SonicFox, world record Esports champion: fursuit “a peak thing in life for me”

by Patch O'Furr

It’s not every day that a POC furry pro gamer with 4 Guinness World Records wins a tournament in a fursuit. When I talked to a friend about interviewing SonicFox, I heard he was cool and didn’t have a big head about it. It was true, but the question lots of people are asking is how does he do it in a fursuit head? The best thing I do in mine is fit a beer through the muzzle. And SonicFox isn’t even quite drinking age while earning more than enough to pay for college.

Pro gaming is getting huge, and it has a juggernaut representing furries – but to SonicFox, it seems like the representing and hugeness is no big deal compared to the furry part. It’s like whether he was a rock star or just a guy next door with a cool hobby to share, he’d give it the same attitude. It’s about being friendly and as sincere as you can be in being who you want to be, especially if that’s a cute blue fox. He should win all the hugs.

Thanks to SonicFox for being so prompt and enthusiastic about an interview from a tiny furry blog – it was fast and good like his gaming. (And thanks for question suggestions from Chip, Summer, Matthias, Tempe, Codex and Tex.) Here’s some further reference, then the interview.

Interview

 

Hi SonicFox, want to give an intro about yourself? Do you want people to know anything about your life besides gaming?

There’s nothin’ much to me. I’m just a furry who happens to be good at fighting games!

How/When did you discover Furry Fandom?

I discovered the fandom a looong time I ago when I first started off as a Happy Tree Friends OC. Then I wanted to get anthro art of my character one day and then before I realized it, I was a furry!

What made you join it?

Seeing all the anthro art, I was so fascinated by it. I thought it to be the coolest thing ever and wanted to be a part of it.

Why a fox?

Foxes happen to be my favorite animal, though a big reason I became fascinated with them was after beating my friends a loooong time ago with Fox Mccloud in Super Smash Bros brawl.

When did you know you wanted to be a competitive player? How did you join a team?

After playing fighting games for as long as I can remember, I could tell I had a competitive spirit. I think I get it from my Mom honestly. So when friends recommended me to go offline to a scene rather than be an online warrior, I tried it out and have been attached since!
I joined a team by being the best in my respective games! It’s not too hard to get sponsored if you are N I C E.

How many tourneys have you been in? How much money have you won, and what else are you proud of? Does anything besides prizes make it worthwhile?

I can’t really recall how many tourneys I have been in. It has to be well over 100 by now. I think in Esports winnings its been like over 400k or somethin? I think the biggest thing I am proud of was that I got the chance to be on TV multiple times and even have a little docuseries that aired live on TV too! The people that I encounter and the bonds and the competitive drive I’ve made makes competing so worthwhile. The money is just icing on the cake.

Furries and gamers haven’t always mixed, what made you decide to be so openly furry?

Well I sorta said fuck it, if I am gonna be me, then I am gonna be ALL of me. I didn’t really care to think what other “gamers” had to say about me. If they had a problem with me I’ll just take all their money LMFAO.

What’s it like to use your fursona for press and promo shots?

I think this is the coolest thing in the world. The fact that I am on one of the biggest esports teams ever and that I get to brand myself as a furry has me fuckin’ lit! Sets up such a great future with furries and esports!

What was it like to get a fursuit? Do you have any stories about using it that other furries would understand the most?

Getting a fursuit has to be a peak thing in life for me. Having Yamishizen hand me my fursuit filled me with soooo much power. I have been having fun with the suit ever since! The fursuit is honestly only like 2 weeks old so I don’t have much story with it yet, other than winning in a fighting game event in a fursuit~

Do you have a favorite piece of art, photo or video of your fursona?

Hmmm, I have to say that I love every single piece of art I’ve ever commed or someone giftart’d to me, but if I had to choose one, I would say the animation I commissioned from Suckmcjones has to be one of my favorite pieces ever. There’s even a blood variant! (LOTSA LORE YOU GUYS AINT GETTIN’ >:C)

How did your teammates or sponsors react to you being openly furry? Or your competitors? Have you faced any harassment or negative comments?

My teammates reacted so positively! They find it super unique what I am doing, and my sponsors think so too. It is a brand new image not seen before in esports gaming so I am about it. I haven’t really given much thought about what my competitors think though they find it pretty comical. I’ve of course received negative comments, but I’m like if you don’t like what you see, come and stop me~!

Some people are treating you like a furry ambassador. Do you see yourself as a furry standard bearer or are you just trying to be your own thing?

