Title: Self Taught Cosplayer to Convention Judge | How Astra Void Communicates Her Value at 24

Description:

What communication skills does it take to turn a self taught hobby into a professional career before age 25? Cosplayer, makeup artist, and GalaxyCon contracted guest Astra Void shares how she did exactly that.

Astra Void started cosplaying at 12 years old with zero formal training. Over the next decade, she taught herself sewing, foam fabrication, wig styling, LED wiring, and professional makeup artistry. Now at 24, she holds a contract with GalaxyCon, guest judges cosplay contests across the country, and co hosts the Heroes of Cosplay Sanctuary podcast. In this episode, recorded live at GalaxyCon Nightmare Weekend in Chicago, Astra sits down with David Shaft to talk about the communication and leadership lessons behind building a creative career on your own terms.

In this conversation, you will learn:

How Astra earned professional credibility in rooms full of people twice her age by letting her work communicate for her

Why setting boundaries around online safety is a critical communication skill for any public facing creator

How self advocacy and knowing when to say no shaped her path from college student to full time creative professional

Follow Astra Void: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astravoidcosplay/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AstravoidCosplay Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/astravoidcosplay TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@astravoidcosplay X: https://x.com/AstraVoidCos

Heroes of Cosplay Sanctuary Podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0BApX2BjjTG6VtRL0RhhT6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heroesofcosplaysanctuary6695

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TNv3UNct6mQ Website: https://ctcpodcast.media

Conversations That Count is a communication skills podcast hosted by David Shaft. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube for conversations that help you communicate with more clarity, confidence, and impact.

Grab the free Communication Playbook: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

What happens when a woman engineer realizes she still calls a guy every time her car breaks down? Patrice Banks, CEO and Founder of Girls Auto Clinic, turned that frustration into a movement empowering women through automotive education.

Patrice spent years as an engineer at DuPont before discovering that women are the number one customer in the auto industry, spending $200 billion a year on vehicle purchases and repairs, yet almost no company was speaking directly to them. She went back to school, learned to work on cars, and built Girls Auto Clinic: a full service repair center staffed by women mechanics with a nail salon where customers get a free manicure with every service. Her book, Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide, is published by Simon and Schuster and belongs in every glove box in America. In this episode, Patrice sits down with David Shaft to talk about why clear communication builds trust, how explaining things simply is the mark of a true professional, and what it takes to lead in an industry that never expected you.

In this conversation, you will learn:

Why the ability to explain something simply is the most underrated communication skill in any profession and how it applies far beyond the auto shop

How Patrice uses relatable analogies and plain language to educate women who have never been taught about cars, and why that approach builds trust and loyalty

What the Primary Care Technician concept teaches about long term professional relationships, clear expectations, and confident decision making

Follow Patrice Banks and Girls Auto Clinic: Website: https://www.girlsautoclinic.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlsautoclinic/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlsautoclinic LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricedbanks/ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Girls-Auto-Clinic-Glove-Guide/dp/1501144111

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cB787F3O5xo Website: https://ctcpodcast.media

Conversations That Count is a communication skills podcast hosted by David Shaft. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube for conversations that help you communicate with more clarity, confidence, and impact.

Grab the free Communication Playbook: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

Ashton Blaise spent her twenties building the perfect career in political media only to realize she was living someone else's version of success. Then she burned it all down and found herself through cosplay.

Ashton Blaise is a cosplayer, pinup artist, streamer, and content creator who left careers in conservative media, liberal media, and crypto marketing before discovering that the things she loved as a kid were the key to her happiest and most authentic life.

In this episode of Conversations That Count, recorded live at Nightmare Weekend in Chicago, David sits down with Ashton to talk about what happens when you stop performing for other people and start communicating who you really are. Whether it is a career pivot, a creative leap, or just the courage to say "this isn't me," this conversation will hit home for anyone who has ever felt stuck playing a role.

What you'll learn in this episode:

Why your twenties are spent establishing yourself but your thirties are about rediscovering what made you happy as a kid, and how that shift changes everything about the way you communicate and lead

How Ashton handled the negativity when she walked away from political media and what she learned about staying authentic when people want to keep you in a box

The simple reflection exercise that can reconnect you with your most genuine self and unlock confidence you forgot you had

Connect with Ashton Blaise: YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ashtonblaise

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KOMFoHff-y8 Visit: https://ctcpodcast.media

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Free Communication Playbook, 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

Ashlynne Day showed up to her first convention in a Lady Loki costume she made herself. She didn't even know what cosplay was. People kept complimenting her "cosplay" and she had to Google the word when she got home. Fifteen years later, it's her full time career.

Ashlynne Day is a professional cosplayer and content creator who studied fashion, graduated with honors, worked in the industry, and walked away from it all one year after graduation to build a career doing what she actually loved. In this episode of Conversations That Count, she sits down with David Shaft to talk about what it took to keep going when her family thought she was crazy, how she found her community, and why dressing as a character can make you braver than you've ever been as yourself.

• Why the transition from "everyone thinks you're crazy" to "everyone wants your autograph" requires you to be your own biggest supporter first, because nobody else will believe in it until you've already proven it works
• How finding your community changes everything, and why showing up in costume is the fastest way to make friends with people who share your passions even if you're an introvert
• The advice Ashlynne gives to anyone who's been wanting to try cosplay or attend a convention but keeps talking themselves out of it: just go, and don't let people who don't understand it stop you from having fun

Connect with Ashlynne: ashlynnedae.com | Instagram, TikTok, X, and BlueSky: @AshlynneDae

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tUaWJmO21tU

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

If you open a Where's Waldo book believing you'll never find him, you won't. But if you believe he's in there and you keep your eyes open while you flip through the pages, he's going to pop up. That's exactly how abundance works in real life.

