Mark Wesley Pritchard
Founding member
Bio
Award-winning cosplayer, cosplay model, influencer, retro gaming fanatic, die-hard Texas Rangers fan, and nostalgic freak. Need I say more?
Threads: @thecosplayerfromtexas
Instagram: @thecosplayerfromtexas
TikTok: @thecosplayerfromtexas
Stories (202/0)
Jackie Robinson: The Man, Legend, and Overcomer
April 15, 2024 will mark the 77th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut in Major League Baseball. Robinson, who was 28 years old at the time, broke the color barrier. The color barrier, or color line as it was called, barred African American players from playing in the Majors and Minors. This ban was in place for 60 years until 1947. So who was this second baseman and why his legacy still has an impact on Major League Baseball today?
By Mark Wesley Pritchard11 days ago in Unbalanced
An Inspiring Message to You
April is the start of Autism Awareness Month, while April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. It's a day to highlight the need to improve the lives of those with autism. I was diagnosed with autism at the age of five. Many of my peers in school and everyone else said that I wouldn't have a successful life. Despite those naysayers, I refused to give up. I was bullied for being different from others, because autism was so misunderstood back in the 90s. I was in special education classes from Pre-K through my junior year of high school. I'll be forever grateful of my teachers and everyone for helping me become the person I am today. Special education teachers in general deserve all the credit for taking time out of their day to help people like me strive for excellence. Autism Awareness is one the causes I'm very passionate about, because it's something that's relatable to me. It's also a cause that very close to my heart. Plus, it's something I can speak about from personal experiences. I believe that people sharing their stories about being on the spectrum will be inspirational to others.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard23 days ago in Humans
The Greatest Opportunity of a Lifetime
I've reached an important milestone on Vocal: 200 stories. Since becoming a creator on this site back in 2018, I've written stories that people could relate to and enjoy reading. To mark this accomplishment, I have a story that I wanted to share with everyone. Last summer, I had an opportunity to do something I'd never done before.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard30 days ago in Humans
FanGraphs, We Need to Talk
As you can tell by this picture above, I'm seething with anger. Why is that, you ask? It's because the disrespect of the Texas Rangers never seems to end. The focus of this story is about FanGraphs. If you're not familiar with them, it was created and owned by David Appelman in 2009. Their main focus is providing stats for every player in Major League Baseball. Plus, they have blog posts, provide information about prospects, and more. I've been following their shenanigans ever since the Rangers won the World Series and nearly six months later, the defending champs are still not being shown the respect that they rightfully deserve. This is a team who has swept the Rays and Orioles in the Wild Card and ALDS respectively. Also, they fought hard to beat their rivals, the Houston Astros, in seven games in the ALCS. Finally, they defeated the Diamondbacks in five games to win it all. This was their first ever World Series title in team history, after being so close of winning it over 12 years ago. I've been a fan for over 20 years and it was the best night of my life.
By Mark Wesley Pritchardabout a month ago in Unbalanced
The Brilliant Mind of a Vocal Creator
I became a content creator on Vocal in March 2018 and celebrated five years of being on this amazing platform. Since joining Vocal, I've had one story featured as a Top Story (August 2023) and a plethora of tips, which I appreciate very much. 2018 wasn't a great year for me personally, as I was homeless, jobless, and going through other personal issues. During those dark times, I was at my local library and all of a sudden, I ran into a site, which would later be Vocal. When I was in grade school, I loved writing my thoughts in notebooks. As I've stated in previous stories, my household and part of my childhood was hostile, abusive, and toxic. Decades later, writing gave me an opportunity to let my imagination fly, but at the same time, sharing my thoughts with everyone online. There is no age limit on being creative. During those aforementioned darker times, writing gave me an outlet to formulate on topics that matter to me and inform others on. Every year on October 20 is the National Day on Writing, celebrating writing in all forms. According to numerous online sources, there are positive benefits of jotting down your reflections on either pen and paper or digitally. These pick-me-ups such as helping you become more creative, improving as a writer, learning more about yourself, reducing stress, and building up your confidence.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard2 months ago in Writers
Finding A Purpose in My Life: Part 2
Last September was National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. I wrote a story on Vocal regarding my struggles with mental health. Being open to those battles to everyone could help others who are feeling hopeless and lost in life. You can read my entire story on that by clicking the link down below, but just to warn everyone, some of the details in it might not be suitable for some readers.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard2 months ago in Humans
