinator who's still executive producer

[00:09:56] now.

[00:09:57] One of the guys I worked with was working in Japan.

[00:09:59] You know, Koichi poached him from Japan.

[00:10:03] So, I get a phone call and he goes, hey Barry!

[00:10:05] And I go, hey, this is Masaki.

[00:10:06] I was like, oh, what's going on?

[00:10:08] Where are you at?

[00:10:08] He goes, I'm in Burbank.

[00:10:09] I go, dude, what?

[00:10:09] I work on Power Rangers.

[00:10:10] I was like, what?

[00:10:11] He goes, yeah, I work on Power Rangers.

[00:10:13] Wait, what year was this?

[00:10:15] This was 96.

[00:10:17] Oh, okay, okay.

[00:10:18] 96, yeah.

[00:10:20] So, I was like, I'm gonna come down and I met all of them.

[00:10:22] And he's like, that's that white guy's talking about that was working with me in Japan.

[00:10:26] He's like, oh, hey.

[00:10:27] And so, I've known these guys ever since then.

[00:10:29] But what's funny is, like in Japan, that's kind of off topic, but going back to the stage

[00:10:35] shows, you, like when you're in character, you don't talk.

[00:10:40] Yeah, okay.

[00:10:40] Like when you're meeting people, like, because after the show, all the kids want to talk to

[00:10:44] you.

[00:10:45] Or take pictures.

[00:10:46] Or take pictures.

[00:10:46] But you don't talk because you're not the actor's voice.

[00:10:49] So, you can't talk.

[00:10:50] So, we're doing this one thing in Osaka.

[00:10:54] And it's like this little changing room.

[00:10:57] So, you know, at that time I had bright blonde Billy Idol hair.

[00:11:00] Right.

[00:11:00] So, I take the helmet off.

[00:11:01] I'm like, ah.

[00:11:01] And some little kid's like walking around, walks into the back city, goes, ah.

[00:11:06] And you're like, gaijin-da.

[00:11:07] You're like, hey, foreigner, foreigner.

[00:11:08] It's a foreigner, it's a foreigner.

[00:11:10] So, I'm gonna, I put the helmet back on.

[00:11:11] Oh, no.

[00:11:11] And the mom's all like, oh, I'm so sorry.

[00:11:14] Comes back and goes, mom, there's a foreigner, there's a foreigner.

[00:11:16] And she's like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:11:18] And the poor little boy is just like, oh.

[00:11:20] That's like a big no-no to take your helmet off.

[00:11:22] But the kid went backstage.

[00:11:23] I had no idea.

[00:11:24] I turned around and the kid was like staring at me.

[00:11:27] I thought he saw a ghost.

[00:11:28] But he said foreigner.

[00:11:30] Yeah, he was like, yeah, foreigner.

[00:11:31] He was like, yeah, foreigner.

[00:11:31] He was like, yeah, foreigner.

[00:11:32] And the mom's pulling away.

[00:11:33] He's like, gaijin, gaijin, gaijin.

[00:11:35] He's like, that's actually like my nickname on, on Xbox is gaijin-ronin.

[00:11:42] Yeah.

[00:11:45] That must have been like, oh my god, you know, like my heroes.

[00:11:51] It's people in, you know, in costume as my heroes.

[00:11:54] Oh my god.

[00:11:54] Yeah, it's really weird.

[00:11:55] And it's an American.

[00:11:57] Yeah, it's like learning to fight stage fight.

[00:12:00] Like they're going, oh, you know how to do karate?

[00:12:01] And I was like, yeah, I know how to do that.

[00:12:03] But stage fighting on stage is so different.

[00:12:06] Like everything's exaggerated to the end.

[00:12:08] Right.

[00:12:09] Oh, yeah.

[00:12:09] Like when I was doing, like we rehearsed and I thought I was like going all over the place.

[00:12:12] And they videotaped it.

[00:12:13] And I was like, oh, that looks horrible because you're just standing there.

[00:12:16] Because he goes, just do what you do.

[00:12:17] Right?

[00:12:18] And then you watch it out and you realize, wow, you're not really doing what you're doing.

[00:12:21] So you really got to overact everything.

[00:12:23] Accentuate everything.

[00:12:24] Right.

[00:12:24] And then talk because they have a certain way of talking when they're in the helmets.

[00:12:27] It's very bizarre.

[00:12:28] So what are you trained in, speaking of martial arts?

[00:12:31] I did Kenpo Karate and Wing Chun.

[00:12:34] Oh, okay.

[00:12:35] Which, me and the weather has really applied itself to SuperSameChamp.

[00:12:39] I was going to say, like how do you apply that?

[00:12:41] It's just, it's basic mechanics of martial arts.

[00:12:43] Okay.

[00:12:43] It's all you really need to know.

[00:12:45] That's awesome.

[00:12:46] Back then I could do back flips and I can't do back flips anymore.

[00:12:48] But I used to do back flips.

[00:12:49] Oh, Young Phil, you want to show him back flips?

[00:12:50] Yeah, no, I can do a back flip with my bad knee.

[00:12:52] It's fine.

[00:12:53] Just doing right now.

[00:12:54] Wait, what?

[00:12:55] Kidding.

[00:12:55] You know what I'm saying?

[00:12:56] I can do a back flip with my bad knee right now.

[00:12:58] Yeah.

[00:13:01] So, you toured around Japan with live shows.

[00:13:04] Did you also come to the US and tour?

[00:13:07] Yeah.

[00:13:08] What was that like going from like a Japanese crowd to an American crowd?

[00:13:11] The first ones we did in the States were actually in Hawaii.

[00:13:13] Because Hawaii has a huge Japanese culture.

[00:13:16] And also a lot of the shows, they were dubbed in Japan,

[00:13:20] dubbed in Hawaii on Kiku TV.

[00:13:22] And then we would get them here subtitled.

[00:13:25] So, there that's always been part of it.

[00:13:28] So, Kikaida, Kikaida was the first big hero and still to this day is a big hero.

[00:13:33] So, they used to do stage shows in like 74, 75 with the original actors would come to Hawaii.

[00:13:40] So, they started doing it again.

[00:13:42] The original actors?

[00:13:43] Wow.

[00:13:43] Yeah.

[00:13:44] So, the people in Hawaii knew who I was through the guys in Japan.

[00:13:47] And it's cheaper to fly me from San Francisco to Honolulu than another guy from Japan.

[00:13:53] Makes sense.

[00:13:54] So, they flew me in.

[00:13:55] And we did Kikaida shows.

[00:13:57] We did Power Rangers Zeo, Time Ranger, Kamen Rider, a bunch of different shows in Hawaii.

[00:14:05] And then did some here when Power Rangers first was on air.

[00:14:09] We had two around like all the Toys R Us's and some of the malls, you know, in character.

[00:14:14] Just do all the stuff.

