مقابلة with Jeenzo

Bringing Fiction to Life

My name is Hamad Ismail Salem, mostly known as Jeenzo. I first started cosplaying in 2012 when I went to a gaming event wearing a Deadpool shirt and mask. People were taking pictures with me and I loved it, especially imitating the character I was dressed as. I started buying cosplays in 2013 and 2014, and in 2015 I tried to teach myself how to make my own cosplays and it turned out well for a beginner. Then my passion and skills just grew from that point onward.

My style comes in light cosplay so I can mimic the movement of the character I’m portraying. My first goal is to bring the character I’m dressed as to life, making fiction a reality.

My first was cosplaying Deadpool in the simplest way possible, a Deadpool shirt and a mask, yet people loved it and I loved being one of my favourite Marvel characters.

I’ve noticed it’s slowly growing and more and more people are getting into it, becoming more than a community, helping and supporting each other. Sometimes trouble arises, but in the end we are all connected here and one day the world will recognise Arabs and our own style of cosplay.

So far so good to be honest, featuring Arabic cosplayers and giving them the recognition they deserve. For now all I can say is keep up the good work.

I got second place once in MEFCC 2015 and got 3rd place in Gamescon 2017.

It depends to be honest on how much material I’m working with and the process of the cosplay itself. Sometimes it varies from 1 week to almost 6 months. My latest cosplay, which was Pantheon, took almost 2 months to finish, and Inosuke before it took about 2 weeks to finish.