- Furries know how to party.
That's all I really gotta say.
People look at us and they're like,
"What a bunch of losers,
"they probably just sit inside all day
"and jerk off the furry porn
"or looking at images of fuzzy animals.
"They don't know how to get down."
Furries know how to party,
don't get it twisted, okay?
- [Furry] Help, somebody!
- [Narrator] Some topics are hard to approach.
- They don't know really what a furry is.
(furry laughing)
- [Narrator] Either the subjects are inaccessible.
- Reasons I am better than you at furry.
- [Narrator] Or people are uncomfortable discussing them.
So, we found those subjects in person,
rented a space in Los Angeles,
and invited our audience and strangers
to come in and ask them anything.
- Hi.
I'm Bo and I'm a fursuit maker in the furry fandom
and I'm here to answer questions about the furry community.
(man laughing)
- I'm sorry.
I just seen the foot, I got scared.
Man, I have a ton of questions,
but where did it start?
How old were you, I guess,
when you looked at Tony the Tiger
and you were like, "You know what..."
Where did it start?
- Damn, Tony the Tiger kind of thick,
I don't know.
I think I was 12,
I was just browsing YouTube
and I saw a bunch of furries dancing,
and I was like, "Dang, I want one of those,"
and so I made one
and then I just haven't stopped ever since.
- Oh, okay, okay.
You just made it, it wasn't like--
- Yeah, and now I do it for a living.
- Oh, okay.
I mean, yeah, get to the bag, I guess.
- Bag secured.
- How is it your job?
Like, what do you do exactly?
- Well, I make fursuits on a commission basis
and sometimes, I just recently made one to sell,
which is the one that I'm holding right now.
- My only context around what furries are
is from a CSI episode where there was
furries having kind of like a furry orgy
and then one of them gets hit by a car,
so it's kind of negative and it's strictly sexual.
So I guess my first question is,
is being a furry strictly a sexual thing?
- Absolutely not.
That is by far the most annoying misconception
that everyone always say,
"Is it a sexual, is it a kink?
Is it a fetish?
- Sexual.
- Sexual fetish. - Fetish.
- No, but of course there are people who are in it
and do that stuff and that's perfectly fine.
People can do whatever they want.
People can enjoy themselves.
But on a base level, it's just about art,
it's just about costumes,
and it's just about being yourself.
- What would you say is the worst criticism,
I'll say, that you've probably gotten for your hobby?
- The most irking thing is when people just kind of
disregard all of the creative individuals
and talented individuals that make this art,
make these costumes and make everything,
and just kind of chalk it up to all being a sexual thing.
It's really unfair to say
that it's a sexual thing in its entirety,
but unfortunately that's how it gets portrayed very often
in the media.
- How does your family feel about you being a furry?
- My family is very supportive.
They've taken me to the conventions.
They were actually the ones to tell me to
start making costumes as a young child
and that they're pretty much what enabled me
to get into it and to continue doing this.
- Love that, okay.
- Is it mostly just a form of creative expression
or is there something deeper going on,
like with your interest in the costume?
- I think it's probably on the lines of both
because as much as it is an amazing way to express yourself,
people who have issues with mental health
find particular comfort in the furry fandom,
because something's very appealing to it.
Like the bright colors,
the soft fabrics, it's comforting.
I've come out of my shell a little bit
in different aspects
and have gained confidence in myself through doing this.
You can be yourself without having people
look at your face and judging you.
Some people are really self-conscious,
some people are, who knows,
they could be going through some stuff.
It's so different for every single person.
But I feel like a lot of people do just
feel really comfortable putting on a costume
and expressing themselves and performing,
especially in a costume,
because maybe they wanna perform and they don't
feel like they can do so unless they're covering themselves.
- So I know there's different types of,
from what I know, furries.
There's the spiritual aspect
and there's also the cosplay aspect.
So, I just wanna hear what's the main difference
and what do you think about both of those different types?
Just in your opinion.
- I would say that those are not the two types,
for one. - Oh, okay.
- And I would also say that there are many types,
a lot of which we would be her all day
talking about it.
- Okay.
It's based on such a loose concept.
I mean, basically, all being a furry means
is being into anthropomorphic animals,
which is animals with human traits.
The spiritual side,
that wouldn't be considered a furry,
that would be considered something completely else,
which is an otherkin or a therian.
- Okay.
- And sometimes otherkins and therians are furries,
but they're not the same thing,
so I feel like that's a misconception
that some people on the outside have.
- For you to make it,
I know there's a lot of profit to be made.
Does anybody see you as - Oh yeah.
a predator for the furry community
or like a capitalist, a furry capitalist?
- Furry capitalism.
Capitalist furries, rise up.
No, I would say that it is a community
that has a very large provider,
like business and then consumer basis.
It really is like people are here to make money,
people are here to spend money,
but at the same time
that's not really what it's about.
It's more so it's fun
but there's definitely money involved
for a lot of people.
- Okay.
- So, I'm guessing since you started off kind of young
in the community,
there are younger people as well
in the furry community,
what is it like for them, I guess,
going through the different phases of the furry community?
- I feel like everyone who starts being a furry
from a very young age has this cringe phase
where they just don't know how to interact with people,
they're socially awkward.
Like, I'm still very socially awkward
but I've kind of come out of my shell a little bit
and learned how to not be annoying online.
Pretty much all I'd have to say for young furries
is be yourself, be kind, don't steal art.
- It was definitely insightful talking to you
a little more about this.
Thank you for your time.
- No problem.
It's nice talking to you too.
- I commend you 'cause it takes a lot of bravery
and courage to be able to express yourself
in a way like that.
- Yeah, and the money helps.
It really does enable a lot of young artists,
a lot of just young people in general,
old people, no matter who you are
to express, to create, to better their craft,
to build costumes, to draw, to animate, to dance.
It just inspires people to do all these different things
that they normally wouldn't do,
like make music.
There are a bunch of furry DJs.
Every single medium of art imaginable is in this fandom
and that's part of why it's so great.
No one should feel shame for being a furry,
even if you don't make anything,
even if you just wear a costume
and just enjoy it,
you can do whatever you want and be happy
and people should respect that.
(upbeat music)