[00:14:15] Like, I picture me and all White Rangers from the Nokia Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.

[00:14:21] Oh, the Nokia Theater.

[00:14:21] Wow, nice.

[00:14:22] We did the 10th anniversary Power Rangers special so I was the White Ranger.

[00:14:25] I was the only one who could do the poses because the guys that they had,

[00:14:29] because they just get a bunch of locals to do it.

[00:14:32] None of them had to do the poses.

[00:14:33] So, I was teaching everybody how to do all the original Power Ranger poses.

[00:14:37] So, I did the White Ranger because no one could figure out the movement.

[00:14:39] So, I ended up doing the White Ranger.

[00:14:41] Yeah.

[00:14:41] You're like, why don't I just do it?

[00:14:42] Yeah.

[00:14:43] Like, never knew what to do though.

[00:14:45] They're all like karate guys.

[00:14:47] I was like, oh dude, you guys suck.

[00:14:49] So, you were literally on tour.

[00:14:51] What was it like being on tour city to city?

[00:14:56] Was it like rock star lifestyle?

[00:15:00] Imagine the polar opposite of that.

[00:15:02] He's just like, yeah, this is Siobhan man.

[00:15:04] We all traveled in advance, all crammed, because there was the five of us, sometimes six.

[00:15:11] And then there'd be the sound people, the people who do all the talking.

[00:15:15] Wrong.

[00:15:16] The guy doing all the special, you know, the sound effects and stuff.

[00:15:18] So, we had, so we'd be all this giant van to tour around Japan in the summertime when

[00:15:25] it's like 90 degrees and then 102% humidity.

[00:15:28] Yeah.

[00:15:29] And you're wearing this stuff, right?

[00:15:30] And so, we'd tour around.

[00:15:32] We'd stay in the dumpiest hotels you could find and then go to a mall, set up, do the

[00:15:37] whole show.

[00:15:37] And we'd do a show like 11.

[00:15:40] Then we'd do another show at 3, or no 2.

[00:15:42] Then we'd travel to another town and do one at like 4 and one at 7.

[00:15:47] Two times a day.

[00:15:48] Oh my gosh.

[00:15:49] And then we only do those during the weekend.

[00:15:51] So, we'd drive to somewhere, do the two show, do four shows and then drive back.

[00:15:56] But in Tokyo, we would do shows all over, like all different areas of Japan.

[00:16:02] So, like on a typical Sunday, we'd do five shows.

[00:16:05] And then Saturdays, we'd do five shows.

[00:16:07] It reminds me of like wrestlers, how they would do like multiple shows a day, several towns

[00:16:13] a day, you know, that sort of thing.

[00:16:14] Not get paid very much?

[00:16:16] No.

[00:16:17] I mean, I was, for me, I was loving life.

[00:16:19] I was making like 50 bucks a weekend and I was like doing what I love to do.

[00:16:24] Yeah, exactly.

[00:16:25] Everyone's like, oh, this is horrible money.

[00:16:27] I can't afford doing that.

[00:16:27] I was like, I love this.

[00:16:29] Because I was teaching English during the week, so I had money.

[00:16:32] And with the Power Rangers, when Power Rangers started touring around, we got popular.

[00:16:36] Because the first season, they just started, second season and in Zio's where they had all

[00:16:41] of us go around doing the personal appearances, which is a lot less taxing.

[00:16:45] Just do the poses, come out, shake hands, take pictures and stuff.

[00:16:49] Right.

[00:16:49] But you know, your little kids come up, they'll just kick you right in the shin or kick you

[00:16:52] right in the crotch, you know.

[00:16:54] You're just sitting all of a sudden kicking them up.

[00:16:55] You're like, what the hell, man?

[00:16:56] You're like, what are you doing?

[00:16:58] I was just like, it's crazy.

[00:16:59] Why?

[00:17:00] Yeah.

[00:17:03] Because they probably don't think you're real.

[00:17:05] They're looking like, I've never...

[00:17:05] No, they think we are real.

[00:17:06] We're going to fight back.

[00:17:07] Back then, there was like no cosplayers.

[00:17:10] Yeah, they'll sit there and ask you.

[00:17:10] You know, Halloween was once a day, or once a year.

[00:17:13] They'll talk to you, but you have, you can't talk to them back.

[00:17:17] Oh, yeah.

[00:17:17] He was talking to them, it's like, you know, I don't know what the hell you're saying.

[00:17:21] You're not the real Tommy.

[00:17:23] They all thought we were.

[00:17:24] That was a problem because they started kicking me and like wanting to fight us.

[00:17:28] And like little kids.

[00:17:28] And the parents are like, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

[00:17:31] And they're like, whack, whack, whack.

[00:17:32] So all you kids out there, please do not fight Barry at his table.

[00:17:37] He will be signing autographs.

[00:17:40] Just know if you decide to do any jerky stuff, as an adult, you will get Roundhouse kicked in the face.

[00:17:47] It's just gonna happen.

[00:17:49] But you'll have to pay for it.

[00:17:50] Right.

[00:17:51] Like 25 bucks or something.

[00:17:52] You're gonna pay to get Roundhouse kicked in the face.

[00:17:54] And he takes Venmo.

[00:17:55] Yeah, he takes Venmo.

[00:17:58] Sorry, I just lost worry about my computer.

[00:18:00] It's freaking out.

[00:18:01] Where'd my connection go?

[00:18:02] Anyway.

[00:18:04] So let's talk about today.

[00:18:07] What are you up to these days?

[00:18:08] I see you have some good, cool merch.

[00:18:11] I'm so happy.

[00:18:11] But you also do some cosplaying?

[00:18:14] Yeah.

[00:18:15] Come on.

[00:18:15] Let's talk about that.

[00:18:17] Well, I started doing cosplay in 75 when I dressed up as Gene Simmons.

[00:18:23] There you go.

[00:18:24] And then I did Garenja.

[00:18:24] This I need to see.

[00:18:26] Because in Japan, you can buy the little plastic masks.

[00:18:29] Right.

[00:18:29] So I had a Garenja helmet.

[00:18:31] And so I made the costume and run around at school.

[00:18:34] Because here, like people knew what the character was on Sunday night.

[00:18:37] So you'd run around and be like, hi, it's Garenja.

[00:18:39] And then I started building better ones kind of from like the 80s onward.

[00:18:44] So I get better at it, better at it.

[00:18:46] And I also ended up with borrowing some of the real suits from Japan.

[00:18:51] Because they all go missing at some point.

[00:18:54] Yeah.

[00:18:54] Exactly.

[00:18:55] Ended up with a bunch of, you know, I accidentally fell into my backpack and I left.

[00:19:02] It'd be funny where people were just like, oh my god, that is a really good Power Rangers costume.

[00:19:06] Yeah.

[00:19:06] Because it is real.

[00:19:08] And then a lot of them I also made and stuff.

