Today we’d like to introduce you to KK Stern.
Hi KK, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated by Asian culture. It started with watching Sailor Moon and Pokémon as a kid, and then grew into a love for Asian food, manga, Hello Kitty, J-Pop, and everything else surrounding the different Asian cultures. I grew up in a small town, so those things weren’t easy to find. I think that made them feel even more special and exciting.
As I got older, the internet became more accessible. Toonami introduced me to even more anime, and that interest just kept growing. I was also someone who absolutely loved Halloween. Obviously the candy was great, but what I really loved was that for one night, I could dress up as someone else. I could step into the shoes of a character I loved, be a little more expressive, and just have fun without worrying about being judged.
Then, many many years later, I discovered cosplay and basically realized, “Wait… people do this year-round?!” It completely blew my mind.
Eventually I learned about conventions and decided to put together a couple of cosplays using things I already had in my closet. Going to my first convention genuinely changed my life. Suddenly I was surrounded by other people who loved the same nerdy things I did. There was this entire community where being passionate about anime, characters, and otaku culture wasn’t weird. It was celebrated.
After attending a few conventions, I was invited to cosplay at a large convention in Houston to help promote an anime that was premiering. I was chosen to portray the lead character throughout the weekend, and I had the best time. I remember telling someone I met there, who is now a friend, “I wish I could do this more often.”
Funny enough, shortly afterward, that friend started working with the Otaku Food Festival, and they were looking for new performers. He knew I loved both dancing and cosplay and encouraged me to apply and come meet their team.
After thinking it over, I went to a couple of girls from my dance studio and basically said, “Would you guys want to dance to K-pop… but in cosplay?” Thankfully, they said yes!
That one question eventually led us to become Sakura Pulse, and for the past two years we’ve been performing together at the Otaku Food Festival, birthday parties, and other events around Texas. It’s really special because it brought together so many things I’ve loved throughout my life: anime, cosplay, K-pop, dancing, performing, and being part of this community.
When I look back, it’s kind of crazy to think that something that started with a little girl watching Sailor Moon and Pokémon turned into this huge creative part of my life. Cosplay gives me a place to express myself, connect with people who love the same things I do, and ultimately find a community where I really feel like I belong.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think the biggest struggle has honestly been finding the time to do everything I want to do. Between cosplay, dancing, performing, and trying to grow my YouTube channel and social media, there are just never enough hours in the day!
I also have a husband and a dog who I love very much, and I’m incredibly grateful for how supportive they are of everything I do. But balancing my creative life with my home life, friendships, and work can definitely be challenging.
We perform anywhere from two to four weekends a month throughout the year, and then there are dance practices on top of that. Somewhere in between, I have to find time to work on cosplays, film and edit YouTube videos, create content, work, spend time with friends, and, most importantly, still be present as a partner and have time for my family.
I’ve learned that if I want to make all of these things coexist, I have to be really intentional with my time. Thankfully, I’m pretty good at managing my calendar. I would genuinely be lost without it. I schedule everything, sometimes down to the silliest things like doing laundry or literally blocking off time to rest.
It can definitely get overwhelming at times, but I have an amazing support system around me. And ultimately, these are things I genuinely love doing, so the challenge has been less about whether I want to do them and more about learning how to create a life where I have room for all the things and people I love.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Anime with KK is a channel and community I created a few years ago because, honestly, I just wanted more people to talk about anime with!
A lot of my friends aren’t necessarily anime watchers, so I wanted to create a safe space where I could find like-minded people who wanted to talk about the shows we love, the ones we don’t love, our favorite characters, and everything in between. I started it completely from scratch, and watching it grow and evolve into something so much bigger than I originally imagined is something I’m really proud of.
When I started stepping more into the cosplay community, I introduced myself as KK, and somewhere along the way, it just became who people knew me as. Now when someone asks what I do, I usually tell them I’m a cosplay K-pop dancer, which is always fun because it usually leads to, “Wait… what does that mean?”
With Sakura Pulse, that’s actually part of what I think sets us apart. There are K-pop cover dancers, dance groups, cosplayers, and kaigai idols, but you don’t see as many groups specifically branding themselves as cosplay K-pop cover dancers. It’s definitely a mouthful, but it’s our way of blending our love for Japanese and Korean pop culture through dance, cosplay, and performance.
One of the moments I’m most proud of is when we were invited to perform at an elementary school’s multicultural festival dressed as Rumi, Mira, and Zoey from KPop Demon Hunters. The cafeteria was completely packed with students and their families, and the second we came out, the kids started screaming, singing, and dancing along with us. They had smoke machines going for us and flashing lights!
So I’d say that was definitely one of those moments where, as I was dancing, I thought, “This is SO cool!”
Something that started because I wanted to find people online who loved anime like I did, had somehow grown into performing for a room full of kids who were equally if not more excited to see these characters come to life. Seeing their faces and getting to share that excitement with them is something I’ll never forget.
I think that’s ultimately what I’m most proud of. Whether it’s through Anime with KK, cosplay, or performing with Sakura Pulse, I’ve been able to take all of these things I genuinely love and turn them into a way to connect with other people and create experiences that make them happy.
Any big plans?
It’s honestly hard to say, and I think that’s part of what makes it so exciting! We’re already starting to see our festival schedule come together for 2027, and there are conversations about taking Sakura Pulse out of state for a few performances. The idea that something we started just for fun could take us to new cities and bigger stages is really exciting.
I’m also looking forward to continuing to grow and evolve Anime with KK. Right now, a lot of my YouTube channel is basically just me yapping about anime, which I love, but I’m starting to think about what the next version of the channel could look like.
I’ve actually had a few voice actors from different animes reach out who are interested in recording podcast-style videos and having conversations with me. I haven’t quite figured out exactly what that will look like yet, but knowing that there are already some really cool potential guests who I think my audience would be excited to hear from makes me really excited about where I can take the channel next.
More than anything, I just want to keep saying yes to opportunities that sound fun, keep creating things I genuinely enjoy, and see where all of this takes me. A lot of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do so far weren’t things I could have planned for, so I’m excited to see what comes next!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @animewithkk
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnimewithKK
