Howdy, fellow furs! And welcome back to another edition of Furtastic Friday! This week we interviewed SD Furs member Jojo Bear. Jojo is 25 years old and joined the fandom in 2023 to find a supportive community during and after their transition. Jojo’s main sona, JojoBear is a punk/grunge bear with design influences heavily inspired by 90’s pop culture and the lesbian and trans flags to represent their pride! Jojobear is a part of a road-tripping grunge band. They explain “Bears kinda represent who I am,” being very protective of their families. Their secondary sona, Ditzy, is a tabby cat with similar punk inspirations. Back in middle school, Jojo found themself invested in the world of poetry. It was a fantastic method of expressing themself in new, feminine ways. The support they received from teachers only pushed them further into poetry as a medium. “[Poetry] allows one to look into the soul and put it out onto paper” Jojo states. “It’s a shared experience that connects our experience with others.” To this day, Jojo still writes poetry as a form of self-expression. When not writing, Jojo can often be found hiking or thrifting! Jojo hikes frequently and says the best part of hiking is “just taking it all in.” Sometimes, they say, they’ll look for a nice tree to sit under and start writing poetry, taking inspiration from their surroundings. One of their favorite hiking spots is M Hill in South Dakota, since it’s not too hard to hike along. Thrifting is also a common pastime for Jojo. They enjoy the thrill of finding unique clothes at thrift stores, especially vintage 90’s graphic tees. Jojo is incredibly grateful to have found such strong support within the furry community. They describe the fandom as “a found family,” and states their favorite thing about the fandom is the support everyone has for each other. Jojo explains that even though you may be separated by a river, you still feel like a close community. Since joining in 2023, they have had the chance to be to much more open about themselves, build their confidence, and find others that share similar experiences. Jojo would like to give a huge shoutout to their family and friends in the SD Furs community! Thank you for tuning in to another snoot-boopin’ edition of Furtastic Friday! We’d like to thank Jojo for letting us interview them, and to the SD Furs group for being such an incredible community. Be on the watch for future editions and be sure to fill out a form HERE if you’d like your chance to be featured. Until next week, stay fluffy, scaly, and/or feathery everyone!
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Happy Furtastic Friday everyone! This week I was able to interview Brian, a 36-year-old rottweiler who joined the fandom in 2002 and started posting online in 2007. Around 2001 they got into the Archie Comic series Sonic, which is based on the Sega Sonic video game franchise. They also found the furry and Sonic artist Jay Axer, and through that, they stumbled upon the furry fandom! Brian has also been drawing since the late 90s with an emphasis on comic book superheroes. Combining a love of Sonic and drawing led to Brian becoming a talented furry artist who began posting art online in 2007. They try to balance wanting to keep up on their style and skill with being able to relax and take a break from drawing to keep the joy of drawing alive. When they aren't drawing, they enjoy comics, paranormal media, and true crime documentaries. Their favorite comic is Jason Aaron's Thor, wishing the movie had done much more justice for the series! Among paranormal media and true crime documentaries, their favorites are Wiseguys by Nicholas Pileggi, 2002 Mothman Prophecies, and almost any serial killer podcasts they come across. Their favorite part of the fandom is the communities and the wild variety of people that create them! They feel that there are always people with interesting stories who build a very welcoming and homey environment. Finding cool people with unique life stories and seeing vast amounts of cool art keeps Brian firmly in the fandom!