[00:19:12] And I still have friends in Japan that get me things.

[00:19:15] I'm like, like when a new show will come out, I go, hey, what's the possibility of you getting me a helmet?

[00:19:19] And I'll trade them Star Wars stuff.

[00:19:21] So I get stuff that way too.

[00:19:23] So that's cool.

[00:19:24] So kind of like, what got you into cosplay?

[00:19:27] Like what was the thing that was like...

[00:19:29] Kiss.

[00:19:30] It was like, no, I wanted to paint my face and put my tongue out.

[00:19:34] Yeah, just like, well it's not that hard to make a costume.

[00:19:37] And I just kind of graduated.

[00:19:39] And it kind of just like evolved from there.

[00:19:41] It was like, I just want to...

[00:19:42] Yeah, and then you moved to Japan and it ended up being a job.

[00:19:43] Right.

[00:19:43] So it was kind of like perfect.

[00:19:45] I love that.

[00:19:47] Kiss, you know, and I was thinking about that as you were talking.

[00:19:50] Kiss was like a big, like gateway into cosplaying.

[00:19:54] For a lot of people.

[00:19:55] Back in the day.

[00:19:56] I think metal in general was, man, back then.

[00:19:58] Because they had the masks and then all of a sudden like, the masks was like Batman

[00:20:03] and the Hulk started to come out after that.

[00:20:05] It was Kiss.

[00:20:06] Kiss started it.

[00:20:07] I mean, you also got to remember Kiss in the 70s isn't like Kiss now.

[00:20:11] Kiss in the 70s was a phenomenon.

[00:20:13] Yes.

[00:20:15] And, you know, it's like Marvel movies are now, but Kiss back then was like, you know.

[00:20:24] Exactly.

[00:20:24] Right, right.

[00:20:25] And then on top of that, like, you know, you got the rebel aspect of it.

[00:20:29] You know, your mom is telling you that's the devil's music and it's like, no, well,

[00:20:32] I want to listen to Kiss.

[00:20:33] My mom loved, you know, she grew up on Elvis and all that.

[00:20:36] So she loved the music.

[00:20:38] So she's kind of like, yeah, I don't like Kiss, but she helped me make my costume.

[00:20:42] She understood music.

[00:20:43] Nice.

[00:20:44] My brother was into horror movies, got me into universal horror movies, got me into the

[00:20:49] superhero stuff, got me into music, everything.

[00:20:51] You know, he's like seven years older, but he had the same mind as I did.

[00:20:55] Whereas my middle brother was like stoner.

[00:20:57] That was it.

[00:20:59] Not into music, just into being stoned.

[00:21:02] He used all the music adjacent stuff.

[00:21:05] Yeah.

[00:21:05] Right.

[00:21:05] So I got to ask you this.

[00:21:08] Was Gene Simmons your favorite or of all the cosplays you've ever done?

[00:21:12] Is that your favorite?

[00:21:13] My favorite was probably Kamen Rider V3.

[00:21:18] Okay.

[00:21:18] Because that was the one that stuck to me most when I was a little kid that showed here.

[00:21:22] So that's when it imprinted on me as a little kid.

[00:21:25] So when I got to play V3 in Japan, I was just like putting on the real suit.

[00:21:30] I was like, I just, I was like had it.

[00:21:32] I was like wearing it.

[00:21:33] I was like walking around looking at myself and I'm wearing the real costume.

[00:21:36] And there's a picture of me wearing it in the lower right hand corner.

[00:21:40] That's me wearing that costume.

[00:21:41] And I was just like, I didn't want to take it off.

[00:21:44] That's so cool.

[00:21:45] It's like a moment of nostalgia.

[00:21:46] You get to play one of your heroes.

[00:21:47] Yeah, it's very bizarre.

[00:21:48] You know?

[00:21:49] And I got to meet the actors because a lot of the TV shows, like all the anniversary specials,

[00:21:55] because the original actor would come out, sing and talk.

[00:21:58] Then I would come out as the character.

[00:22:00] And so I got to meet all the people I grew up just like watching on TV.

[00:22:03] I ended up being friends with them.

[00:22:05] Nice.

[00:22:05] Like Daisuke Ban who played Kikaida.

[00:22:07] He's like a good friend of mine.

[00:22:09] Like I talked to him all the time.

[00:22:10] Hiroshi Mewtwo played V3.

[00:22:12] I never thought I'd be friends with him.

[00:22:14] And a lot of these guys, because they were like, why do you like this stuff?

[00:22:17] You're from America.

[00:22:18] And I was like, you don't understand.

[00:22:20] And then they all came here for WonderCon.

[00:22:23] And when WonderCon was here and San Diego Comic Con.

[00:22:26] And they all came up to San Francisco.

[00:22:28] And we got KTSF I think it is now.

[00:22:34] It's an international station here.

[00:22:35] It's mostly Chinese.

[00:22:36] Yeah, KTSF right?

[00:22:37] Yeah, it's KTSF.

[00:22:38] Channel 26.

[00:22:39] So they decided they wanted to show Kikaida again.

[00:22:43] So they flew the actor out.

[00:22:45] And the girl, Joanne Nenemiah who does Kiko Kik TV all the time.

[00:22:52] We brought him out and had me do Kikaida.

[00:22:55] And we pitched the whole show to KTSF.

[00:22:59] And they thought it was going to be a little kid show, which it is.

[00:23:02] But they didn't realize people my age grew up on it.

[00:23:07] So the people who at Toy wanted to pitch it as a little kid show.

[00:23:12] And I was telling, you know, Bonson and Joanne, I go, pitch it as a kitschy adult show.

[00:23:20] And I went, brr.

[00:23:21] And so they did their pitch.

[00:23:23] And then me and my friend Augie pitched it the way we see it.

[00:23:26] And they're like, that makes sense.

[00:23:28] We'll do it.

[00:23:29] And they did it.

[00:23:29] And so we did a stage show at Japantown for Cherry Blossom Festival.

[00:23:34] They had me do Kikai.

[00:23:35] They flew in three guys from Japan.

[00:23:37] So we did a stage show for that.

[00:23:39] And then Japantown's had me do stage shows all the way up until pre-pandemic.

[00:23:44] 2019 is the last time we did an actual stage show where we had actors and stuff in it.

[00:23:50] But this year they didn't because the budget was a lot less.

[00:23:54] There's a realization that happened that like stuff that was for kids, comic books,

[00:24:01] like TV, movies, you know, shows like Power Rangers.

[00:24:04] Like all those kids grew up.

[00:24:08] But they still love that stuff.

[00:24:10] So those fandoms and those IPs have to grow up too.

[00:24:16] Like I don't know if you've watched the new Power Rangers, what is it, Once and Forever?

[00:24:21] Yeah, I saw that.

[00:24:23] And how it felt like, even though it felt very Power Rangers and the dubbing was, you know,

[00:24:28] a little off so it was a little like, oh, that's right.