Vocal Highlight: Rangers Nation
Nearly four months after the Texas Rangers won their first ever World Series title, I made a promise to myself in one of my stories I wrote about the Rangers that I would buy a jersey. Despite me being a Rangers fan for over 20 years, I've never had a baseball jersey in my life. Recently, I bought my first two Rangers jerseys, both of Future Hall of Famer, Max Scherzer. One of them was with the World Series Champions patch on the right sleeve. As you can see above, I'm proudly wearing one of my jerseys and with a witty caption. So you must be asking why Max Scherzer? I feel like he doesn't get enough praise for having a determined and never say die approach. He's won a World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019 and another with the Rangers last November. Despite being hurt towards the end of last season and pitched in three innings of a few Postseason games, he gets the highest praise from me for being such an important part of the Rangers journey to their first World Series championship. These are the reasons why I chose to purchase two Max Scherzer jerseys.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard2 months ago in Unbalanced
10 Years of Texxx-Man Cosplay (2014-2024)
On a sweltering Friday August 1, 2014, a young man heads to his first convention and wonders how much he'll enjoy it. The young man I'm referencing to is yours truly. 2024 marks 10 years since I stepped onto the cosplay scene. I've done over three dozen cosplays as of this writing and won two cosplay contests at two different conventions (2019 and 2020 respectively). So yes, I'm an award-winning cosplayer. I'm not ashamed to refer to myself as that, because I earned it. In the past decade, I've had numerous and incredible moments on social media and at cons as a cosplayer. I'm unable to go through every single cosplay moment I've experienced, but in this story, I'll be counting down my top five cosplay moments from the last 10 years. Also, I'll be highlighting 10 of the most fascinating cosplayers I believe have been inspiring to me and a Q&A session. Before I begin, I want to thank everyone on Vocal for supporting me and allowing me to express myself. Plus, if you would like to support me, please consider sending me a one-off tip, big or small, by going to the end of this story or any story I've written. Your tips will encourage me to write more stories like this and also, subscribe to my page. Finally, please follow me on social media. Information on those will be found in my profile. Now on to my favorite cosplay moments. These are not in any particular order.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard3 months ago in Geeks
Final Thoughts of 2023
2024 is fast approaching and it's an opportunity for everyone to reflect on the accomplishments and memories that happened to them this year. On the other hand, you might have experienced some personal difficulties or even the loss of a friend or loved one. A new year is a way for you to wipe that slate clean and focus on what goals and aspirations you want to succeed in 2024. Before I share my personal thoughts about 2023, I want to show my love and gratitude to a special group of people.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard4 months ago in Humans
My Thoughts About the Houston Astros
Houston Trashtros and Houston Asterisks are two of the names many baseball fans call the Houston Astros since their infamous cheating scandal transpired in 2017 that helped them win their first ever World Series. For those who aren't familiar with this scandal, suspicions about the Astros cheating have been spreading for years. It wasn't until 2019 that the Los Angeles Dodgers organization started to blow the whistle on a claim that the Astros were stealing signs during the World Series two years earlier. Other teams claimed that they used other cheating tactics, such as whistling to relay signs to batters. In January 2020, Commissioner Rob Manfred released the results of an investigation conducted by Major League Baseball and they concluded that the Astros illegally used a video camera system to steal signs during their World Series run three years prior. As a result to the other aforementioned schemes, the Houston Astros were fined $5 million, gave up two draft picks (first and second round), and suspended both Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and field manager A.J. Hinch for the entire 2020 season. They were later both relieved of their duties. Basically, all of this was a slap on the wrist for the players and for the owner to save his own behind.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard5 months ago in Unbalanced
Unapologetically Defending the Texas Rangers
Recently, I celebrated a birthday and very thankful to see another year. Witnessing the Texas Rangers winning their first ever World Series was the best birthday gift I ever asked for. I've noticed in the nearly three weeks since they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games was an act of disrespect towards the World Series champions. What do I mean by that? Stick around for a while and by the time you've finished reading this story, you'll have a full understanding of why I felt the need to strongly come to the Rangers' defense. I'll start off with the bad and then with the good, because I want my readers and everyone else to understand where I'm coming from.
By Mark Wesley Pritchard5 months ago in Unbalanced