Has anyone ever shut down your idea and told you there would be no way to pull it off?

It’s September of 2023; Fall Out Boy is performing their new rendition of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas. The original version of the song was produced and sung by the legend Billy Joel, but Fall Out Boy extends the historical events and pop culture references to show how the fire is indeed still burning since the world’s been turning.

After playing usual fan favorite hits, Fall Out Boy ended their iHeartRadio set with their new cover, but the whole band (except for the drummer for potential safety reasons) donned these very real and actively fire-spewing helmets. While I was watching the live stream of this performance, it was at that moment I said “Oh no…”

I had an idea.

Realistically, I knew there was no way an open flame contraption would be allowed into a venue, nor would I want to put anyone in danger around me with how condensed a pit gets. I knew I wanted to make some sort of flame helmet that was more than just a painted hat.

Real fire has movement; it breathes, it emits light, it lives, and so does a battery-operated Halloween decoration.

I was able to find the perfect decoration for my concept: a USB rechargeable campfire styled decoration, with LED lights that illuminate the red fire-shaped fabric, and an electrical fan that blows the fabric to create an “alive” effect. This was the perfect fake flame for the costume, and all I needed was a helmet to attach it to. I grabbed a $0.99 plastic food storage container from the store, which is much more lightweight and easier to cut into than an actual metal helmet. I didn’t want the whole fake campfire with the black base to be on top of the helmet, but rather flush with the helmet’s top to emulate the fire coming out from it.

I measured and drew the circumference of the fake campfire’s base onto the bottom of the food storage bowl and then used a fresh box cutter to carefully cut into the plastic. Instead of cutting on the outline I drew directly, I cut a circle about 1 centimeter smaller, which gave me a ledge to glue the campfire base onto the inside of the storage bowl. This would make the flame flush with the bowl.

Before I glued down the pieces, I spray painted the storage bowl with metallic silver paint and finished with a clear topcoat to mimic the look of the real metal. After the paint coats fully dried, I was able to glue down the fake campfire from the inside, onto that ledge where the base could sit easily without popping out at the top.

The last thing to do was make sure this absurd hat wouldn’t fall off my head while I was at a show. I used my trusty method of attaching clear adjustable bra straps to either side of the helmet, which provided an almost invisible chin strap, and altogether it sat snuggly on my head.

I only wore the hat for one song at the end of the concert so as to not create a huge distraction or obstructed view for anyone else in the audience. Since Fall Out Boy doesn’t perform their cover of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” during their So Much for (Tour)dust shows, I opted to wear my new faux flame helmet for the first song of their encore: “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)”, which features a lot of stage pyrotechnics.

Let this costume build serve as motivation that you really can do anything, even when others don’t believe you can. Find a different route to get to the destination that works for you. Take chances and in the end, just have fun with it and keep making weird art.