[00:24:30] They did dub.

[00:24:31] And the acting was also always bad.

[00:24:34] Always bad.

[00:24:36] But like it grew up.

[00:24:37] They talked about, I think it was Trini.

[00:24:39] Trini that passed away.

[00:24:41] I'm like, oh my gosh, this is like an adult version of Power Rangers.

[00:24:44] I'm like, I'm into this.

[00:24:45] They kind of like explain away the character.

[00:24:46] They finally put an explanation in there.

[00:24:48] That's kind of what they're doing.

[00:24:48] But toei, you know, in Japan it's kid stuff.

[00:24:51] Yeah.

[00:24:51] It's just kid stuff.

[00:24:53] Adults, the adults that like that stuff, they're just like, they're shunned.

[00:24:57] Like I go to the conventions and they're like, wee.

[00:24:58] And people are like, yeah, you're a weirdo.

[00:25:00] Yeah.

[00:25:00] Because they think I'm just like a dope for doing it.

[00:25:02] But all the, like all the people who worked on the show, suit actors and all that, you

[00:25:06] know, you look at it differently because, I mean, now suit actors get flown to America

[00:25:11] because people now realize, wow, these guys are the ones who are the actual heroes.

[00:25:16] So they get a lot more respect.

[00:25:18] Right.

[00:25:19] Like, and shout out to like Brandon Wayne who's, you know, in the Mandalorian and where's Pedro

[00:25:26] Pascal?

[00:25:26] I don't know.

[00:25:27] But you know, it's, it's Brandon Wayne that's in the suit.

[00:25:29] Yeah.

[00:25:29] It's weird.

[00:25:30] It's, it's taken 50 some odd years before suit actors got recognized.

[00:25:35] Right.

[00:25:35] Doing all the hard work.

[00:25:36] Yeah.

[00:25:37] Cause in Japan they were, when I first went to Japan and went on the sets, I just went

[00:25:41] to the suit actors and just talked to them.

[00:25:43] Like, oh, I love this stuff.

[00:25:44] And there's like, you know, the, the actors over there go, oh no, you want to talk to

[00:25:48] him?

[00:25:48] I go, no, I don't want to talk to him.

[00:25:49] And so I just started budding up with them.

[00:25:51] And through them I'd met everybody, but they were just shocked.

[00:25:55] They go, you know who I am?

[00:25:56] I go, yeah, I knew all their names and stuff, you know, from the credits.

[00:25:58] I'm like, oh, how do you know that?

[00:26:01] You know?

[00:26:01] I mean, I, I think that's great.

[00:26:03] Like even nowadays, like voice actors are getting the recognition that they didn't

[00:26:08] get like back in the day when the shows were actually happening.

[00:26:10] Yeah.

[00:26:10] Like Saman, you know, when they put out Power Rangers, they thought it's a kid's show.

[00:26:14] They marketed for kids and was, they did phenomenal for kids.

[00:26:16] But now kids grew up like my friend Andrew here, you know, he grew up and so now he's

[00:26:21] an adult and still likes Power Rangers.

[00:26:23] Yeah.

[00:26:23] But by the time Power Rangers came along, I was like over it.

[00:26:26] You know, I was too old.

[00:26:27] I watched, I go, this is horrible.

[00:26:30] But when I was in Japan, I went, I was at Toy Studios and the show that came, that came

[00:26:35] out before Juranger, which is Power Rangers, it's called Jetman.

[00:26:39] Do you know, have you ever seen the, the anime Battle of the Planets?

[00:26:42] Oh yeah.

[00:26:43] Okay.

[00:26:44] The Jetman is based on Battle of the Planets, all bird themed.

[00:26:47] So Saban bought that show first.

[00:26:49] That was going to be Power Rangers.

[00:26:51] Cause I was there.

[00:26:52] That's right.

[00:26:53] The guy goes, oh, this company in America bought Jetman.

[00:26:56] They're going to turn it into an American.

[00:26:58] I was like, cause the last thing Super Sentai in America was Dynaman on HBO in the eighties.

[00:27:04] They dubbed it as a comedy and it was just stupid.

[00:27:07] And I thought, oh, they're going to dub Jetman.

[00:27:09] Cause Jetman is just the best show.

[00:27:12] I go, they're going to ruin it.

[00:27:13] Right.

[00:27:14] And then lo and behold, Jurassic Park comes out.

[00:27:16] It's popular.

[00:27:18] Toei does Juranger dinosaur theme.

[00:27:21] All of a sudden Saban's like, wait a minute, that's popular with kids.

[00:27:23] So they bypassed Jetman just went right to Juranger.

[00:27:27] And then when I was back in America, all of a sudden I saw an advertisement for it.

[00:27:31] I go, they took Juranger?

[00:27:33] And then I watched them the first couple of episodes.

[00:27:34] I was like, this is horrible.

[00:27:36] Yeah.

[00:27:37] And I mean the campiness is probably what makes us love it.

[00:27:40] Yeah.

[00:27:40] And then a year later I get a phone call.

[00:27:42] Hey, do you want to do Power Rangers?

[00:27:43] I was like, hell yeah.

[00:27:44] You know?

[00:27:46] So it looks like we might have a question here.

[00:27:48] Go ahead and ask here.

[00:27:50] Thanks for waiting by the way.

[00:27:51] You're welcome.

[00:27:51] You were talking about how kids like the tokusatsu scene in Power Rangers.

[00:27:57] And I'm realizing I was a kid in the 70s and other than Batman, the 69 series,

[00:28:04] there's only tokusatsu, the Godzilla's, the giant robots.

[00:28:09] You actually saw them fighting in action.

[00:28:12] Did you grow up in the Bay Area?

[00:28:14] I was born in San Diego, Southern California.

[00:28:17] How old are you?

[00:28:18] Like Ultraman showed, I know Ultraman showed in LA, Space Giants, Spectre Man, Durenja, and

[00:28:29] then like Marine Boy, Astro Boy and all those too, Speed Racer.

[00:28:33] Most of what we got was Channel 5, Gates Yelley from LA.

[00:28:36] It was kind of a powerhouse station.

[00:28:38] So we were able to see a lot of the Japanese tokusatsu movies.

[00:28:43] But, you know, otherwise the cartoons were just a lot of limited animation stuff.

[00:28:47] And, of course, the move against showing violence on TV and everything.

[00:28:53] So you have superheroes that stand there and maybe shoot high beams.

[00:28:56] Yeah.

[00:28:57] But in the Japanese shows, it actually fought and actually interacted.

[00:29:01] And that's what appealed to a lot more kids.

[00:29:03] Yeah.

[00:29:08] It's like my generation, like your generation was Ultraman, Spectre Man and all that

[00:29:13] because I was like 70s and we would get later.

[00:29:15] So, you know, you say Ultraman to anybody here and they're like,

[00:29:19] Oh, I know Ultraman or like Spectre Man or Space Giants.

