MascotInsider is pleased to bring another interview this time with the owner of AMAZING!! Mascots, Inc. Kelly Frank Let’s begin..
1. How did you get your start being a professional mascot and creating mascot costumes? As a sports fan, I was always interested in mascots. I grew up in South Florida and in the late 80’s/early 90’s we had some of the best mascots (Burnie-Miami Heat, Billy-Florida Marlins, Stanley-Florida Panthers). While in high school I got an internship with the indoor soccer team. That lead to part time positions with the Arena Football and MLS team. While in college I worked as a parade performer at Walt Disney World, a seasonal “scare-actor” and costume technician at Universal Studios, served as my college mascot for a year, interned with the WNBA team as their mascot, and performed across the country as JJ Jumper, the official mascot of NCAA Basketball. While in college, in order to gain more experience, I learned how to make costumes with the help of some mascot makers and my friend’s mother who was a seamstress. To help perfect my craft I approached a couple of teams and offered a low cost costume if they paid for materials. It helped me learn how to make costumes and led to my first big sale, a $3,000 suit to the Miami SOL of the WNBA. That was a lot of money for a college kid, and I’ve been hooked ever since! 2. What are some of your favorite things to do as a mascot? There are so many things: dancing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJQwC8_DOG, celebrating a win http://i.imgur.com/060aN.jpg>, hospital visits, nailing a skit, player interaction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i60XoQfL1M0, meeting celebrities http://i.imgur.com/bc7o4.jpg and more. But I think my favorite thing is subtlety. Conveying something minute, non verbally, and making people laugh. It might be a simple turn of the head, a pause, or an on time reaction. It’s not something the whole stadium sees, but for the people who see it it’s hilarious, and adds so much depth to the character and performance. 3. You’ve been a mascot for many different sports teams. What sport is your favorite to mascot?* Baseball. In my opinion is the perfect venue for a mascot. There is plenty of down time and usually a lot of places to position yourself to be seen. I call it “a long conversation.” You can pop out, do something during the start of the game, and come back later and call back to your prior shenanigans. Do to the pace of the game, people really watch you when you’re out performing. Arena football is just crazy, unadulterated fun. It’s just a non stop show and a great venue for a mascot performer. I used to literally be on the field during play (while it was at the other end) and could run and be center field constantly. The players and refs don’t take themselves too seriously and you have a ton of fodder for humor. Having players and officials that are willing to play with you makes for a much funnier performance. I love hockey as a fan, but as a mascot I found it challenging. It’s hard to be center stage and the game is so fast you have to wait for the whistle to try and entertain, or risk annoying fans. You can read an article I wrote about performing in different venues on Gameops.com http://www.gameops.com/essay-writers/mascot-tips 4. Are there any mascots you looked up to when you began your career? The Phillie Phanatic, of course. I remember the first time I saw one of his performances. I was like “Oh, this is what a mascot can do!” He was just always on, never out of character, and almost every moment was funny. Clutch of the Houston Rockets http://www.youtube.com/user/nosuchthing was another inspiration. He was edgy, hilarious, and cute all at once as well as the ultimate businessman. Erin Blank, who was Paws of the Detroit Tigers at the time, also helped get my career going by offering a ton of advice. But I think my favorite had to be the original Burnie for the Miami Heat. He was just such a true clown, always pushing it, always making me laugh. I modeled a lot of my character attributes after him. 5. What kind of advice could you give someone who wants to become a professional mascot, but doesn’t know where to begin? Get training by attending a mascot boot camp. Keystone Mascots and Raymond Entertainment offer them as well as the United Cheerleading Association. Call local teams and see if they need a backup or mascot assistant. Some teams offer internships for mascots. Audition for your high school or college mascot. If you’re near a theme park, get work as a costumed character. Enhance your skill set by taking dancing/acting lessons. If possible, learn gymnastics. Practice tricks such as juggling, unicycling, and stilt walking. If