OUR TEAM
Hentai Matsuri Core Team
RICHIE
Event Director
Richie has a long, award winning, and storied history of event production ranging from nightlife, cultural, film and media, fandom, business, and economic development conferences and conventions. After the original Hentai Con disastrously ended, he vowed to return an 18+ anime convention to California.
Has worked on: Strawberry Scented Burnout (experiential marketing coordinator / Bible Study founder), Ecchi Expo (1st year sponsor), San Diego Anime Con (18+ Pool Lounge), Anime Conji (founding sponsor, division head, non profit director), SPJA (Staff Training and Orientation)
LUCIA
Master of Many Hats
Lucia’s passion for planning, managing and executing events is reflected in her over 20 years of real-life experience throughout the industries of television, movies, corporate conferences and tradeshows, art, music, IT, government, and finance. She enjoys all aspects of an event, from building it from the ground up, to marketing on all media platforms, from running day-of ops, to debriefing for success rates and future learnings.
Has worked on: San Diego Comic Con (staff), Wonder Con (staff), Fangaea (director and staff), San Diego Anime Con (staff), Tiki Oasis
ROSA
Marketing (Resident Hand Holder)
Rosa is a seasoned creative in her professional career as an artist, seamstress, and designer. As an Hentai Matsuri contributor, she is a graphic designer, photographer, videographer, director, and editor for Hentai Matsuri’s social media platforms. Her ultimate goal is to produce high-caliber material that captures the essence and festive nature of this 18+ event.
Has worked on: Fangaea, San Diego Anime Con, BizBaz, Animeland
CHARLIE
Registration (Cuck Chair Commando)
Charlie has been involved in conventions, cosplay gatherings, and other such things for over 12 years and on the organization front of that, pushing a decade of experience. A friendly face who loves to help people and continue the proliferation of all aspects of nerd culture within San Diego, including the more risque parts!
Has worked on: Pacific Ponycon (volunteer staff), Fangaea (staff), San Diego Anime Con (staff), Animeland (staff)
ARI
Cosplay Coordinator (Cat Herder)
Ari is an award-winning cosplayer and panelist with a passion for sharing cosplay content with the community. She has been contributing to the SoCal convention scene in various ways since 2012, including panel presentations, fashion shows, community gatherings, and more recently, cosplay contests–both as an organizer and judge.
Has worked on: San Diego Comic-Con (Staff), Anime Los Angeles (Panelist), San Diego Anime Con (Staff), Super Dimension Con (Staff), Hanadoki Con (Former Staff)
AYAKO
Cosplay Sentinel Department Head (Salt Queen)
Ayako has been part of the Southern California cosplay scene since 2012. Since then, she has had many experiences in regards to conventions as staff, meet up coordinator, and manager roles, and with Japanese culture as a member of the Japanese Friendship Garden Diversity Committee and living in Chiba, Japan from 2017-2019. Her passion for sharing her culture, experiences abroad, and supporting a safe environment have lead to her active role in the Anime Convention scene and beyond. She is hopeful that the Cosplay Sentinels program offers people a sense of security and support to those who may need their services.
Has worked on: Fangaea (Stage manager), San Diego Anime Con (Stage manager), and Anime Los Angeles (Ribbon Station staff and panelist)
DAVID
Artist Hall Manager (Event Mercenary)
Meet David, a creative technologist with a passion for exploring the intersection of anime, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. As the founder of Waifuverse, they are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the realm of virtual companions and entertainment. David’s mission is to “make anime real” by developing cutting-edge AI-powered virtual characters and immersive experiences.
Through innovative natural language processing and machine learning, David aims to create the most lifelike and engaging virtual interactions. With a playful online persona as a “bunny boi vTuber,” David shares their enthusiasm for Japanese pop culture and rallies a dedicated community of fans and supporters.
Through Waifuverse, David hopes to spark joy, wonder, and connection as we explore the uncharted potential of human-AI interaction.