[00:29:24] It's all like those are the three shows everybody knows, aside from like Speed Racer

[00:29:27] and Star Blazers and stuff like that, you know, for the anime stuff.

[00:29:32] Yeah.

[00:29:33] Robotech back in the day.

[00:29:34] Yeah, Robotech.

[00:29:35] See, that's what I grew up on, Robotech and all that.

[00:29:38] I loved Macross that it was based off of, but Robotech was actually,

[00:29:42] they did a pretty good job with it.

[00:29:43] I was kind of surprised.

[00:29:44] I was like, I was going to blow and it was actually pretty good.

[00:29:47] So what are you into these days?

[00:29:50] Like, are you building any cosplay based around other fandoms?

[00:29:56] I'm doing, see there's three space sheriffs.

[00:29:58] I have two and I'm making the third one.

[00:30:01] I just built a costume for the new power of the new Super Sentai, which is King Osier.

[00:30:07] Okay.

[00:30:08] And I'll be doing that at Fanime next weekend.

[00:30:12] And then I built a whole Pattinson Batman suit, which took months and months and months and months and months.

[00:30:19] And so I'll be wearing that at Fanime too.

[00:30:21] Those are two I built recently.

[00:30:23] But Scheider, the third space sheriff, I won't have them done in time.

[00:30:28] I can't imagine the level of like detail.

[00:30:32] Like you having your background and knowing what goes into these costumes, what they should feel like.

[00:30:37] What is, what's it like to move around in them?

[00:30:39] The Pattinson Batman, you would think, oh, it's not that hard when we actually go to make that costume.

[00:30:46] It's, I'll show you a picture of it.

[00:30:47] It's, it's just out of hand.

[00:30:49] But like a lot of the parts are found, the parts.

[00:30:52] It's like a lot of police stuff.

[00:30:54] But all these weird things on it, like the suit and everything.

[00:30:57] I was like, I don't know.

[00:30:58] I mean, it's like, it took months and months.

[00:31:00] And there's like seven or eight of us who spent like months and months researching all the little parts.

[00:31:05] And then some company decided, oh, we're going to make the flight, you know, the undersuit.

[00:31:09] So the first one they made was horrible.

[00:31:12] And then the second one they made because they started to show production pictures of it.

[00:31:15] So that's really the only thing I didn't make was the cowl and the flight suit.

[00:31:20] Everything else was founder I made.

[00:31:23] And I'll show you if I can find it here.

[00:31:25] I got 50,000 photos of mine.

[00:31:28] That baffles me like having a stunning actor who's been in suits building.

[00:31:32] That's just not a mannequin.

[00:31:34] Oh, that's awesome.

[00:31:35] But that's.

[00:31:37] So, so it's the Batman.

[00:31:38] The Batman.

[00:31:39] The one that you're doing.

[00:31:40] Yeah, I dig it.

[00:31:42] It took forever.

[00:31:43] It'll be the first time I'm wearing it.

[00:31:44] Same with Kim Osher.

[00:31:45] I'll be wearing it at Phantom A.

[00:31:46] I've, I've, I've said it famously on the show.

[00:31:48] My only issue with that costume was that there.

[00:31:51] It's the first time they've done a Batman mask with no expression on the face.

[00:31:54] Yeah.

[00:31:55] So I always wondered like, what is the thing that.

[00:31:57] There's scratches.

[00:31:58] I mean, if you look at the, if you look at close up of the actual cowl, it's all dinged

[00:32:02] up.

[00:32:03] You just don't see it in the movie as much.

[00:32:04] Right.

[00:32:05] Well, but I mean like he doesn't have the furl on the forehead.

[00:32:07] The other ones do.

[00:32:08] So it almost seems weird.

[00:32:10] Right.

[00:32:11] I thought it is, it looks like he made a, technically he's supposed to like, he sewed

[00:32:15] it together on leather.

[00:32:16] That's what it's supposed to be like a leather cowl.

[00:32:17] Right.

[00:32:18] And that's the, that's what appealed me to it because it looked like all found things.

[00:32:23] Like all the, all the stuff on the belt is all stuff that was, you can buy the uniform

[00:32:27] store.

[00:32:28] Right.

[00:32:28] The bicep thing, this and the gauntlets were made.

[00:32:32] He's got the guns.

[00:32:32] I thought it was pretty cool.

[00:32:33] It was very practical.

[00:32:34] Like if somebody was going to be Batman, that would be the costume you would make as Batman.

[00:32:39] Right.

[00:32:39] So from that, I thought it was like kind of a unique idea.

[00:32:42] Yeah.

[00:32:43] Cause it's very obvious that he made it himself.

[00:32:45] Yeah.

[00:32:45] That's kind of the, the Batman was a great movie.

[00:32:48] It was like a detective movie that had a guy dressed as Batman in it.

[00:32:51] Right.

[00:32:51] Right.

[00:32:52] It's what it should be.

[00:32:53] Yeah.

[00:32:53] It was based off the original like forties comics where he was just a detective without

[00:32:57] all the hokey nonsense.

[00:32:59] I went with it.

[00:33:00] My other issue with that movie is just the stomping.

[00:33:02] Yeah.

[00:33:03] Batman doesn't stomp.

[00:33:04] Batman's a ninja.

[00:33:07] It's like a Clydesdale.

[00:33:08] My issue there, there was no bat shark repellent and that was an issue for me.

[00:33:13] Yeah.

[00:33:13] I mean, you know, you don't have his one greatest weapon, the bat shark repellent.

[00:33:19] Okay.

[00:33:19] You kind of mentioned Batman, but like what would be like a franchise you would love to

[00:33:25] get into?

[00:33:28] Like if you could get into anything.

[00:33:30] I did Bucky from Winter Soldier and it took me eight months to make an arm that looked good,

[00:33:37] that was completely flexible.

[00:33:39] Right.

[00:33:40] So a guy that worked at ILM, I went up to his shop and we, him, him and I sculpted the whole

[00:33:47] arm, figured out how to cast.

[00:33:49] We cast like nine castings out of nine different, spent like almost a thousand dollars material

[00:33:53] just to make the arm to where it looked correct and bent.

[00:33:57] And I wore that just to Sacanimate in the dead of summer.

[00:34:00] It was like 112, Sacramento last summer.

[00:34:02] Wow.

[00:34:02] And I wore that and the water's, you know, it's all silicone.

[00:34:05] So the water's pouring out of the fingers.

[00:34:07] Oh wow.

[00:34:07] I walked around and it was like a drip behind me.

[00:34:10] And I was going to wear it at the WonderCon and it ended up just not, I was like eh.

[00:34:13] It's too much.

[00:34:14] It's too much.

[00:34:15] It's like a three person costume to put on.

[00:34:17] It looks simple, but it's not.

[00:34:19] It's like so much junk on it.