I want to give a sincere thank you to Brian for allowing me to interview them! I appreciated hearing about their art and learning about their enjoyment of the fandom! Check back in next week for another Furtastic Friday article, and don't forget to submit your own entry to be interviewed here! Hello, friends! Welcome back to another Friday of the Furtastic variety! This week, we interviewed OWOmaha member and admin, Jahgoda. Jahgoda is a 19 year old marble silver fox hybrid, named after the Polish word for “berry” (jagoda). They have always had an affinity for animals, more so than most people! This eventually led to them joining the Warrior Cats fandom, but it didn’t quite fit them right. In 2018, Jahgoda discovered fursonas and it all clicked! They created their fursona, Jahgoda, and joined the fandom. Though Jahgoda is much more than just a sona. They’re also their soulsona, kinsona, and spiritual identity! The creation of Jahgoda has given them a chance to not just express themselves, but also discover who they are, and they are eternally grateful for the community because of it. Jahgoda is an active artist in the furry community and loves drawing. They have been actively drawing since grade school, but became much more invested in middle school after discovering the social digital painting platform IBIS Paint. They loved the freedom of creativity and depth that digital art had over traditional art and has been their medium of choice ever since. To this day Jahgoda still creates digital art and loves drawing Jahgoda and bringing other fursonas to life through the digital medium! While digital art is their forte, they still enjoy hands-on physical crafts as well! In 2023, they made an EVA foam head of Jahgoda. That same year Jahgoda also made their second ever pair of handpaws using some unconventional methods such as avoiding traditional applique methods, using opera gloves as a liner and including 3D carpal pads! “Those paws are probably my favorite thing I've made” Jahgoda explains. They have since commissioned a fursuit head of Jahgoda from Navy_Workshop.
Besides making art Jahgoda loves seeing all of the unique and aesthetically pleasing fursona designs. Their favorite design styles vary but they generally enjoy characters that are colorful but not overwhelmingly vibrant – like pastel rainbow themes. Another design choice they enjoy is dark bodies with light faces and accents, much like what Jahgoda has. Jahgoda is also an admin for OWOmaha since 2023, frequently attending meets, streamlining events, and organizing our calendars! We are very thankful to have Jahgoda be a part of our community, making our meets more fun and providing their unique talents to our members. We hope you enjoyed reading about our furry friend, Jahgoda this week! Come back soon for another round of Furtastic Friday, and don’t forget to sign up if you’d like your chance to be featured in a future article! Welcome back to Furtastic Friday! This week's article is about the SD Furs chat member, Soulakin! He is a 25-year-old river otter who learned of the fandom in 2016 through YouTube videos of Transfurmation. It wasn't until 2018, when he entered community college, that he became invested in the idea of becoming a furry. Near the end of his time at university, he came across a furry Telegram chat in Wyoming. Right after he joined, they said they had a furmeet happening, so he went down and had a really great time! In his free time, Soulakin enjoys listening to music and going for walks. Wherever he wanders, he finds the natural scenery to be quite enjoyable, especially when he has music play in the background. He often walks down the bike path near his house that leads him to a small pond. There are all sorts of different trees and foliage nearby, as well as a few creeks and streams. It’s quite pleasant and breathtaking, and when he puts on music, more specifically The Hidden Land from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, it transports him into a completely different world. It allows him to connect to nature in a way that the scenery alone can’t do. It’s spiritual. Soulakin doesn't really have a favorite type of music, he just tends to listen to whatever has a good beat. It can also change depending what mood he’s in. If he wants to relax on his bed, he'll have calming music like Anthemics, The Ambientalist, or ChilloutDeer, playing in the background. When he's playing a game like Palworld or Lethal Company, he'll have “The Core” theme from Undertale playing. The rhythmic tempo of the beat, as well as its melody, is more than enough to keep him immersed all throughout the night. In-game soundtracks is not all that he listens to, he also enjoys listening to rock, electro swing, and other wonderful pieces that have a great sounding beat! When it comes to the furry fandom, Soulakin really likes how open everyone is. When it comes to meeting new people, the fandom is always warm and welcoming, especially to those who are just beginning to explore their furry side. His favorite part of the fandom though has to be the talented art community! He doesn't have a favorite artist in particular, there are just too many out there to count. His first-ever furry badge was made at Denfur 2021 by Aflareworks. Another artist that he enjoys is VicCreates, they made his hand-drawn profile picture at Anthro Weekend Utah 2023. There's even an artist in the SD Furs chat (and OWOmaha,) who he feels makes wonderful art- Ben the Honey Dadger!
