Hi Robert,
First off, thank you for bringing this up—it is a great topic and one that many people prefer to avoid. I’m no different, and my answer is quite embarrassing. While I know that in a perfect world one should react in a calm and collected manner, my reality is often a mix of that, and sometimes it’s not the case at all.
To provide some context, I’ve realized that the behaviors witnessed during childhood and adolescence can leave a heavy imprint. Having grown up watching volatile reactions to unfavorable situations—and being unknowingly autistic at the time—those behaviors were passively engraved into me. Additionally, I was pushed to strive for perfection, which added another layer of pressure.
To answer your question, I had several catastrophic costume failures with my Vader kit in 2025. One of the worst was realizing, two hours into a three-hour drive, that I had forgotten the entire helmet. My nervous system felt like it was struck by lightning. While in my vehicle, I certainly had a few choice words before making the crushing decision to drive all the way back home and message the Point of Contact to say I wouldn’t make the first day of that event.
The second day wasn’t much better. I had two separate failures—stitching on my thumb coming undone and a shin guard straps failing—within five minutes of each other while surrounded by the public. I felt frustrated and angry, but I kept my mouth shut, signaled my handler, unplugged my sound system amd microphone, and headed backstage to de-kit and process what happened.
The most embarrassing moment, however, was at a very popular troop where I discovered my chest box strap system had fallen apart. Because I was running late due to traffic and was away from the main group at my vehicle, I was verbally expressing my frustration quite loudly. Once I regained my wits, I realized at least 20 members were just around the corner. I believe you remember this, Robert, as I was in a “calm-ish panic” when I informed you of the failure. Fortunately, someone found zip ties for a temporary fix, but the situation left me feeling very embarrassed. It is a constant internal battle to remain calm when overstimulated and trying to keep those imprinted behaviors from triggering.
So, that is the “ugly” side of how I handle things when they go horribly wrong. I feel I do a good job of remaining calm most of the time, but I do have my moments—I just make sure they never happen in front of the public.
Best regards,
Trevor
