Wiltshire cosplayer 'ecstatic' to win world championships

Matthew scored first against some tough competition

A cosplay champion says he feels "ecstatic" at winning an international competition in an outfit he spent months crafting from hand.

Matthew Barry, 30, used techniques like electroplating and foam sculpting to create his leather armour outfit.

Cosplay involves dressing up as a character, often from science fiction, fantasy, video games or comics.

He came first in The Cosplay Central Crown Championships in Chicago, beating competitors from across the globe.

Mr Barry's costume was inspired by the online game Monster Hunter World.

"My big focus on it was using authentic materials." he said.

"I didn't want to make something that looked like an imitation, I wanted to make the real thing.

"I made my own shoes, my own gloves. I made all the armour pieces. I did all these snow effects, and different special effects make-up."

Mr Barry used special effects to create a snow illusion

Mr Barry, who works as a hotel manager in Bath and lives in Chippenham, decided to enter the competition after narrowly missing out on a top three spot last year.

"I felt very demotivated. You've gone through all this work and you didn't place at the finals.

"You didn't do what you set out to do, so I was a little bit crushed by that.

"After a little while, a few people were interested in one of my techniques which was electroplating.

"I told a bunch of people one day about how I did it, and one person reached out to me and told me they loved it and could I teach them."

Wake-up call

The woman he helped won a UK competition after learning the technique which gave him a wake-up call.

"After that it really hit me, I thought there's no point sitting around being sad.

"So I reached out to my judges and other contestants to learn what I could about my costume.

"I worked day and night trying to make this costume for the UK qualifier. And I did it."

Electroplating is the process of covering the surface of a metal object with a thin layer of a different metal.

After success at the British contest, Mr Barry entered into the world championships.

He said he still "can't believe" he's won.

"The fact I won. The whole thing blows me away," he said.

"Even still, the fact that I didn't give up when I felt down, I still found a way to climb back out from that low point and keep going. That was a nice moment."

Mr Barry says he worked day and night to create his intricate costume

Mr Barry said he's putting his skills towards a new project.

"I'm working on my entrance for the Japanese circuit, because I really want to go to Japan. I also promised my girlfriend that we'd do something together, because this one has to be duos.

"I'm really focusing on the craftsmanship for the costume."

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