[00:34:21] The jacket's like four pieces, the arm has to strap on and all the doodads.

[00:34:27] It's uh, it was a fun.

[00:34:28] So you're pretty active in the cosplay community, like working with other cosplayers.

[00:34:34] Like, I'm an H2.

[00:34:36] I'm an H2.

[00:34:38] Good friend.

[00:34:39] He's been on our show, but he makes those big like, who was it?

[00:34:44] Juggernaut costumes.

[00:34:45] What was the other ones that he did?

[00:34:47] Uh, he's done things like Juggernaut, uh, Sentinel.

[00:34:52] Uh, he's, he's the famous, uh, R2-D2, like, like mech suit.

[00:34:56] Oh yeah.

[00:34:57] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:34:57] That's him.

[00:34:58] Yeah, that's really nice.

[00:35:00] I do a lot smaller things.

[00:35:02] He does Thanos, that's right.

[00:35:03] He does have a Thanos.

[00:35:04] He's got all kinds of stuff.

[00:35:05] Uh, I know some of his secret, uh, uh, projects that he's working on, uh, that I can't tell

[00:35:10] people that he's working on, but one of them is something that I gave him a suggestion

[00:35:13] for.

[00:35:14] And he was like, that is the best idea ever and started working on it immediately.

[00:35:20] All right.

[00:35:22] Odd question.

[00:35:23] What would be the worst sequel movie ever made?

[00:35:31] So being a movie that hasn't been made.

[00:35:33] There's so many.

[00:35:33] I know.

[00:35:34] So a movie that hasn't been made.

[00:35:36] Like what's a movie that should not have a sequel?

[00:35:39] That probably will.

[00:35:41] Power Ranger movie.

[00:35:49] Power Ranger movie.

[00:35:50] The Power Ranger movie.

[00:35:50] The original one?

[00:35:52] I thought the first one was the best of all of them, but that's not even saying a lot.

[00:35:56] That's just like, it was marginal.

[00:35:58] I mean, I have a news.

[00:35:59] Come on.

[00:35:59] Yeah.

[00:36:00] I mean, if I was, if I was a kid when that movie came out, I'd be all about Power Rangers,

[00:36:04] but I was like already an adult.

[00:36:05] I was like, you know, it's just, I don't know.

[00:36:09] I'm not trying to sound jaded, but I mean, it's written for kids.

[00:36:12] Yeah.

[00:36:12] But the difference between Power Rangers and like Japanese shows, Japanese shows is more

[00:36:18] symbolism, more culture in the character.

[00:36:21] Like the characters aren't just like Power Rangers.

[00:36:24] They're just five people.

[00:36:26] But in Super Sentai, each one has a very distinct character.

[00:36:30] You know, like one's the funny guy, one's the serious guy, one's the maniac, one's the

[00:36:34] psycho, one's the pretty girl, one's, whereas Power Rangers are just five people trying to

[00:36:38] get along and do their job.

[00:36:40] Right.

[00:36:40] That's the one thing that's, that lacks in Power Rangers are the very distinct personalities.

[00:36:45] You know?

[00:36:45] I need five teenagers with attitude.

[00:36:48] Yeah.

[00:36:50] But yeah.

[00:36:51] That's basically how I saw that.

[00:36:54] I forgot to ask earlier, but how old were you when you went to Japan?

[00:36:58] 18.

[00:36:59] So you were young.

[00:37:00] 86.

[00:37:02] Wow.

[00:37:02] You just got up and left and said...

[00:37:03] I graduated on Friday.

[00:37:07] Graduated on Friday.

[00:37:08] Got a bunch of money.

[00:37:10] I worked at Pizza Hut in Hayward.

[00:37:13] Saved all my money.

[00:37:14] Graduation, I got money from family.

[00:37:19] Then, my mom's like, so what are you going to do after graduation?

[00:37:22] I said, I'm going to go to Japan.

[00:37:23] Because, you know, in Fremont we had the Toyota plants with a lot of Japanese families.

[00:37:28] So I grew up, my next door neighbor was a Japanese kid.

[00:37:30] And he, you know, we'd watch all the stuff together.

[00:37:33] Uh-huh.

[00:37:33] You know?

[00:37:35] And his dad would translate all the stuff for us.

[00:37:37] Like we'd go to Japan and help buy stuff.

[00:37:38] And he spoke Japanese but couldn't read it.

[00:37:41] But his dad would write it down.

[00:37:42] Like, oh, yeah.

[00:37:44] So...

[00:37:44] That's cool.

[00:37:45] So I just...

[00:37:46] They moved back to Japan, right?

[00:37:48] So my mom knew his parents.

[00:37:50] Oh, you're going to go hang out with him.

[00:37:52] I was like, yeah.

[00:37:53] When are you going to go?

[00:37:54] I go, Thursday.

[00:37:55] So Sunday, I went to Nikoniko Travel when I was in Japantown.

[00:38:00] But back then you could buy a round trip ticket with a one-way going with an open-end return.

[00:38:06] And you can come back within five years.

[00:38:08] Oh, wow.

[00:38:08] So I bought one of those.

[00:38:09] My mom was like, when are you going to go?

[00:38:10] I go, Thursday.

[00:38:10] It was Thursday.

[00:38:11] I go, yeah.

[00:38:12] And I gave her...

[00:38:13] Oh, my gosh.

[00:38:14] I got my visa and everything.

[00:38:15] You had to have a visa back then.

[00:38:17] And she goes, you're going...

[00:38:18] I go, when do you come back?

[00:38:19] I said, I don't know.

[00:38:20] And she goes, where's your return date?

[00:38:22] I go, what's your return date?

[00:38:24] I go, I don't know.

[00:38:25] It's all like...

[00:38:26] Within five years.

[00:38:26] Yeah.

[00:38:27] And so seven years later, I came back.

[00:38:29] That is...

[00:38:30] And I moved to Hong Kong.

[00:38:32] I moved to Hong Kong for a year to teach English.

[00:38:34] And I studied Wing Chun when I was in there.

[00:38:38] I was trying to find a school associated with Bruce Lee, but I couldn't.

[00:38:41] But there's a lot of really good Wing Chun schools there.

[00:38:44] So this guy, Eric Chin, who teaches here, turned me on to a guy there.

[00:38:49] And so I worked out with him for like a year and then went back to Japan,

[00:38:54] did what I was doing again, and then went back.

[00:38:56] That's cool.

[00:38:57] I love those stories of people like...

[00:39:00] Joey was just talking about it.

[00:39:01] Like, following your passion.

[00:39:03] Like...

[00:39:04] Well, it was my passion until I got there.

[00:39:06] Honestly.

[00:39:07] But you just up and go to Japan.

[00:39:08] Yeah.

[00:39:08] I mean, be like, alright, well, maybe I'll see you in five years, mom.