Thank you for coming to learn more about our friend Soulakin! Make sure to reach out to him if you want recommendations for great music to listen to! We'll see you next week for another Furtastic Friday article- don't forget to submit your entry to be interviewed here! Welcome back, friends! It’s time for another Furtastic Friday. This week, we interviewed our resident rat, father of two, and OWOmaha admin: Browning! Browning (he/him) is 26 and has two sonas: Browning, a ratfolk, and Typhun, an elephant. He joined the furry fandom back in 2020 after meeting Kippa. Even with only four years in the fandom, Browning feels like a part of the family, having welcomed numerous furs and helped our community grow bigger and stronger. His main sona, Browning the ratfolk, was created from his own D&D campaigns where he invented firearms and was aptly named after the gunsmith John Moses Browning. Browning is 15-years old, middle-aged for ratfolk, and is described as a stoic fighter, willing to put himself at risk for the sake of his own family. While trouble looms on the horizon for him, he is always prepared to put his family first. Typhun the elephant, on the other paw, is friendly, lighthearted, and decidedly nonviolent. He loves expressing himself creatively through blacksmithing and weapon forging. Just don’t get on the wrong side of those tusks! Typhun is fiercely loyal and will do whatever it takes to protect his close friends. In real life, Browning is an avid aviator! Ever since he was young, he looked up to his grandfathers who flew planes in WWII. “I wanted more than anything to do what they did,” Browning reminisces. He has always wanted to be a pilot in some fashion, be it military or civilian. However, his favorite part of aviation is sharing his experiences and knowledge with other people, whether it’s the sense of freedom or excitement that flying brings, or the new perspectives it can put on life. “Everything I’ve ever needed to learn about life I learned in a cockpit or holding my sons hands.” Browning is also the father of two: Charlee and Mitchell. He says being a father is a pillar of his identity, even more so than piloting. He also loves playing tabletop games from role-playing games like D&D to warfare games like BattleTech. Miniature-based games are by far his favorite. When asked about his history with tabletop games, Browning said “I grew up painting plastic models and when I learned I could play games with them I was hooked.” The strategical and tactical elements of the game combine with the physical and tactile elements of the figures to create an all-in-one experience he can’t get enough of! Not to mention, the satisfaction of those “I got you!” moments. Browning was previously interviewed for Furtastic Friday and ever since has stood alongside our community to support its growth. He says the biggest change to OWOmaha is our shift from not just supporting our own community, but reaching out to others as well. We have since held meets with the South Dakota Furs, Anthro NE, and established OWOmaha as a group that cares about making the fandom better for everyone, welcoming and inviting new furs from all around with open arms. Thank you for tuning in to this week’s edition of Furtastic Friday. We’d like to thank Browning for letting us interview him and for his service as an admin of our community! Look forward to more Furtastic Friday articles soon, and don’t forget to submit an application for your chance to be featured. Welcome back to Furtastic Friday! This week's article is about Hecktor the Ghost Folf! Hecktor has been a furry for many years but only recently decided to embrace life to the fullest and attended his first fur meet in July of 2023. When Hecktor has free time and he isn't working or attending fur meets, he likes to play video games, go on adventures, and go to karaoke! He plays Overwatch 2 competitively, currently sitting at Diamond rank (about mid-level globally.) Overwatch characters are designed to have forgiving aim so they allow him to aim despite having issues with his hands shaking all the time. Hecktor likes to go on random adventures with no particular goal in mind other than to discover and learn! He loves finding secret and untouched places, urban exploring, and generally seeing what his community has to offer and what used to be. While exploring he plays Pokemon Go to find "perfects," trying to catch them all as he discovers abandoned or historic places. He likes to see how things have changed, imagine what life was like back then, and also spot planes in private! On the first Friday of each month, Hecktor goes out to karaoke with a little group of furry friends! He spends an evening sipping on a drink or two that the bartender creates and occasionally goes up to sing. He's become a regular on the scene, having won the hearts of the karaoke hosts by singing the song Hell! Despite the diversity between all of us in this community, we can all unite as friends to be silly and free together- that's Hecktor's favorite part. What got him into the fandom to begin with was the art and the wide variety of art styles. He feels seeing what people's creativity can come up with is the best way to see the world that they live in and that it's a beautiful and strange experience. "But that’s me! Beautiful and strange," he says.
