“It was my first Captain Sparrow cosplay that made me realise that no one has the right to decide for me, least of all disease. In my own way, by going down an unexpected path, by doing something completely different, I can. I CAN DO. I CAN BE. I CAN DREAM. I CAN HAVE FUN.”
Can art and passion improve quality of life? This is demonstrated by the biography of Alex L. Mainardi, who suffers from Friedreich's 20 years of cosplay and writing beyond stereotypes and discrimination.
[ITA] Alex L. Mainardi è natə e vive a Parma, dove si dedica attivamente alla scrittura. Appassionatə di mitologia e archeologia, scrive di narrativa e, dopo aver pubblicato due saghe letterarie e una serie di libri illustrati, dal 2018 fa parte di Casa Ailus, collettivo di artisti che realizzano diverse pubblicazioni in vari ambiti del fantastico. Con una rara malattia genetica degenerativa, l'Atassia di Friedreich, ha l'hobby del Cosplay dal 2003, infatti quando non è al lavoro partecipa alle fiere come cosplayer, ovviamente... sedia a rotelle compresa!
[ENG] Alex L. Mainardi was born and lives in Parma, where he actively devotes himself to writing. A lover of mythology and archaeology, s/he writes fiction and, after publishing two literary sagas and a series of illustrated books, since 2018 s/he is part of Casa Ailus, a group of artists who produce several publications in various fields of fantasy. Suffering from a rare genetic degenerative disease, Friedreich's Ataxia, he has taken up cosplay as a hobby since 2003, and when he is not at work, he attends fairs as a cosplayer, of course... wheelchair included!