[00:39:12] When I was a kid, I always wanted to travel.

[00:39:13] Oh, okay.

[00:39:13] I just had that in me from the get-go.

[00:39:15] So I was like, I'm just gonna go.

[00:39:19] And then I, you know, his...

[00:39:20] My friend's family just, oh, you can stay with us.

[00:39:23] And I said, I kind of want to stay for a while.

[00:39:25] We'll help you get a job.

[00:39:26] His dad worked at Mitsubishi.

[00:39:28] So I got a job teaching what they call refining English, where they are...

[00:39:32] The people I was teaching already knew English, but you're helping with the pronunciation.

[00:39:35] Oh, okay.

[00:39:36] Like, they say, you know, I...

[00:39:38] You give them a line like they'd say this, right?

[00:39:40] Yeah.

[00:39:41] Like, and they go, Ristoranto.

[00:39:43] I go, no, it's not Ristoranto.

[00:39:44] It's like Ristorant.

[00:39:46] And they, you know, help them with that.

[00:39:47] Then I'd have them get a magazine article in English and read it to me.

[00:39:51] And I'd ask them, do you understand what it says?

[00:39:53] And just to help them with that.

[00:39:54] So I did that for like a year.

[00:39:56] Oh, okay.

[00:39:57] And then they cycled people out there.

[00:39:58] We got another job teaching English at another place.

[00:40:00] And I worked in a bar.

[00:40:02] Then I taught English again.

[00:40:04] And the Power Rangers stuff didn't pay the bills fully.

[00:40:06] Yeah.

[00:40:07] That's kind of rockstar.

[00:40:08] I was saying, like, I kind of understand...

[00:40:09] From what I understand, like, a lot of either Americans or expats in general,

[00:40:14] when they go to, like, Japan, Korea, things like that, they get jobs teaching English.

[00:40:19] Yeah.

[00:40:19] It's the easiest.

[00:40:20] Like, when I went to Japan, like, when I was living there,

[00:40:23] you'd be hard pressed to find another foreigner.

[00:40:26] Like, walking around during the day, now you're hard pressed to not see them.

[00:40:30] Oh, yeah.

[00:40:30] And I had blonde, like, spiky Billy Allen hair.

[00:40:32] So I'd take a train out to meet my friend way out in the middle of nowhere.

[00:40:36] And I'd get on the train, you know, fucking 6'2", with bleach blonde hair.

[00:40:39] Yeah.

[00:40:41] Taller than everybody else.

[00:40:42] And, like, kids would follow me.

[00:40:43] Yeah.

[00:40:44] The...

[00:40:45] Here, it's called Space Giants, but in Japan, it's called Meg Mataishi.

[00:40:48] And he's got bright blonde hair.

[00:40:49] And some people are like, oh, Meg Mataishi!

[00:40:51] They kept yelling that at me.

[00:40:52] It was just like...

[00:40:53] Basically, he's Ken Masters, ladies and gentlemen.

[00:40:55] I'd go to a restaurant, and I'd, like, order food, and they're just like this at me.

[00:40:59] What?

[00:40:59] They would just stare at me.

[00:41:00] Like, they wouldn't want me to come in.

[00:41:01] It's like, I don't speak English.

[00:41:03] So they would literally just, like, not serve me.

[00:41:05] Because they thought, oh, I don't speak English, I want to deal with this guy.

[00:41:08] So I'd have to ask them in Japanese.

[00:41:11] And they'd come out, oh, you speak Japanese?

[00:41:12] And they'd go, yeah.

[00:41:13] Well, okay.

[00:41:15] Oh, that's so interesting.

[00:41:15] And then they'd sit there and grill me.

[00:41:16] I'm trying to eat them.

[00:41:17] They both would just sit down with me and talk to me.

[00:41:18] What's it like in America?

[00:41:19] Wait, does everybody eat hamburgers and all that?

[00:41:21] I was like, that's crazy.

[00:41:23] You're like, yeah.

[00:41:24] This is pretty much.

[00:41:25] Yeah.

[00:41:26] Free internet, I mean, before people could just Google things.

[00:41:29] But yeah.

[00:41:30] That's a cool story.

[00:41:31] That's awesome.

[00:41:32] Okay, let's wrap it up.

[00:41:33] Anybody got any more questions real quick?

[00:41:35] You got one?

[00:41:36] Sorry.

[00:41:36] I totally got.

[00:41:37] Andrew, what haven't you asked me before?

[00:41:49] Barry, you're my friend.

[00:41:51] Love you so much.

[00:41:51] Just had one more question.

[00:41:54] Out of all your experiences in Japan and everything that you did, what was your number

[00:42:01] one, besides what you put on the suit and you're like, oh my God, this is like what I dreamed

[00:42:07] of.

[00:42:08] Because obviously when I was cosplaying first and when I put my first Green Rangers suit

[00:42:12] on, I felt that same exact feeling.

[00:42:15] What was your best day of shooting out there?

[00:42:20] What was the most iconic day of this is the best day of my life out here doing?

[00:42:27] The New Year's special of 1988.

[00:42:30] Whoa.

[00:42:31] Because all, they had like seven Kamen Rider stars, they had five Ultraman actors and they

[00:42:39] had five the Super Sentai.

[00:42:41] And I was like the only white guy there.

[00:42:45] I walked in, you know, because the thing's all night.

[00:42:49] So our time, because we were all rehearsing, right?

[00:42:53] But not the actors.

[00:42:54] Actors just come out and say their name and they yell their pose and then you come out

[00:42:59] in a suit.

[00:43:00] So it was the first time meeting all these guys, like forever in person.

[00:43:03] And so our thing was at 11 o'clock at night.

[00:43:07] So I got there at 10, we're all suited up.

[00:43:10] And they all come in and I was like, I was wearing my, I was wearing my helmet.

[00:43:14] So they had no idea that I was a white guy.

[00:43:17] So he's talking to me, he goes, oh, so you're going to come out as me.

[00:43:20] I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:43:20] He goes, you know the pose?

[00:43:21] I go, yeah, yeah, I know the pose.

[00:43:22] All right.

[00:43:22] So he goes, when I say Henshin, you come out.

[00:43:24] I go, yeah, yeah, I know.

[00:43:26] So come out, da, da, da, do that whole thing.

[00:43:27] And I'm just sitting there standing on stage, you know, on TV with all these guys, right?

[00:43:32] I'm just like thinking to myself, this is fricking surreal, right?

[00:43:36] And so after that, they all go and take the stage and then they all come back and the

[00:43:40] guy's just like, is he a white guy?

[00:43:45] And then all the actors gather around and go, how do you even know what this stuff is?

[00:43:49] And so I went through the whole spiel with like, I had like 10 people surrounding me asking

[00:43:52] me like, what the hell?

[00:43:54] You know, like how do you even know what this is?

[00:43:56] Right.

[00:43:56] So it was like very funny.