I’m just kinda doing my own thing! I highly encourage people to truly be themselves, and so that is why I am so open about myself. Being put on a pedestal for it though wasn’t my intent eheh, but with my popularity, I have a platform I need to use properly. Just don’t call me a popufur cuz I HATE that term!

In the media you seem like an uplifting thing for the furry fandom. Gaming blogs that once openly mocked furries now have had to use fandom terms seriously and talk about them positively. There’s a trend where they don’t explain what furries are and take it for granted that everyone knows. Do you have any stories about how they treat the subject?

Gaming articles have to treat me with respect. And part of that means you have to also treat my community with respect if you wish to continue to have good relations with me. I am very happy that more often than that not, high profile people that interview me always bring up the furry side of me which has me fuckin’ lit ™ . I do recall in the very first docuseries I did for Mortal Kombat X, the people documenting me wouldn’t use the term “furry” as they said it had a sexual connotation to it. That had me pretty upset, but I think they are a lot better about it now!

On Twitter you have 59k followers and a blue check (the only other furry I know with one is Uncle Kage.) What’s it like to have that platform?

It was highly unexpected to have a platform like this, but I guess I have to make the most of it to promote positivity? IDK, I just try to be myself and I’d be acting the exact same whether I had one follower or a million. Lotsa people like to treat me differently based on my follower count which sucks. I thought the one thing I was really good at was not being too “Hollywood.”

Once in a while there are sexy jokes or likes on your Twitter and furries seem to love it. Do you feel confident about that? Why or why not?

Hey what can I say~ I do enjoy some of the lewd aspects of the community too or just bein lewd in general. Though I try not to retweet gay furry porn (THE GOOD SHIT) onto peoples timelines, twitter tends to be a snitch anyway when I like the piece and go like “SEE WHAT ECHO FOX SONICFOX LIKED!!!!” and then it’s over for your timeline LMFAO. Those likes are for later >;3

Would you call yourself a gamer furry who isn’t friendly to alt-furry, and do you want to give any opinions about that?

As far as I am concerned, whether I was a gamer furry or not, the alt-furry can go to hell. I have absolutely no time for people who think that they are more of a superior race based on their skin color, and you all might as well be Nazis if you aren’t already. They would be doing me a favor if they clicked that unfollow button on my twitter timeline. I am not afraid to stomp out some racist alt-furry shithead in my feed LOL.

Want to say anything about relations in the fandom?

I like to think I have been doing pretty ok for PR relations in the fandom. But if I wanted to talk about personal relationships, I’d say I have very few eheh. TBH, I don’t think I have like a friend group that I entirely fit into yet! I have my fair share of friends, but they all have their own friend groups and stuff they fit into. STILL SOUL SEARCHING.

Has being a person of color affected how people in gaming or furry treat you?

I would say it hasn’t so much in either regard. The furry community and FGC is pretty inclusive diverse and accepting of all people and backgrounds.

What are your furry influences? Do you want to share any favorite books or comics, or favorite artists?

I would say I do have a huge crush on Jon Talbain (GIMME MORE BUFF), but if I had to go over favorite artists and stuff, I’d say PermaVermin is pretty up there as she’s the one that has drawn so much cool stuff of my character as well as her art is the one I use for my esports image! Shes been such a great friend to me and I am happy to have her in my life <3

Who are your favorite furry characters in games? Why?

J O N  T A L B A I N. see above question

Sonic or Shadow?

MY NAME IS NOT A REFERENCE TO ANY OF THE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG CHARACTERS AND THIS IS SUCH A COMMON MISCONCEPTION BECAUSE I HATE BOTH OF THESE CHARACTERS.

… but tails.

Any guilty gaming pleasures?

I doooo enjoy going to like game rooms at like conventions and when somebody has no idea who I am, I love beating them up and getting them salty hehehehe.

Any words of advice for fellow furries looking to getting into esports?

If you want to get into Esports, start now. Find a game you like, learn how to practice and get better, and then go to an offline tournament as often as you can to get the experience and training you need!

Any words of advice for esporters looking to get into furry?

Make a fursona LOL

What are your plans for your future beyond esports?

I want to eventually make my own furry fighting game. I am in school right now for computer science, but creating a fighting game with either my own character, or just a bunch of my friend’s OC’s would be soo neat! It is literally my aspiration. I already have hella movesets created for my own OC’s along as other friend’s OC’s too! I am already on a good path for it too as I am good friends with Mike Z (creator of Skullgirls!) as well as sponsored with Jace Hall who has made multiple gaming companies hehe. Let’s see what the future holds!

Thanks so much for interviewin’ me!

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