Cosplayer 'Scuba Steph' Talks 'Ronda McDonald,' 'The Fast Food House' And Being A Clown Girl

Scuba Steph is a cosplayer and content creator known best for her gender-swapped Ronald McDonald cosplay, Ronda. She's also known for her series The Fast Food House, in which she and a group of friends and cosplayers live in a house together as fast food mascots and do a whole lot of arguing. With millions of followers across social media, Steph has made a huge impact on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram over the past few years, solidifying herself as one of the internet's favorite clown girls of all time.

We recently talked with Scuba Steph to learn how she got started making content, the origins of The Fast Food House and what it's like being one of social media's most iconic clown girls.

Q: It's great to talk to you, Steph. So when did you first get into cosplay and content creation?

A: I think around 2015 is when I went to my first convention. It was Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim. I saw people in cosplay and I was like, "That's cool." I was raised not allowed to celebrate Halloween. I was kind of raised in a cult, so I couldn't do stuff like that. So I've really dived deep into the cosplay community and that's why I wear costumes for funsies. I make silly videos because I think I'm kind of trying to relive a childhood I couldn't have.

Q: What was your upbringing like?

A: I was raised in a very religious home where Halloween was looked at as satanic and we just weren't allowed to celebrate it. We had to turn the lights off [on Halloween] all that. It was just looked at as a sin. So I just never got to do Halloween or anything that had to do with holidays in general.

No Christmas, none of that. So when I left, when I was of age and I left my parents' house, I was finally able to just do what I want. I felt so free. And then again, like I said, in 2015, I went to my first cosplay convention and I was like, this is it. This is where I wanna be all the time. So that's what happened.

Q: So when did your content first start really taking off?

A: So I did content here and there between 2015 and 2020. Just nothing serious or anything. But when the pandemic happened, I was bored like a lot of people, because for a living we throw events and we couldn't throw events. So we were just kinda sitting around and I was like, "Well, I'm gonna throw on a really weird Ronald McDonald costume and I'm gonna force feed my friend fries and let's see how that goes." It did really well.

So I tried to do other videos after that and then people kept asking for more fast food videos. Luckily I have like a good amount of friends so I had someone who wanted to be Wendy's. I had someone who wanted to be Burger King. It just kept going. So we were able to build the fast food house because of just a lot of time to kill during the pandemic.

Q: Do you remember what your most viral video was?

A: There was [this video of] me in a wacky, wavy, inflatable costume and I go in front of the mirror and I say, "I wanna know if I'm wearing this to our date, what would you do? What would you do?" That popped off. I don't know why, I guess people could relate to that being silly on a first date it gets the nerves out. So, I love that people liked it, people liked the sound and people still quote that to me to this day and I'm like, that's cool.

Q: So what was the inspiration behind the Ronald McDonald cosplay?

A: : No inspiration. I was just making silly cosplay content. One day I dyed my hair red. I was trying to not look like SSSniperwolf anymore, so I dyed my hair red. I was tired of the comments [comparing me to SSSniperwolf]. So I kind of looked like I could do Ronald McDonald, so I just put like a lazy Ronald McDonald costume on and then I just force-fed my friend fries.

It wasn't anything pre-planned. It wasn't supposed to be something like, "I'm gonna be this Ronald character." It just did well and people wanted more of it. And then I learned people actually aren't afraid of clowns. I assumed everyone was afraid of clowns, like Pennywise, all that, but people aren't too afraid of me and that's cool.

Q: Besides Ronda, what are some of your favorite cosplays?

A: I really like my Judge Dredd cosplay. I'm a huge fan of the Dredd films, to be more specific, Dredd, not Judge Dredd. I really thought that movie was underappreciated. I thought it was phenomenal when I saw it in 3D and I was like, "This is crazy." I generally didn't see 3D movies at the time, but I feel like if you saw Dredd 3D, it was great in theaters, but I really liked the character of Dredd knowing that he was like, the judge, the jury, the executioner. I thought that was really cool that it was like one person in charge of all that.

So I really loved doing that cosplay for a while, so I should probably bring that back. Besides that, I like anything that's casual and comfortable because that costume's not comfortable. I like anything that feels like a Spidey suit or something like Ronda McDonald. Very casual. I don't have to wear a wig. I hate wearing wigs. They give me a headache. So I really enjoy wearing anything where I can keep my own hair.

Q: One of your most popular video series' is The Fast Food House. What is The Fast Food House?

A: The Fast Food House is a bunch of mascots that all live together. They cause chaos, fights, there's love, there's hatred, there's a bunch of stuff. We just all live together as mascots in one house and you just see the drama unfold.

We've got a Burger King, we've got a Dairy Queen, we've got a Sonic, we've got Wendy's, we've got me, McDonald's, we've got Veggie Grill, which is, I think only like a Southern California restaurant, I'm not sure. Then we've got Good Burger's Ed, we've got Jack in the Box, we've got Hardee's, we've got Carl's Jr, we've got Arby's. We've got about 25 mascots who all "live together in The Fast Food House."

We actually don't live together. A lot of people ask that, we don't live together. These are my closest friends that come to my house. It is my house where we film and I'm so lucky to have friends that want to come over and just fight as mascots. I feel very lucky to have that.

Q: What was your reaction to seeing the series really click with people?

A: I was excited that someone liked what I was doing because I've thrown stuff at the wall and it either sticks or doesn't. I surprisingly found it really easy to be like a psychotic clown. I'm not an actress or anything like that, but I'm really good at being obsessive and psychotic. So I guess it just shocked me that people liked me being crazy and were backing me up for being crazy.

