Out of work cosplayer lives in car
COSPLAYER and clown Yulius Atma Negara Thamrin has been calling his car “home” for nearly a year.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused Yulius, 30, fondly known as Yan, to lose his source of income.
He said he had not received any work since the implementation of the Movement Control Order in March last year.
His situation took a turn for the worse when he developed lung complications and underwent surgery at Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Baru in October.
He said since he lost his source of income, he could not afford to rent a home and had to stay in his car with his wife.
“My friend offered us a place to stay for a month.”
He said recently, he and his wife briefly lived in an unoccupied flat near Ulu Tiram.
“We stayed there for just a week before we were asked to move out after getting a notice from the developer.”
He said he had been cosplaying for five years with a company before he decided to quit and work on his own.
“After going on my own, despite having no experience as a clown, I tried it. I remember that people laughed at my makeup on my first day selling balloons.”
Yan said he did not give up and sought guidance from clown “sifu” Mat Jeng Jeng.
“Since then, I have received many job offers. My income used to reach RM30,000 a month,” he told Harian Metro.
He said he loved his job as he could entertain people.
But things took a turn when his marriage faced challenges and he experienced health problems, causing him to lose focus.
He said some of his friends started to distance themselves from him, while others even called him insane.
“I had two failed marriages, then got married for the third time. Due to personal problems, we are not living together.
“Now I’m living with another wife. But we can’t afford to take care of our children (from my previous marriage).
“We have no choice as we make a living from delivering barbeque barrels.”
He said he had to send his two children to live with relatives as he could not bear to see them go hungry and live in a car.
He said he also took up work as a delivery man, but needed money for petrol to deliver parcels to customers.
Yan said his friend, Mohd Shaifuddin Rahmat, 38, a cosplayer, and others came forward to help him after finding out about his plight from social media.
To help Yan, reach him at 011-1331 1501.