Viktor Krum

Costume Debut: June 2011

Costume Reprised: July 2011, MISTI-Con 2013, July 2013, July 2014, MISTI-Con 2015, MISTI-Con 2017, MISTI-Con 2019, February 2022

Coney Island's Mermaid Parade in June 2011 seemed the perfect opportunity for Irvin to begin his summer cosplay line. He chose to cosplay the last Triwizard Champion he hadn't yet done, Viktor Krum. He would be cosplaying Krum during the Second Task, when he half-Transfigured himself into a shark. For clarification, he labeled "Krum" on his chest, and used kids' swimmies for the shark bits (which left him with no skin on his upper arms, and some very odd tan lines). And, appropriately, he met a Giant Squid at the Mermaid Parade.

The outfit must have been brilliant in its simplicity, because it was one of Irvin's best-received outfits to date. It was so popular, Irvin decided it would be his outfit for the midnight release of the last HP movie. So on July 14th, Irvin met up with over a hundred costumed friends from TGTSNBN, and they traipsed all over the city, causing disturbances wherever they went, and then wreaked mayhem in the movie theater for hours before the movie.

The necessity for such an outfit came from a pool party at Aeternitas 2011, so Irvin wore the outfit to the pool party at MISTI-Con 2013. He even had a shiny Durmstrang pin procured at the Wizarding World. Partygoers quickly learned to scatter when they saw a shark fin approaching, since Irvin approached racing games like a true Triwizard champion.

The outfit was again reprised when the Scholastic Store celebrated Harry's birthday in 2013, and promised free signed lithographs of the new cover to attendees in costume. Since this was the end of July, Irvin decided to wear this seasonally appropriate outfit, which was once again met with great appreciation. It was also met with envy by the other cosplayers, who had actually dressed in robes for the event and were perspiring in the summer heat. Irvin got to meet Arthur Levine while dressed like this, and got his signature and a photo with him.

A staple of Irvin's costume wardrobe now, as it is very summer-appropriate and very easy to don, it reappeared the following summer (2014) for PotterCon, a celebration of Harry's 34th birthday. It was well-timed, since this was right after Viktor Krum finally achieved his lifelong ambition and won the Quidditch World Cup for Bulgaria.

Because it remains the perfect pool party costume, Irvin wore it once again at MISTI-Con 2015. He was supposed to wear it at the Wizarding World's Fair and be in the dunk tank, and even donned a non-shark version that morning, but it was so cold and windy that the dunk tank was cancelled. Instead, half-shark Viktor Krum reappeared at that night's pool party. There was simultaneously a Goth/Industrial Dance Party going on, so a soaking wet Viktor Krum made a few appearances at that, appearing very incongruous indeed.

Viktor Krum returned for MISTI-Con 2017's pool party, though this time showing off Irvin's new tattoo. Krum was seen riding whales in the pool that night, as well as dancing at the Unspeakable Night dance party, rather standing out as he did so among everyone's goth finery.

At MISTI-Con 2019, Krum was not one of the planned fourteen costumes, but Irvin brought him just in case there was a pool party! Sure enough, on the very last night, Irvin and his friends stayed up talking through the night, and then decided to go to the pool when it opened firs thing in the morning, to wake up and keep the party going. This time, Viktor Krum did not ride any whales, but he did sing along to a lot of Disney songs, including a memorable rendition of "Let It Go."

For Irvin's 30th birthday, he hosted a TriDecade Tournament - any of course, any HP-themed party centered around paralleling the Triwizard Tournament would see Irvin dressed in his signature Krum costume (among others). Viktor Krum was his fourth costume of the night, worn for the Second Task portion of the party. This also provided fun photo ops with one of the other guests, Dan, who was dressed as Viktor Krum in his winter furs - it was quite the contrast! Fortunately, Irvin is so used to the Krum outfit, it in no way impeded the high-stakes game of charades that formed the Second Task. (The malevolence of the clues other teams gave to Irvin, however, were quite the impediment.)