Who does not want to be BATMAN?!?!? As most would agree, the good things in life rarely get to their peak on the front end of the life cycle. There certainly was a learning curve to embodying a super hero such as Batman and then bringing the vision forth to encourage others to support our efforts. Especially my wife, Jenn 😆

Given my understanding of what Jesus is expecting of me and my desire to follow in servanthood, I wanted to figure out a way to give back and I was inspired by some railroad colleagues that would dress up as Santa during the holidays, Grizz & Larry. These men were kind and selfless in so many ways. I figured why not find a way to keep their torch lit, just in my own way of course.

So things started out modest by mimicking the voice of Batman at the dinner table to entertain my daughters, inspired by BatDad on YouTube. Then taking it up a notch by dressing up as Batman for Halloween back in 2015, and somehow getting on neighbors Kathy Spradley & Kate Burkhardt’s radar to be a silent auction item at the next HDS Golf Tournament. The original suit is still in my closet, which was very inexpensively conjured with cheap motocross pants and jacket, a Bat symbol patch glued to the chest, a doctored up Dracula cape, and cheap black knee high boots. The cowl was the only legit part of the whole costume, which I still use today!! It was good enough to get the ball rolling.

Low and behold someone did purchase a visit from Batman during the HDS silent auction. I suited up for the Woods family Christmas party, which doubled as Owen’s birthday if I recollect. It was such a heartwarming experience that I decided we needed to kick it up another notch by volunteering to ride the Make A Wish train ride sponsored by the company I worked for back in 2016, the BNSF Railway. It may have also driven me to purchase a slightly more expensive version of the Batman suit to help generate bigger smiles and faces of shock & awe! Make A Wish and BNSF volunteers agreed that Batman needed to be on that train. I proceeded to entertain the Make A Wish families along with clowns and other superhero volunteers for 4 years until COVID shut down future events. Wonderful memories. That connection with Make-A-Wish catapulted into making several other appearances around the metroplex for Make A Wish North Texas.

After upgrading suits, Jenn hinted that she would be okay with me trying to answer the proverbial “Where is the Batmobile??” question. And so I obliged by purchasing a beater of 4th generation Corvette and doing my best to turn it into something Batman would drive to gigs. That car has morphed at least 3 different times since we purchased it in 2017. It has become an attraction of its own and oftentimes gets most of the attention at our events.

Over the years, the GCISD PTAs have also been a great source of pleasure as we provide BATMAN Appearance gift certificates to auction off each Fall to help raise funds. I have truly enjoyed giving back to a school district that prepared me for life.

I have gained new friends through other cosplay organizations by volunteering alongside them such as Capes for Kindness, and Cause to Play who volunteer their time around the metroplex to bring smiles and do so much to support children and local families.

The Bat Ball concept was created at a dinner table in downtown Dallas with several other couples from our Sunday school class, (The Trinity Class at Whites Chapel Methodist). Angela Meek, now a director on our 501c3 board made a comment on how much she appreciated what Grapevine’s Dark Knight stood for and the impact we were having on the community. She and the women at the table decided we needed to create a ball of sorts to give them a reason to buy a fancy dress 😀. You know me, we can’t just let that idea sit. I put together plans and the 1st Bat Ball was held in late January in 2019 at the Lancaster Theatre in Grapevine. We raised over $6,000 for Heroes for Hope that year! We have since held 3 additional events, missing 2021 account COVID. All in all we have raised a net of nearly $30,000 in 4 events to help local charities which include the following organizations:

Make A Wish, Heroes for Hope, GRACE, Gayle’s Crusaders, Vogel Alcove, and adding Grapevine AMBUCs to the list in 2024!

After 9yrs as of Fall 2024, and countless birthday parties, hospital visits, event appearances during that time we have grown year over year our ability to impact our community. I have been beyond fortunate to be supported by a community that wants to give back and is so willing to support our efforts. We will continue to support proven organizations as our way to help the community along with making smiles on everyone we meet!