Father and forklift operator by day, superhero by night.
Jesse Short of Michigan City, Indiana is a well-known community member in the Region for his cosplay costumes, charismatic personality, and drive to uplift small businesses and superhero fans alike.
Short grew up in Gary, Indiana for most of his formative years. When he was a junior in high school, he moved to Lake Station. Now, he lives in Michigan City with his fiancée and children. On May 7, he and his fiancée welcomed their third child to the world.
When Short is not working, he loves spending time with his family.
“Outside of work, I enjoy just spending time with my kids. We also play basketball, but I enjoy taking interest in whatever my kids like to do,” said Short.
Short can often be found playing different sports with his kids or getting ready to go to concerts with his fiancée. Last year, his fiancée surprised him with tickets to see MC Hammer, one of his favorite childhood artists.
Beyond hanging out with his family, Short has fostered a reputation as a friendly neighborhood superhero.
“I am a level-one cosplayer, but I really think people just always say, ‘Oh, that's Falcon; we know that guy!” Short said.
Short first got into cosplaying in 2013.
“I went to my first comic book convention back in 2013. I had seen everyone dressed up, and I wanted to be a part of that costume culture and learn more about it,” Short said. “So, I kind of just educated myself through YouTube videos and brought my favorite superheroes or villains from comic books to life.”
Short has a full repertoire of characters to choose from, but he does have a few favorites.
“Usually, I play Falcon or Sam Wilson from “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I've been doing that for a while. People really love to see my mechanical wings operate. I also play War Machine. I did a Chicago Bulls/Iron Man type armor,” Short explained. “Recently, I built a Mandalorian costume for Halloween. My daughter and I will probably be Mandalorian and Baby Yoda.”
If Short could, he wishes he would have started this hobby sooner because of the great creativity and technique required to make such amazing costumes.
“Knowing that I would end up doing this, I would say start younger. Expose yourself to it at an earlier age than what I did. I wish I had gotten into it when I was younger because I would probably be farther off and my skill set will be farther than what it is. This genre is always changing.”
As the genre changes and Short’s skills sharpen, he even learns new ways to create costumes.
“Before, you had to learn how to sew. Now, people are using foam. Now, I'm transitioning into doing 3D printing. My first big 3D printing prop was the Mandalorian’s jetpack,” Short said. “So, I would say start young, be patient, and just continue to educate yourself.”
Short loves bringing smiles to people’s faces while wearing his costumes. He doesn’t just entertain his children or the neighborhood kids, though. Short often donates his time to local businesses and charities.
“I would just ask businesses if they need someone to stop by. I've worked with organizations that had events to raise donations for charities against child abuse. I've worked for a retirement center that had an event to raise awareness for Alzheimer's. I'll link up with businesses to hand out backpacks to children that are unfortunately not able to get access to those things,” said Short. “I believe in trying to help others, giving back to my community, and helping small businesses.”
When the pandemic begins to wind down, Short has some goals for this hobby.
“With a pandemic going on and having a newborn, I'm just trying to play it safe,” Short said. “In the future, there's tons of characters that I would love to make. I always think of the treasure chest of action figures that I had when I was younger. It'd be cool to be Darth Vader or a Ninja Turtle. I always want to continue to expand.”
Short has dreams of taking this hobby further than occasional cosplay.
“I would love to try to become a professional or travel the country. I would love to become a costume designer as well. That has always been like a main goal of mine,” he said. “I would love to get back into conventions. That's one thing my fiancée, kids, and I look forward to. We've always traveled to conventions and weekends in Chicago or Grand Rapids. So, we'll love to get back to doing that so we can have our bonding time.”
Short loves donating his time to local businesses and charities, but he maintains focus on his family for inspiration.
“My kids and my fiancée are really my motivation,” Short said. “They are also my biggest fans.”