Halo Diehards Spotlight: Master Chief Suit – Supersoldier with a Heart of Gold

A Diehard gamer turns Spartan

Posted by CHa0s

Recently Prego Magic, one of our Diehard members, was leaving a local restaurant after having dinner with his wife and saw a guy in a Master Chief outfit riding shotgun in a car driving by. Prego did what any true Halo Dieharder would do: he said “Get in the truck!” and chased him down for a picture! So we did what any true Halo Diehard website would do and we asked our member to track him down again for an interview.

NoGood was first coaxed over to Halo customs by his big brother and friends. Being an avid, highly competent Call of Duty PC gamer, he transferred over well to fps on the 360. Little brother worked hard to impress the bigger guys and it paid off; soon his big brother always wanted him on his team because he was really good.

He recalls lan parties with his brother and friends, “It was really fun to share laughs and yell at teammates for killing each other. Rockets and driving over people, you name it – Halo was awesome!”

NoGood grew up having played the first Mario and “the great Nintendo”. He raised money all summer one year just to buy a Gamecube. He was an avid gamer for years, but after gaming a couple of years with his brother and friends, as the older kids graduated and lost interest in Halo, NoGood went back to Call of Duty with a heavy heart and wistful memories of the good times. He would never forget the customs fun with the guys.

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“It was really fun to share laughs and yell at teammates for killing each other. Rockets and driving over people, you name it – – “Halo” was awesome!”

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NoGood puts it simply: “The reason I built the suit was because those days are long gone”. That’s not saying he doesn’t own two Xbox 360’s and double copies of Halo:CE, Halo 2, Halo 3 – – and plans for two copies of Halo 4 – –  for lan parties at his new house. Newly married, his wife games with him, but sadly online gaming isn’t  an option for them at this time.

“Master Chief just looks like a Hero. He was a super soldier who didn’t put himself first, he put others before himself. He was something people believed in. He was a symbol of ‘Hope’ for the people when they thought the world would end…” NoGood sums up one of the reasons why John 117 is larger than life for many people. “He was trained and taken away from his parents just to become an amazing soldier. He was super smart, quick and strong.” He adds how Spartans would run for miles on end all day.

In 2011, he wanted to buy a Master Chief suit for Halloween. Halloween was another source of fun for him and his brother, each having dressed up as Power Rangers in years past. Even though the costumes were simply made, NoGood remembers the feeling it inspired, the knowing that he was actually the Green Power Ranger.

“As a kid, everything seems real and possible. I love how kids think and react – – it’s one thing I never want to lose.”

“Master Chief just looks like a hero. Here’s a supersoldier that doesn’t put himself first; he puts others before himself.”

 

 

Master Chief costumes cost between $800 and $3,000, but he was determined and had made up his mind, so three weeks from Halloween, NoGood set out to create his own. In this research to find different things about how to make armor, he also found other creators’ personal stories about their own armor creation. One story in particular inspired him, about a Diehard Halo fan who was diagnosed with a terminal illness and a Diehard Halo costuming community who coordinated to build a full-scale costume of his online character. The suit was completed and Master Chief was able to visit him in the hospital a day before he succumbed to his illness.

NoGood relates to the kid who dreamed of having a Halo suit. “He loved Halo,” he realizes, “he had great times with friends and family playing this game… and for someone to go and see him in a suit like that… IT MADE HIS LIFE. That kid smiled one more time. It’s hard to talk about that. Death isn’t friendly, but the people you’re around are! I hope my friends understand that there’s more to life than being uptight, self-centered and money. When we die, what have we gained? This story really gave me the idea of putting a smile on someone’s face!”

He goes on to describe how when he goes out into public in the suit some adults look at him with disdain and others smile and run to get their picture taken with him, how times are hard and many people are so uptight these days, many overwhelmed with the every day traffic of emotions. And then…

“STOP – –
LOOK MOM… A ROBOT!!”

The smile on kids’ faces when they see Master Chief walking around the everyday street and the looks on their faces as their minds race and fill with wonder seems a very satisfying experience for this Spartan with a heart of gold. Some kids are scared of him at first, and yet compelled to draw nearer, even touch the suit. “Many kids ask me, ‘Are you real?'” Silently, he shakes his head yes.
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“‘Imagination is more important than Knowledge.’ -Albert Einstein”

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NoGood doesn’t wear the suit to impress anyone or to show off, but simply to make people smile, “because you never know when it’s going to be their last”. He ends the interview with these words of inspiration:

“You never know what will happen tomorrow, you’re only promised today, so live like its your last day. Don’t live like a loser and sit staring at something with no imagination – – never lose your imagination, because to me…. ‘Imagination is more Important than Knowledge’- Albert Einstein”

 

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Follow how he made it >>
Visit the  blog about the terminally ill Spartan >>

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