HUNTER
Artist Hall Manager (Event Mercenary)
Hunter has worked a variety of events and conventions in San Diego since 2019. He’s set up and broke down events from Chinese New Year Festivals in Balboa Park and Downtown San Diego to the inaugural AnimeLand 2023 in Escondido. He’s managed stages at Balboa Park’s Winter Nights and panels at Fangaea and San Diego Anime Con. Ask him for help with anything you need.
Has worked on: Fangaea (staff), San Diego Anime Con (staff), AnimeLand (staff), BizBaz (volunteer)
Guest Relations
SEAN
GR Department Head
Sean has no idea what he is doing, unless he is working GR, then and only then, if something needs to be done, it will be done. And you will like it.
He enjoys plants, cute animals, visiting new places, and snacking. As a hobby he enjoys going to or staffing conventions.
Although he has experience staffing a variety of departments, it includes many years of working in guest relations both on the convention side or contracted directly with guests in order to provide a smooth and enjoyable experience for guests and attendees.
Has worked on:
For privacy reasons:
Large NorCal Anime Convention(GR), Large SoCal Anime Convention (GR)
Publicly:
Tsumi Con (staff) and Anime Conji (volunteer)
Tammy
GR Staff
Has worked on: Event director personal staff
SSB Lounge Experience
FRANCIS
SSB’s CEO and Lounge Experience Manager
Francis is Strawberry Scented Burnout’s CEO and creative center, responsible for making manga, zines, long term print projects with friends from all over the world, and the occasional twitch stream. His otaku powerlevel’s been shaped over 36 years of anime exposure, then powerleveled during his tenure as president of the Southwestern College “Pacific Media Club”. When it comes to conventions, he’s managed entire volunteer divisions, though these days he’s usually running a lounge and selling prints along with random merch. During his very limited off-time, Francis can be found at the The Boxing Club honing his striking skills, or on Palomar Mountain with his Acura RSX.
Has worked on: Anime Conji, TsumiCon, Fangaea, San Diego Anime Con, Pacific Arts Movement
RITA-LYNN
SSB Lounge Experience and Cosplay Guest
Rita-Lynn Dibble, aka TsukixxHime, has been in the convention scene for over a decade ranging from Anime Cons/events to Video Game Cons to Raves/Dances to even 18+ events/cons mainly being the available “hands on deck” type of work, she has done a bit of everything ranging from set up and tear down to boothing to performing/dancing on stage and doing backstage work at several events to even being a cosplay handler for multiple cosplay guests at multiple cons/events. Along with working events, she is also a Content Creator with 10+ years under her belt starting out with cosplay and dancing on stage then transitioning into streaming and other forms of media creation.
Has worked on: Anime Los Angeles, Fanime, San Diego Comic Con, San Diego Anime Con, AVN
MARK
SSB Lounge Experience
Mark Price, aka DarkOnePro, has been in the convention scene and content creation for well over a decade, having attended things from Anime Cons, to Video Game cons, Adult Entertainment Cons to other 18+ cons mainly being that even when not staffing or volunteering for the event usually ends up working for the event one way or another. Be it helping with the disabilities department, to Set up, to tear down, and almost any department in between. Being an Entertainer at heart and in the Cosplay community for as long as he has, this has led to all forms of content creation starting on Twitch and Youtube, to managing other content creator’s pages, and ultimately leading to his current career working for 2 of the largest Porn companies in the world. He in the past has done panels and demonstrations at different events on safety and etiquette in a BDSM relationship and world.
Has worked on: Anime Los Angeles, Fanime, San Diego Comic Con, San Diego Anime Con, AVN
Clandestine Chief of State
DM
Grand Architect and Event-gineer
Je veux juste créer des trucs amusants pour que les gens puissent créer des expériences mémorables avec d’anciens et de nouveaux amis.
Has worked on: Fangaea (creator), San Diego Anime Con (creator), Scream Diego (creator), AnimeLand (creator), Hentai Matsuri (drive-by casualty)