Thank you for coming to read about our friend, Hecktor! I invite you all back next week to read about and learn about another furry community member! Don't forget to enter yourself into Furtastic Friday to have an article written about you. Hello friends, and welcome to another installment of Furtastic Friday! This week, we interviewed a friend from the SD Furs: Oscar Shepard! Oscar is an 18-year old German Shephard who loves making fursuits and art! He joined the fandom back in 2017 after discovering Ash Coyote on Youtube and falling down the furry rabbit hole. Oscar is their 4th sona and was originally intended to be a simple background character. Oscar was the first suit they made that wasn’t a raptor mask. However, over time, Oscar Shepard became more attached to them and decided to make them his main mascot. Since Oscar’s creation 4 years ago, he has developed to become his main sona, representing his physical self, gaining piercings, tattoos, accessories, a mohawk, and top surgery scars. “Oscar has become a staple of my identity and a reflection of me,” Oscar Shepard writes. One of Oscar’s favorite parts of the fandom is all the beautiful fursuits. He started off by making his own raptor mask suits back in 2019 after finding inspiration from the raptor mask suiter X_Razzer_X. While under lockdown in 2020, he decided to branch out from raptor masks and make his German Shepard, Oscar. He received compliments from several people, some he didn’t even know, and was even asked by a few to make their fursuits! The positive feedback has since pushed Oscar to continue creating heads and suits to make better quality products for himself and others. His favorite part of making fursuits is the immense gratification he gets from seeing the looks of pure joy on people’s faces when they see their suits for the first time. “I love seeing how people bring my work to life,” he explains. The movements and mannerisms people provide to their fursona can transform a collection of fabric and fur into a living breathing character, and Oscar is very grateful to be a part of that transformation. Besides making fursuits and watching their creations come to life, Oscar also likes to spend his free time playing video games. He often enjoys cozy games like Animal Crossing or Calico but has recently been playing other games like Call of Duty.
While fursuiting and creating drew him into the community, the open and welcoming environment other people foster is what he enjoys best. “No matter your past, someone is willing to be your friend,” says Oscar. The immense amount of support in the community for others struggling through hard times is incredible. Even total strangers will lift a paw or lend an ear to help a fellow fur in need. We’d like to thank Oscar all the wonderful talent he brings to the community, and for letting us interview him for this week’s edition of Furtastic Friday! If you would like the chance to be a part of an upcoming Furtastic Friday, be sure to submit your own application here. Woof, what a week it has been! Welcome back to Furtastic Friday! This week's article features Amos, a 23-year-old African Wild Dog. He officially joined the fandom in 2020, however, he's had an interest in the fandom since he was a child. When Amos was 17 he joined the US Marine Corps, shipping out to boot camp when he was 18. His family has been warriors dating back to his great-grandpa, Chief Picketpin, who was a warrior by the age of 13, leading raids and forging peace treaties to fighting tribes that have lasted to the current day. Within the Lakota culture, he feels called to be a warrior. Another member of the US Marine Corps introduced formally him to the furry fandom, and once Amos saw how accepting everyone is and that we're just normal people in silly costumes, he fell in love with being a furry! Outside of the furry fandom, Amos enjoys working on his physical fitness, studying military tactics, and practicing emergency medicine. His favorite thing about physical fitness is that it unlocks a new level of self-discipline. He loves being able to see changes in his body and his mind as a result of the discipline he holds himself to. In his line of work, fitness is taken very seriously and can result in fatal errors if not prioritized. When he needs help remembering why he pushes himself, he thinks "The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Choose wisely." When Amos is studying military tactics he knows that good tactics, good practice, and a strong mental fortitude are what decide whether you and your friends have a successful mission. It makes his brain feel good knowing he is prepared and putting in the effort necessary to be at his peak when his friends need him. His life is dedicated to his fellow man and to serving those around him. Amos is relatively new to civilian medicine, however when he was in the Marine Corps he was a combat lifesaver with Advanced Tactical Combat Casualty Care certifications. He has been practicing civilian medicine for less than a year, though he knows that no matter where he is when things get all too real, he will be able to keep a cool and clear mental perspective and he can save the lives of those around him. He is currently overseas as protection with foreign military, but he will come home to continue to save lives and live a life of service and dedication. Seeing so many people be able to see themselves in a way that they feel truly expresses their energy is Amos's favorite part of the fandom. He feels that one of the greatest strengths of the community is the significant amount of people who are accepting and welcoming to anyone who walks in the door. Often he feels that the wisdom and friendship shared between the community members makes the fandom a great place to be.