People are happy and excited when I am obsessive, which is interesting. It's a very interesting culture. No one's telling me to get therapy. They're saying, "Be more crazy. Be a crazy clown." So that was probably the most like, "Okay, well, if they like me being crazy, then I'll just keep being crazy." So that's how that happened.

Q: Has McDonald's ever acknowledged your cosplay and videos?

A: McDonald's has never paid me. They've never sponsored me. I think they hate me if I'm being real. I really think they hate me. don't want anyone to think like, I do these videos because I'm being paid by McDonald's and I get those comments often. No, I just like being a crazy clown.

I have gone to my local McDonald's and I've noticed every time I go in there, the employees hate me. Again, I'm not someone who's gonna like film the employees because I feel like that is disrespectful. If you've worked a 9:00 to 5:00 at an awful job that pays nothing, you know how awful it is to have a camera in your face. So I've never filmed the employees unless they gave me permission to, but every time I go into McDonald's they do not care about me. Everyone's like, "If you go to McDonald's, you're gonna free food, you're gonna get fries and this and that." That is not the case.

Q: Your Ronda cosplay has taken on a life of its own. Has that happened with other members of The Fast Food House?

A: Wendy, as you guys know her as Wendy, her name's Melissa. She's my best friend. She tries to do other content. She's a huge anime fan. She loves Attack on Titan, so she tries to do a lot of Hanji videos and those videos are like what she wishes people will watch. But in general, most people only wanna see her Wendy's videos. I guess it can be kind of like, "Oh, I wish people would see something I'm passionate about instead of just me putting on a Wendy's wig." But she's kind of typecast and I think she knows that. She's not mad about it, but she wishes she could do more anime and it be more viewed as something that she does

Q: Do you ever get tired of doing the Ronda cosplay?

A: No. I do a good balance. I feel like I do so many fast food videos and then I take a break. I'm really into horror, so I've started doing more horror videos. TikTok does not like that, but I don't care, I do it for me because I'm really into that. I do Officer Jenny and stuff like that. So like, I do like doing other characters and because I'm doing other characters, it gives the clown makeup a break.

I feel like if I did only do fast food videos, I would absolutely be burned out 100%. So I only do it like once every two weeks and I have a good balance.

Q: What do friends and family think of the content and the Ronda cosplay?

A: My friends are very used to it. If they show up [to my house] and they see me in the Ronda makeup, they don't bat an eye. My family? They don't respect anything I do. They think I'm going to h--l. So we don't talk. Growing up I couldn't dress up growing up as a kid.

They would tell me, "Just grow up. You need to grow up. You need to act your age." I think that's a really outdated look in general. I am in my 30s and people assume that when you're in your 30s, you're supposed to be a serious person. You're not supposed to have fun anymore. But I really think that's an outdated outlook. I think age is just a number like anything else. I feel like you can still have a good time in your 20s, in your 30s, your 40s, et cetera. If you enjoy doing it and you're not hurting anyone, I don't see the harm in it. My parents could never see through that.They think I'm just a child and I'm going h--l.

Q: Do you think your parents will ever get over that?

A: No, I think that's just who they are. They believe religion is above anything else. Because I'm showing my clavicle or my ankles, I'm not suited for heaven. So, they'll never accept me for me. It took me a long time to accept that my parents will never accept me for me, but I've come to terms with it. I've talked to therapists about it and so honestly, it's their loss.

I wish them the best and I hope they one day see me for me, but like, I don't think that's gonna happen. So my friends have become my family. Everyone in the Fast Food House are my closest friends. They're here all the time. They're my hugest supporters. I view them as friends and a family. So I tell them all the time, like, I see you guys as family and I love you guys.

Q: So are you a fan of McDonald's?

A: I'm actually not a big McDonald's fan. I'm so sorry to be such a hypocrite. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I love Jersey Mike's, it is probably my favorite fast food and then it goes In-N-Out, Taco Bell and I love Arby's.

People keep giving Arby's s--t, stop. Let Arby's exist. Arby's is great. I like the Arby's sauce and the curly fries and maybe some cheese sticks. I don't know when we started acting like Arby's was bad food. It's really good food.

Q: You got to a lot of conventions as Ronda and your other cosplays. What's that like?

A: When I do go to conventions, I go for content filming. So if I'm dressed as Ronda, I'll go do a video with someone where I'm asking Wendy's or McDonald's. I kind of like pressure them. I'm in their face. I'm like, "Wendy's or McDonald's?" So if I do go to a con, I'm basically building content for myself.

I try to do other videos like Officer Jenny. So if I'm Officer Jenny, I'm gonna arrest some cosplayers for misbehaving or something.

Q: What advice do you have for people trying to get into content creation?

A: For content creating, if you are jumping into that, accept that people are gonna call you cringe nonstop. I know it's easier said than done. It's best to just ignore that and understand that these people who are calling you cringe that are too afraid to do this themselves, so that's the kind of mindset I have with that. Don't focus on the hate that you will get, focus more on the positive comments.

I'm a really insecure person at the end of the day. I know it's hard to believe but I am. I feel like I'm just a nobody. But that's just how I've always been. So I don't let anyone have the power to take me down or tear me down, I don't let that affect me and I would suggest you to do the same because life is so short. I'm in my 30s and I have fun every day. I try to have the most fun that I can instead of just worrying about what someone I will never meet thinks of me. So I highly suggest to just give it your all and just have a good time.

Scuba Steph is hosting the Anime Las Vegas convention from March 23rd to the 24th, 2024 and you can buy tickets here. You can follow Scuba Steph on Instagram at scuba.steph, YouTube @ScubaStephh and TikTok @ScubaSteph.