you can’t land a mascot position with a team, try out for their promo squad and learn how to be an out of costume entertainer. If no jobs are available, consider purchasing or making your own costume and volunteer at community events to get experience. A great way to learn is by watching other mascots. Thanks to YouTube http://www.youtube.com/amazingmascotsinc, it’s easier than ever to watch other mascots. Mimic what you see your favorite performers do and add your own personality traits to develop your character. Video tape yourself as much as possible and watch the footage. It helps you learn. I also advise new performers, in this age of litigation, to think before they act/react. A simple mistake could lead to someone getting hurt, and the performer being liable. This is why getting proper training is key. 6. How do you deal with a crowd that lacks energy? It’s rare that this happens. The only time I’ve run into crowds like this are small crowds at sponsored events, where there are only so many people to interact with. I’ll spend more one on one time with individuals that enjoy the mascot, like children, and take breaks so the mascot doesn’t get “annoying.” If it’s really slow, I’ll stand next to the road by the sponsor’s sign and wave. But I’m careful to stay far away from the road to avoid possible injury. If I’m in a crowd that’s just “not having” the mascot (usually tweens through college age) I’ll showcase my dance skills or woo them with my giveaway items. Once you get them over the “I’m too cool for a mascot” it’s be fun. 7. How do you deal with the times that YOU lack energy? Even when I’m tired, grumpy, or having a bad day, when the suit comes on I snap out of it. I’ve had days when I’m exhausted and I swear I’m going to “tone it down” and just get through the event. It never happens. I’m incapable of “phoning it in” as the crowd always gives me the energy to perform, no matter how tired I am. 8. What are some of you favorite memories of being a professional mascot? For my first regular season MLB game I got flown to Japan where the Devil Rays took on the New York Yankees for the 2004 MLB season opener. I remember standing behind home plate at the Tokyo Dome, looking up at 50,000+ fans, and just being in awe. The 2008 season was another highlight, with the Rays making the playoffs for the first time ever, and beating the Red Sox in 7 games during the ALCS. When we went to the World Series I was standing on the field, seeing the World Series logo everywhere and thinking “Is this real?” As a hockey fan I truly enjoyed the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2011 post season run where they were one game away from the Stanley cup finals. The whole run was awesome, but I really enjoyed game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi finals they swept the Capitals. The crowd was electric. 9. How does AMAZING!! Mascots, Inc. compete with other mascot costume creators? Our costumes are designed with the performer in mind and we do not stick to one “look” or production method. Our costumes truly are unique and we construct them using whatever method is best suited for the client’s needs. We strive to make each costume unique and fit within the client’s budget. Also we’re the only company whose head designer is a current mascot performer who has performed for MLB, NHL, NBA (backup), WNBA, MLS, Arena Football, Minor League Baseball, Minor League Hockey, NCAA Basketball, and Division 1 College Football and worked as a character costume technician at Universal Studios Florida. I have worn countless costumes and talked with dozens (if not 100+) performers and know the pros and cons of various costume construction techniques. We have a new production technique that takes a 2D drawing and turns it into a 3D http://i.imgur.com/Qf8Pu.jpg model that can be viewed at all angles http://i.imgur.com/SHFSB.jpg. The client can make changes to the model http://i.imgur.com/Uslmv.jpg, and them we print out a pattern, and construct the head http://i.imgur.com/P7axj.jpg. You basically get to see the head http://i.imgur.com/QLoc9.jpg before we even start making it. Plus, at AMAZING!! Mascots, Inc. we’re mascot fans http://imgur.com/a/BrlKK#0 and we truly want you to have the best looking, high performance, durable mascot you can afford. Thanks to Kelly Frank from AMAZING!! Mascots, Inc. for doing an interview with us today. To see the latest mascot news, videos, and job postings be sure to “Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/amazingmascots, follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amazingmascots, and check out our new blog at http://amazingmascots.wordpress.com/-
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