Thank you for coming to read this week's Furtastic Friday article about Amos. I appreciate being able to interview him and learn more about his military career! Please make sure you submit your own entry for Furtastic Friday here! Happy Furtastic Friday everyone! This week I interviewed SD Furs chat member, Gexurk, but he's called Gex as a nickname! Gex is a 28-year-old Hyena/Gnoll hybrid with a lengthy DnD lore behind his creation! He joined the furry fandom in 2010 after looking up a Spyro game he hadn't yet played. He was intrigued by the fan art he saw from the Spyro series and after that, he found a lot of impressive art for a variety of his favorite game series. Eventually, the rabbit hole of hopping from site to site looking at fan art led him to the furry fandom. When Gex isn't chatting with furries he enjoys role-playing games and video games, bowling, and photography! In his free time he plays Dungeons & Dragons- in his DnD campaign, and therefore reflecting on his fursona, Gex has a blind eye because he had to sacrifice something to separate from the Gnoll deity. His favorite video games are Zelda: Majora's Mask and Metal Gear Solid 2. Bowling is something he tries to do at least a few times each summer. Since a class trip in his teenage years to a bowling alley back where he grew up, he's been interested in figuring out the right technique for his bowling style. Gex grew up with a mother who had her own photography business. This led to an early love for capturing the little details around him. While he's out in nature, he can often be found looking at and admiring the smallest details around him. After 14 years of being in the fandom, he can confidently say that it has made a huge impact on his life. He is thankful for the people he's met and for the new people he has the chance to meet in the future! The diversity and acceptance that can be found in our community is what keeps him firmly in the fandom.
Thank you so much for reading this week's article about Gex! I appreciate being able to interview and meet new folks, and I appreciate the support you all give to this project! Please make sure you fill out your entry for Furtastic Friday here. I'll see you all next week! Hello all, and welcome to the second installment of 2024’s Furtastic Fridays! This week, we’ll be showcasing our fluffy friend, Cat (or HamterWheel)! Cat is 22 and joined the fandom over a decade ago when they were 11. After learning about the popular fursuiter Telephone through their Youtube recommended feed, back in 2011, they were inspired by the idea of fursuiting and liked the thought of dressing up as a giant stuffed animal. They are still proud to be a part of the fandom after over 10 years of being involved. Since middle school Cat has been attending conventions. It was at Nebraskon where they first met a furry in person and was truly spurred to become involved. “All I wanted to do was hug it since I was full of joy,” they write. Since then, they have attended several other major furry conventions such as Midwest Fur Fest and Denfur. Cat currently has two sonas: Jam and Rosa. Their main sona, Jam, is a European Hamster with a sprout on its head. The design was inspired from an old fursona from our very own Community Hamster. Jam’s personality is very similar to Cat’s own. Rosa, on the other paw, is an Australian Shepherd puppy who is very outgoing and hyper, much like them at times. Cat says it’s nice to exist as their personality and not worry about what they look like. Cat also has quite a creative side! Ever since they were young, their mother shared her love for making art and encouraged them to create and improve their art by learning to draw hands and faces. Over several years of practice, Cat has improved their work and often makes stickers or art for members of OwOmaha. Cat says their art serves as a wonderful method of letting out their emotions or dealing with overwhelming situations and has stuck with it as a powerful creative outlet! Around age 12, they decided to save up money to buy materials to make their own fursuit. “It did not look very well,” Cat recalls, “but I was happy to call it mine.” While they don’t make fursuits anymore, this hobby is what inspired them to become more involved in the furry fandom.
Ever since joining over 10 years ago, Cat says they have found immense love and support from people all over the fandom and especially from the folks at OwOmaha! “No matter what happens, it’s still a family,” Cat writes. In the three years since their first Furtastic Friday interview, they have seen OwOmaha grow in numbers and in community. They are proud to be a part of a supportive, welcoming, and considerate group. A big “Thank You!” goes out to Cat for being a part of our community at OwOmaha and letting us interview them for this week’s Furtastic Friday. Stay tuned for next week’s pawesome installment! |
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March 2024
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