In this solo episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft talks about the one belief most people are missing after they've built their plan, defined their success, and written out their perfect future: believing there's actually enough out there for it to happen to them. He shares the stat that 79% to 88% of millionaires in the US are self-made, the moment he stopped believing money was scarce and opportunities started showing up out of nowhere, and the conversation with his sister where they both realized the friendships flooding their lives only started when they stopped telling themselves nobody cared.

• Why telling yourself "there's not enough time, money, or opportunity for me" becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that closes your eyes to everything that's already right in front of you
• How David went from pushing people away and believing good friends didn't exist to having more invitations than he can keep up with, simply by changing the story he told himself
• The five minute mirror challenge: spend five minutes this week looking at yourself and reminding yourself that money, love, friendship, and opportunity are abundant and they're all there for you

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

The most important communication skill you will ever develop has nothing to do with presentations, meetings, or networking. It starts with the words you say to yourself every single day.

In this solo episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft breaks down why self talk is the foundation of every other communication skill you will ever build. Following up on his previous episode about defining success on your own terms, David explains how the gap between who you are now and who you want to become gets closed by one thing: how you speak to yourself when nobody else is listening.

What you'll learn in this episode:

Why the words you use about yourself shape your confidence, your career development, and every professional relationship you build

How to catch negative self talk patterns and reframe them into language that actually moves you forward (with real examples from David's own career in banking)

A simple homework challenge, find three phrases you say to yourself that hold you back and replace them with something that builds you up

"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance." Oscar Wilde's words hit different when you realize most professionals would never speak to a colleague the way they speak to themselves.

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC Visit: https://ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook, 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

Overnight success is not a real thing. The real win is showing up, doing the work, and staying the course when nobody is clapping for you yet.

In this solo episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft gets honest about a moment that caught him off guard. After a week and a half without talking to his sister, who is modeling in South Korea, he expected to have some huge life update to share. Instead, he realized something most professionals miss: the absence of chaos is not a sign that nothing is happening. It means you are on the right path.

What you'll learn in this episode:

Why staying the course matters more than chasing a new breakthrough every week, and how consistency quietly builds the career development most people overlook

The mindset shift that separates professionals who burn out from those who build lasting success: you are not being paid for the work you do today, you are being paid for the years it took to become that valuable

How to stop letting social media and fear of missing out trick you into thinking your steady progress is not enough

"The world is beautiful outside when there is stability inside." David breaks down what that means for your professional development and your communication with yourself.

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC Visit: https://ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook, 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

The Oxford dictionary defines success as "the accomplishment of an aim or purpose." It doesn't say what the aim should be. It doesn't say whose purpose. Most people spend their entire lives chasing someone else's version of success and never stop to define their own.

In this solo episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft talks about why he defines success as freedom and why that definition looks completely different from the person who just wants their bills paid, a job they love, and a family to come home to. He shares the moment he looked at his own journal and realized he wasn't doing everything he promised himself he would, and challenges every listener to build a vision board and describe their perfect day in writing before the week is over.

• Why telling yourself you "have to" keep something for nine years is completely different from choosing to, and how that one shift in language reveals whether you're living by default or by design
• The Franklin D. Roosevelt quote that reframes success as the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort, not the things you accumulate along the way
• The two challenges David gives every listener: build a vision board with images of what you actually want, and write out one perfect future day in your journal in immense detail, step by step, line by line

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

The Cambridge dictionary defines purpose as "an intention or aim, a reason for doing something or for allowing something to happen." That last part is the one most people miss. Because even when you're not taking action, things are still happening to you, and if you're not careful, you're just letting life happen without any reason behind it.

In this solo episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft breaks down what purpose actually means when you strip away the motivational fluff. He talks about what a yoga instructor taught him about setting intentions, why having a clear end goal doesn't help if the path to get there is hazy, and the difference between allowing things to happen within your purpose versus being too weak to say no.

• Why setting an intention on everything you do, from your career to your daily routine, forces your actions to align with what you actually want instead of just reacting to whatever lands in front of you
• The part of purpose nobody talks about: when you let things happen to you without a reason, you're giving away control of your life one decision at a time
• How something as simple as knowing why you're taking on extra work, whether it's a promotion, a relationship, or just respect for your leader, changes whether that work builds you up or burns you out

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTC

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708

What happens when a banker who covers business and finance walks into one of the biggest beauty conventions in the country? He meets 40 business owners in three days and realizes he's been rushing past conversations his entire career.

In this episode of Conversations That Count, David Shaft is joined by co-host Savanna Smith, a musician and model who worked the American Beauty Show as a model through JC Penney Beauty and Salon while David covered it as press. They compare notes from both sides of the event, talk about why small talk feels so empty, and challenge each other on what it actually takes to stop being comfortable and start having real conversations with strangers.

• Why the beauty industry blew both of them away with how many small business owners, creatives, and salon professionals showed up with genuine passion, and what every industry can learn from that energy
• The difference between saying "I'm a podcast host" and saying "what I specialize in is getting people's stories out there and making sure their voice is heard," and why that shift changes every first impression you make
• Why Savanna says she regrets not walking up to people and just telling them what she was thinking, and how a simple "I like your outfit" or "you look great" can break the cycle of fake small talk that everyone hates

Connect with Savanna: https://www.instagram.com/imsavannas/ | https://linktr.ee/savanna.com

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FPlAgvsbqck

New episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.

Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.media

Free Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708