Double Take -- by Berenice Gargus

Seventeen years ago, Glenn Street had a vision. Was it an image of the fluffy mascot heads now lined up on the metal shelves in his northeast workshop? Not quite. What Street saw was an important marketing need that wasn't being filled.

Glenn Street and his company's handiwork.

In the mid-80s Street was working a side job as the newly-launched Harvey the Hound for the Calgary Flames. Gradually, other teams caught wind of the popular mascot and started calling to find out where they could get one of their own. Quick on his feet, Street gave up the Harvey suit to take on the role of entrepreneur. With the help of two partners who have since moved on, his company was born.

Street Characters now designs and builds three or four mascots a week. That's 150-200 a year. "Turn on your TV any weekend, you're going to see our characters," says Street.

Why Mascots?

He calls mascots "a walking business card" that remind people an organization is part of the community. That's all about branding, or having people instantly recognize your company by its logo and mascot.

"I've been through Rockefeller Centre in New York City with Harvey and everybody knew who he was," Street says. "All you had to do was see the logo and read the name and the tie-in was instant. And of course, he stood out in a crowd."

Likewise, an electric company approached Street Characters to help them with public awareness. The customers surveyed in their focus groups were saying, "We know that when we flip the switch, the light comes on, but that's all we know about you," Street explains. "You can't reach out and touch electricity, so this character became a very tangible part of the organization."

There are a dozen people on staff at Street Characters, eight working in production. There's also one full-time artist, whose daughter once said, "Daddy, you have the best job in the world because you get paid to draw and colour all day."

However, Street Characters also hires people to work inside the suits. What kind of personality are they looking for? You might be surprised.

Be the Mascot

"People are always saying 'man, I bet the guy inside there is the life of the party.' Well, we actually find the exact opposite is true," says Street. "The real extrovert can't suppress his own personality when he gets into the costume, whereas with an introvert, it's their chance to shine. Because they're anonymous they tend to be the better mascots."

Performers must be in very good physical condition and shouldn't be claustrophobic. It can also get very hot - as Harvey, Street could lose up to eight pounds during a Flames game. "It does take a little while to get used to the costume," says Street, "But the whole time you're in there you have a smile on your face."

Mascot performers earn $10/hr but the hours are flexible so the job is good for students. Street Characters' mascot school offers training worth $500 US but if you can't get your first job from Street, he recommends you "Go talk to a charity that has a character." Perhaps the Stampede Promotions Committee or Canada Olympic Park. "It's no different than being a ski instructor," says Street. "You learn it and improve your skills as you go along."

Build the Mascot

Street Character's eight production staff work in either sewing or props. Most of the construction is completed by hand during a four-day week.

Glenn Street and a mascot under construction.

When he's hiring sewers, Street looks to Olds College. "What we need is people who can look at a drawing and say 'okay, how am I going to get that shape?' They have to understand the construction side: pattern drafting and draping." For the props department where the heads are built, Mount Royal and U of Cgrads seem to fit the bill.

Fast, accurate construction is essential when you're making costumes that cost $3,000-$7,000 or more each. Because the staff is paid per finished piece, if a mascot "comes back because of shoddy work, they have to fix it on their own time," says Street.

"We pay based on performance here." He explains that the piecework system encourages faster production and allows employees greater control over their income. "We get highly motivated people who want to work hard because they're getting rewarded for it."

When you start in mascot production you can make about $10/hr. However, Street says some of his employees eventually earn well over $30,000 a year. Plus, employees get a yearly $500 personal health spending account by way of benefits. At year end, if the employee chooses to invest whatever hasn't been spent, the company will match it.

In general the working conditions seem quiet and clean and an air-handling system removes any adhesive fumes. There's no dress code.

The biggest piece of advice Street has for young people is to stay in school, no matter what their career objectives are. "I only have a high school education," he says. "Today if my company was hiring, I would not qualify to work here."

He adds that the real value of a higher education is the discipline and planning skills you learn in the process of finishing your program.

Tracker

The Calgary Search and Rescue Association, a charity run entirely by volunteers, has had their own mascot for more than three years. Tracker the Rescue Dog is one of Street Characters' creations.

Leanne Amy, a commercial pilot who volunteers as CALSARA's Public Relations Coordinator, says the association uses Tracker six or seven times a year at publicity events to give the association more exposure.

The response? "Very favourable," she says. "Always a hit with the kids, obviously - big furry animals always make people smile."

Tracker is played by a volunteer trained in-house. The job "always involves two or three people - the person who is the mascot and a spotter" or two who make sure the person inside is safe. Otherwise goofing around in giant feet with a limited field of vision might get dangerous.

Amy has been in the suit herself and says it can be very hot. "Individuals deem when they need to leave for a break. On the odd occasion we have equipped the person with a water bag inside the costume - you get dehydrated really quick." For those scorching summer days, some suits come with compartments for ice-packs to keep the performer cool.

Amy says the results are worth it. "You can mimic people and play around a bit, so it can be very fun."

Aside from the Stampede parade, one of Tracker's biggest events during the year is the annual half-time tackle-football game. Amy admits it can be hard on the mascots, but stresses it's fun and worth the exposure. Thus, there's usually a pretty good turnout - last year 10 local creatures were out there roughing it up on the field.

Links

Street Characters Inc.

International Mascot Corporation

For a dish of the real dirt on working as a mascot, don't miss the Mascot Speak bulletin Board on http://www.mascot.net/ and check out Mascot Corner on Hockey Zone Plus.

SOME CALGARY MASCOTS

To see a group shot from a mascot hockey game, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Click here to see Harvey the Hound scubadiving.

Ralph the Dog - Calgary Stampeders Football

Diggity Dawg - Dawgs Baseball

Dexter - U of C Dinosaurs

Tracker the Rescue Dog - Calgary Search and Rescue Association

(To volunteer to BE Tracker, fill out the recruitment info on the CALSARA site )

Harry the Horse - Calgary Stampede

Wabash - Calgary Cannons

Spanky the Penguin - University of Calgary Ski Club

Corpo-Rat - Calgary Corporate Challenge -- click on human curling

May these former Calgary mascots rest in peace in their respective storage closets:

The Centre-Pede - Calgary Centre for the Performing Arts
Seefar - Calgary Tower
Hidy and Howdy - Calgary Winter Olympics