TFS#217 - Kiyo (500k+ Followers) How To Make A Full-Time Income As An Anime Cosplayer

Kiyo is a skilled cosplayer known for her intricate designs and vibrant portrayals. She shares stunning cosplay, behind-the-scenes moments, and exclusive content on Patreon and OnlyFans. Her passion and humor make her a standout in the cosplay and streaming community. https://www.instagram.com/kiyocosplay https://x.com/kiyocosplay https://www.tiktok.com/@kiyocosplay 0:00 - Intro 0:48 - Meet Kiyo 1:49 - How Kiyo started cosplaying 2:41 - Kiyo’s focus in the past six months 2:51 - Making money at cosplay events 4:57 - Turning cosplay into a career 5:45 - Kiyo’s paid offline event gigs 6:11 - How overseas cosplay events work 7:38 - Can anyone cosplay? 8:24 - Promoting cosplay events 9:18 - Growing her Patreon 10:16 - Growing her online community 11:26 - Top figures in the cosplay scene 13:02 - Fan interactions at events 13:51 - Going unrecognized in cosplay 14:29 - How people find cosplay influencers 15:30 - Using Instagram vs. Twitter 16:58 - Cosplaying for the next 20 years? 17:39 - Focus on offline event gigs 19:48 - Attending cosplay events in Japan 20:46 - What Kiyo wears while streaming 21:24 - Where her livestream audience is from 22:59 - Creating OnlyFans content 24:09 - Monthly cosplay character creation 24:52 - OnlyFans vs. Instagram content 25:19 - Do cosplayers get breast augmentations? 26:22 - Do cosplayers edit their photos? 27:30 - AI cosplayer Instagram accounts 28:17 - Why it’s rude to say a cosplayer looks different in real life 28:58 - Demographics of her audience 29:50 - Kiyo’s partner preferences 30:33 - Ex-boyfriend’s thoughts on cosplay 31:21 - Family’s thoughts on cosplay 32:27 - Custom content on OnlyFans 32:58 - Patreon vs. OnlyFans 33:19 - Subscriber retention rates 34:24 - How subscribers use exclusive photos 35:53 - Why some dislike nude content 37:08 - How top 0.001% on OnlyFans earn millions 39:10 - Why Kiyo avoids nude content 39:53 - Preparing for photoshoots 40:51 - Free videography for female influencers 41:32 - Working with cosplay photographers 43:00 - Creepy photographers in cosplay 45:08 - Custom content for OnlyFans 46:54 - Not relying only on Patreon & OnlyFans 47:46 - How booths work at events 49:40 - When guys buy her photo printouts 50:13 - Andy’s neighbor stalking him 52:27 - Selling photo printouts at events 53:27 - Andy’s experience w/ World Vision girl asking for a donation 54:39 - Are cosplay girls charismatic? 55:32 - Instagram posting schedule 56:50 - Photographer edits her photos 57:55 - Are anime fans also simps? 58:18 - Picking characters to cosplay 1:00:04 - Favorite anime 1:00:57 - Preparing costumes 1:02:08 - Following cosplay trends 1:03:02 - Managing photoshoots locally & overseas 1:08:18 - What she does during slow business periods 1:10:12 - Handling financial stress 1:11:42 - Hobbies during downtime 1:12:32 - Realizing Andy was Australian 1:12:57 - Attending a Sydney cosplay event 1:15:37 - 500K+ followers, top in SEA 1:17:14 - Characters cosplayed in Sydney 1:17:31 - Cosplaying Vtuber, anime, and gacha game characters 1:19:22 - How Vtubers work 1:21:11 - What got her into Vtubing & why she stopped 1:21:44 - Do Vtubers reveal their faces? 1:22:21 - Ironmouse & streaming with a chronic illness 1:24:29 - Recent life discoveries 1:25:52 - Weekly schedule 1:26:23 - Motivation to create more content 1:27:36 - Personal goals for the next six months 1:29:53 - Most popular cosplayer: Enako 1:30:12 - Connect with Kiyo 1:31:59 - Outro