The commitment required to excel in the cosplay community can be stunning.

It takes both creativity and devotion to your fandom. Cosplay is at its best when the costumes are hand-crafted with love.

The outfits can take weeks, or months, or even, in some cases, the slow process of years, adding one piece on top of another.

Which is the case with Ryan, from Brooklyn Park, MN, and his Inspector Gadget costume.

Ryan has been adding to his Gadget Cosplay for years, he told me.

He spent most of yesterday on stilts, with a circuit board on his chest and helicopter blades springing from his hat.

The hardest part of the prep, Ryan said, is just getting the pant legs over the stilts.

I assumed it would be the working siren. Or spinning helicopter blades.

Ryan’s costume won him some money, which probably helps with the headaches.

I assume there’s headaches, but I didn’t know.

So I asked what the worst part of all this was.

The back pain, he said. I believe him.