[00:43:57] And then we all, we all went out to go eat afterwards.

[00:44:00] So I'm just sitting there like, this is insane.

[00:44:03] Like you were the celebrity.

[00:44:04] Never mind, wildest dreamer I ever think I would meet those guys, eat with them and just

[00:44:08] sit there and hang out with them.

[00:44:10] And now they're interested in you.

[00:44:11] Yeah.

[00:44:11] And then they're just like all asking me questions.

[00:44:13] It was just surreal.

[00:44:15] That's awesome.

[00:44:15] And I was like writing on my friend, you know, cause back then you had to write a

[00:44:18] letter.

[00:44:18] So I was like writing letters.

[00:44:19] Everybody goes to my Beatles and I had everybody sign hella stops.

[00:44:22] It was just, it was amazing.

[00:44:25] That's awesome.

[00:44:26] I got a picture.

[00:44:26] I got a picture of me with a bunch of the guys.

[00:44:28] I'm the lone white guy standing there.

[00:44:30] Hey, that's cool.

[00:44:31] That works.

[00:44:32] All right, let's speed through these.

[00:44:33] Yeah.

[00:44:33] So we're going to, we're going to get into the hard questions here, the hard hitters

[00:44:36] and Barry will be back at this table.

[00:44:39] Got more questions.

[00:44:39] Got more stories you want to talk about?

[00:44:41] Oh wait, you got one more.

[00:44:42] I got one.

[00:44:42] Yeah.

[00:44:43] Okay.

[00:44:44] It'll be quick.

[00:44:45] Uh, for someone trying to learn Japanese, what, uh, is the number one advice you'd have?

[00:44:51] And, uh, obviously being in the suits, you gotta be in a certain shape.

[00:44:55] So like, what was the, uh, you know, super sentai workout?

[00:44:59] What was the what?

[00:45:00] The super, the super sentai workout.

[00:45:03] What was the workout?

[00:45:04] We just rehearsed.

[00:45:06] We actually, we just, we would just stretch and then they, they had a stunt coordinator

[00:45:10] would come in.

[00:45:11] He'd have already have blocked out how he wanted the fights to go.

[00:45:15] So we would just, I didn't really work out at all.

[00:45:18] Actually, I would just stretch.

[00:45:20] Is that just, uh, genetics.

[00:45:23] That's his, uh, I just stretch it.

[00:45:24] And then we would block out the fights.

[00:45:26] Being awesome is his workout.

[00:45:26] So that was kind of like the workout.

[00:45:28] Just blocking out fights.

[00:45:29] You know, we were all like 18, 19, 20, you know, we're just like full of piss and vinegar,

[00:45:38] man.

[00:45:38] As long as you fit in the suit.

[00:45:39] So yeah, it's 20 year olds with good genetics.

[00:45:41] That's how that's, that's their workout plans.

[00:45:44] Yeah.

[00:45:44] I have no other way to like, they can't see it, but that's, uh, this was latest like

[00:45:51] in 2000 TV show.

[00:45:54] Wow.

[00:45:54] That's awesome.

[00:45:55] I got the exclusive.

[00:45:58] So, like I said, uh, we've got the hard hitters for you here, right?

[00:46:01] What is your favorite kind of taco?

[00:46:04] Masada and El Pastor.

[00:46:06] See, there you go.

[00:46:07] No, if you heard me earlier, right.

[00:46:09] That's our, that's our litmus test, right?

[00:46:10] Yeah.

[00:46:10] Like when you're Hispanic, if he, if it's a good El Pastor, that's that's how you know

[00:46:15] the restaurant's good.

[00:46:16] Yeah.

[00:46:17] Uh, what's next for you?

[00:46:20] What do you got coming up?

[00:46:21] I got Fanime coming up.

[00:46:22] I heard you mentioned Fanime.

[00:46:23] Uh, then we go back to Japan and I'm not doing anything tokusatsu related in Japan.

[00:46:30] I'm just going just to see friends again.

[00:46:32] Uh, probably go to the toy studios and see people I think still work there and that's

[00:46:40] about it.

[00:46:40] And then I'm just working on more cosplay for stuff.

[00:46:43] Nice.

[00:46:43] I'm doing Fanime next week and then I'm going to do Sac anime in Labor Day weekend.

[00:46:51] Is that September?

[00:46:52] Yeah.

[00:46:53] Yeah.

[00:46:53] Labor Day weekend.

[00:46:54] So whatever.

[00:46:55] I'm going to do with the coconut falls on.

[00:46:56] Cool.

[00:46:56] We're from Sacramento.

[00:46:57] So we'll see you.

[00:46:58] Yeah, we'll see you there.

[00:46:59] Come hang out.

[00:46:59] I'm usually there.

[00:47:00] Uh, you guys will see my costume later if you're around.

[00:47:03] So.

[00:47:03] Don't give it away.

[00:47:05] I'm not.

[00:47:05] I'm not.

[00:47:06] Those of you who know us know what my costume is.

[00:47:08] So.

[00:47:09] Oh man, you can follow me on Instagram.

[00:47:10] It's a jet Jaguar 666.

[00:47:12] And I got stickers out there that have my hand.

[00:47:15] Drop by Barry's table and he's got the stickers with his Instagram.

[00:47:18] Super cool.

[00:47:19] I dig those little stickers.

[00:47:21] I stole a couple just.

[00:47:22] Yeah, because.

[00:47:22] I feel like I had to say.

[00:47:24] I dig it.

[00:47:24] Whenever I'm like in cosplay or I meet people, I'm just like, oh, here, this is my Instagram.

[00:47:28] Follow me on that.

[00:47:30] So.

[00:47:30] Perfect.

[00:47:30] Because that was actually going to be like my next question.

[00:47:32] Um, I gotta ask you this though.

[00:47:34] Ultraman Taro versus Rita Repulsa.

[00:47:37] Who wins in a fight?

[00:47:37] Right.

[00:47:38] Versus who?

[00:47:38] Rita Repulsa.

[00:47:39] Who wins in a fight?

[00:47:40] Ultraman Taro.

[00:47:41] Step on her.

[00:47:43] There you go.

[00:47:43] She's like this big and he's like that big.

[00:47:46] That's perfect.

[00:47:47] Perfect answer.

[00:47:49] Barry, thank you so much.

[00:47:50] Thanks for having me.

[00:47:50] You'll be back at your table.

[00:47:52] Yeah, yeah.

[00:47:52] Any more questions, stories?

[00:48:14] We hope you enjoyed this week's Comic Conversation.

[00:48:20] This was a production of the Distance Nerding Podcast and Time for Tacos Media.

[00:48:24] For more content, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok, all at Distance Nerding.

[00:48:30] If you enjoy our content, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:48:35] Thanks and keep nerding together.

[00:48:37] Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening.

[00:48:40] Signing out from another amazing episode of Comic Con Radio.

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