Prison guard to demon diva MEET THE KIWI COSPLAY QUEEN

The 30-year-old Corrections officer spends her spare time dressing up as her favourite characters

- Cloe Willets

When Lower Hutt woman Cass Flintoff first signed up for dating apps and had to upload photos to show potential suitors, she chose images of her wearing pink contact lenses and adorned with twisted demon horns. After all, the 30-year-old loves to dress up.

While she works for the Department of Corrections by day, switching between stints in the office and as a prison guard, evenings and weekends are all about cosplay for the anime enthusiast.

"I don't want dates to meet me and be like, 'Why are you wearing pink contacts?"" laughs Cass, chatting to Woman's Day about her passion for costumed role-playing. "I like to go out dancing and cosplay is my regular outfit, so I'll often wear a wig and contacts with some crazy makeup.

"You get into the feeling of that character and people don't recognise you, so it's kind of like having a disguise!"

Fifteen years ago, after attending her first Armageddon Expo event in Auckland with a then-boyfriend, Cass fell in love with the creative world of costumes and characters.

She felt instantly at home amongst her fellow cosplaying peers, dressed as popular anime model Misa Amane from the Japanese manga series Death Note.

"I've always had a big imagination and loved dressing up. It made me happy. But it was difficult between intermediate and college because those are the awful, awkward hormonal years," recalls Cass, whose other hobby is the gym, where she can lift a whopping 100kg.