#wearesydney

Hi guys!

So, on Sunday the 3rd of April I had the absolute privilege to attend Anime at Abbotsford’s 13th cosplay BBQ.

I’ve been a customer of this store for many years, both online and in person and I’ve met the owners Brad and Hansen many times and each time I do, it’s like meeting some old friends.

On my last trip to the store, as always Brad told me about the BBQ and as always, I said I would see if I could make it.

Months trickle by and on Sunday the 3rd of April I find myself sitting in the passenger seat of my best friends Audi, dressed like Lumpy Space Princess from the Adventure Time series panicking.

When we got closer to the store (a modest store in Abbotsford, in Sydney’s inner west) it was easy to see just how popular this cosplay event actually is.

Approximately 60 odd cosplayers stood comfortably outside the store front on the footpath amicably chatting with one another and as we moved closer it became apparent that at least 300 cosplayers were attending the event and in the midst of all the cosplay chaos, there was Brad making sure everyone got a free sausage sandwich and Hansen taking as many pictures as his memory card could store.

For the first hour, I tried to make some small talk with other cosplayers and loitered around the store to sample their wares and trinkets… That was when I accidentally stepped on Gajeel’s (from the series Fairy Tail) foot. Oopsies.

I walked around to the BBQ area and struck up a conversation with a Fem Kakashi Hatake (from the Naruto Series) which is where we spotted a Rin (from love live!) dance with a Mr. Bean (from the Mr. Bean franchise). If I wasn’t already confused, a Ghostbuster led conga line precession went past us while a Batman (from the Batman franchise) and an Officer Jenny (from the film Zootopia) shared a quiet joke.

“This is the most bizarre event I’ve ever been to in my life” I muttered to myself - clearly overwhelmed by all the excitement.

I spotted Brad and asked if I could have a few minutes of his time to chat about the BBQ. Ever the gentleman, of course he agreed and we found a quiet spot upstairs to chat.

It’s not often a ghostbusters and a Space Princess sit down to chat so I tried to make the most of it. First up, Brad told me all about the history of the store. “You know, it’s 10 years and a week to the day we got this shop.” Said Brad proudly. “Hansen and I had worked hard and saved all of our money to go overseas to see Japan with the intention of spending every cent we had with us. We visited numerous Anime, Manga and pop culture stores while we were there and jokingly we said when we come home to Australia, we should open up an anime store ourselves! And we laughed and laughed and laughed at such a crazy prospect, until we got home 7 weeks later with most of the money we had saved for our trip.” He said, a grin starting to appear. “So one day, I tossed the idea back to Hansen about MAYBE opening up a shop, suggesting the empty shop across the road from our house. Hansen agreed that maybe we should look at it but told me not to sign any leases or do anything crazy, so naturally I signed a 3 year lease on the spot” he said though fits of of laughter. Then his tone turned serious. “I’m so glad we did sign that 3 year lease though, because honestly 1 year in we were ready to give up. We had no customers, I spent most of my days playing PlayStation in the shop and Hansen was working his butt off at his other job when one day an organiser from Supanova Expo Sydney wandered into the store and suggested we book a stall for their event. By now, Hansen and I.. Well we were pretty broke so we decided on hosting a little table over on ‘Artist Alley’ not even sure if anyone would come over to the table at all. But wouldn’t you know it? My god! The weekend after Supanova we were sooooo busy and I’m telling you, business hasn’t slowed down since!” Brad said with a smile.

“So tell me about your customers?” What are they like?“ I asked casually.

“Oh!” Exclaimed Brad, “We have the BEST customers. You know, in 10 years of working this store, we’ve never had a single shop lifter. Not one. If my computer says we have say 3 figures in the back of the store I can walk into the back room and 3 figures will be sitting there. Our customers are so so wonderful and honest and they’ve really helped us out over the years with various things… That’s why we started the BBQ’s… To say thanks to our customers. Funny story about that actually, the first BBQ we ever had, we expected maybe 40 people? 150 showed up… It was incredible! We now host a BBQ every 6 or so months, amongst other events we have on from time to time.” He said with a knowing nod.

“So why the cosplay aspect?” I quizzed.

“Well,” Brad pondered “there isn’t an event on the Sydney cosplay calendar for cosplayers to meet each other and mingle together.. That’s where we come in. All the other events are well.. Big events! Supanova.. Smash.. Comicon.. Not a lot of time to talk or make any friends. Plus, I love seeing everyone all dressed up and the other staff have always loved getting involved too. Come along in your favourite costume, have a free sausage, maybe win a prize and make some new friends. What’s could be better than that!”

At that moment, we heard ‘The Macarena’ start up and a glorious cheer erupt from the crowd outside. “Brad… Is.. Is that The Macarena?” I asked, giggling. Brad exploded in a fit of laughter “ Yes! Yes it is!… Wanna watch it from the top story balcony”?

And so we did. We watched 200 cosplayers do the Macarena and that’s when I decided.. I’ll never miss a cosplay barbecue ever again.

Anime at Abbotsford is located at 318 Great North Road, Abbotsford NSW 2046 Open Monday to Saturday 9am- 6:30pm Sunday 9am - 5pm

https://www.facebook.com/AnimeAtAbbotsford/

http://www.anime-oz.com/