FrightGuys interview!

Exciting news: We did an interview with the FrightGuys! We have seen them multiple times already at events like House of Horrors and Weekend of Hell. We always like seeing them as characters like Captain Spaulding and Pennywise at conventions and take a picture with them. And after seeing the FrightGuys quite a few times at cons: it's about time to do an interview with this amazing German cosplay group. 

The FrightGuys started in 2009 and were founded by Axel Feldmann and Mike Kunz. Both were on a horror event as volunteer scares and quickly realized that it was not only fun to scare people, but also to entertain them with convincing costumes.

Let's kick off with getting to know the FrightGuys a little bit better! We asked them about the size and growth of the group. "Only founder, Axel Feldmann is a part of the FrightGuys from the beginning. All other members came from time to time. There have been some changes the past 10 years. 

Frequently we have received inquiries from people who wanted to be part of the FrightGuys, but we find that a group of 5 friends is quite sufficient. In addition, there are some helpers who support us at our stand."

Of course, we also asked why the FrightGuys do what they do: "We take pleasure in getting into different roles and making the costumes as original as possible. It's nice to see other people getting excited about each character, taking photos with us, or perhaps even taking away the fear of certain horror characters. Why is it just horror? Because horror is a very big topic and everyone in this genre can get excited about something else. We are all real horror fans."

And that's not all you should know about the FrightGuys. They support charity as well! "For some years, the FrightGuys have been supporting a wildlife catching station in Germany and collecting donations both at conventions and via shirt sales. For some time now, however, this has not been enough for us, and we started collecting donations for children's hospices or kindergartens and, with the support of the International Children Help e.V., we were able to make a difference." How awesome is that? 

We have seen the FrightGuys as several characters. I remember the first time I saw them: I saw Captain Spaulding! And as a big fan of Rob Zombie's films & especially of Captain Spaulding, I spotted the FrightGuys right away! But of course, there's more to tell. They keep innovating and have a great collection of characters, all worth to see! So... can you tell us about the characters of the FrightGuys? 

"We have a lot of different costumes in the inventory. On the one hand cult figures of horror such as Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Samara Morgan, Leatherface, Pennywise (old and new), but also figures like Captain Spaulding, Harry Warden, The Jeepers Creepers, Brahms, Babadook, Babyface or Leslie Vernon. Some of our characters, however, are fictitious or our individual characters such as the Wolfman, Scarecrows or the Mummy."

That's cool! So many awesome costumes. I don't even think I've seen all of them. Are you still expanding the amount of characters? Are you always looking for new costumes? "Regularly, we try to expand our range of figures.  And we also further edit existing costumes to make them appear as authentic as possible. However, since some costumes cost a lot of time or money, this is not always possible."

So how do you decide which character to develop? Do people ask for specific characters or do you like what you like?

"Which figures come next, on the one hand depends on what we ourselves like. On the other hand, of course, we take into consideration what would be good for fans, or what people like. However, it is also important to us that the role fits to one of us: We shouldn't be too different from the original."

We love going to comic cons. Comic Cons often have starguests as well. Do you sometimes meet the starguests at Comic Cons? "Of course, we have already met star guests at ComicCons, but we are rarely closer than the regular visitors and must pay for photos or autographs."

Which actors or actresses would you really like to see? 

"This is completely different, we all like a lot of other movies/ series as well besides the horror genre. This is exactly like how our music tastes differ. I think we can say that each one of us is happy about guests who are related to our costumes. Either the actors who embody our roles or other actors from the movies."

We can imagine it might be fun to see the actor of the characters that you're portraying with the FrightGuys. Have you already met a few? "Yes, that also happened. We have had the opportunity to meet Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) often. And we met the actors that played Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder, Ari Lehman, Ken Kirzinger, etc.). We met Sid Haig a few years ago."

We have seen the FrightGuys at events regularly. So we couldn't resist to ask: What kind of activities do you do with the FrightGuys? "As FrightGuys we perform at various events: at conventions such as the Comic Con or the Weekend of Hell (a German horror convention), tattoo conventions or similar events, but also for weddings or birthdays we are available. Basically, you van book us for many occasions. Depending on how many FrightGuys are booked and the circumstances of the localities, we entertain the guests then with our stand, or as a walking act. In the first place, people should enjoy our characters. They don't need to feel frightened or run out of fear. Because, who would still have picture with us then ;)?"

When you pick an event, or are being asked for an event: What is important to you/What should the event be about?

"First of all, the topic of the event does not matter to us, since we are quite flexible. But we do make sure the event "fits". Unfortunately, we have already had some negative experiences in discotheques or similar premises, where from a certain time the consumption of alcohol of the visitors increases, and the inhibitions fall off. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of respect. Both towards as humans, as well as in front of us as Cosplayers and the related work on our costumes."

We're sorry to hear that. We totally get it, that in those cases you want to make sure an events fits. Talking about events that fit.. What's your best memory of an event? 

"That is hard to say because five people each have different highlights. For some it is the long-awaited meeting with a big fan, for the other the long-awaited meeting with an actor. For the next one it is a special event that has left particularly beautiful memories. I will answer this question on behalf of the group: Every event that we visit as a whole group and when also spend time together privately that is our highlight. Especially when it takes place in beautiful, new cities and we have warm people around us."

Do you also attend international events? 

"Yes, we can be booked internationally. We have been to France, Belgium and for some years now, we have been visiting Fantasy Basel in Switzerland."

What kind of preparation do you need to make before you go to an event?

"After having clarified all the formalities with the organizer of the respective event, we start to think about which costumes we take with us and see if something needs to be repaired or repaired somewhere. The same applies to our stand, which we have at almost every event. This must also be packed and taken to the event."

We are happy that you were willing to an interview with us! It was great to learn more about your group, the characters and the events you attend. What we would still like to know: What are your future plans: "In recent years we have developed into a big German cosplay group and after each event we stunned to notice how big our name is. Nobody expected that a few years ago.

I think I speak for each of us when I say that we hope to be able to perform more nationally and to get to know more conventions and cosplayers as well as coventions from other countries."

we also noticed that you have a merchandise shop on your website! What's the item you're the most proud of? "That's not easy to answer. Of course we are happy with every new item that we can make available to our fans for sale. However, some of our items are only possible because we have friends who take their time for us with their talents, and they design great things like new shirt designs or even a print of our Wolfman, a Friend designed this as a surprise.

That's awesome! thank you so much for this interview. We love your group. The characters you have are wonderful an it's always a joy to see you at events. People that come by your stand are always so happy and make amazing pictures. We wish you all the luck for the future and hope to see you at events soon again! Now, last but definitely not least. How can people book the FrightGuys for their event? 

"To book us, you can send us an e-mail with all important information (what, where, when?) To info@frightguys.com. We will get back to you as soon as possible."

Check out the FrightGuys website for more information.