WALKABOUT
& ATHLETIC MASCOTS
& ATHLETIC MASCOTS
Whether meeting children or whipping up excitement with the fans, these versatile athletic and walkabout mascots represent the spirit of your company, school or sports team. They connect with people in an immediate, fun way.
Athletic or Walkabout Mascots, what are the differences?
Walkabout and Athletic characters share a lot of similar characteristics so we’ve grouped them together for you. This is the group you’ll often find sports mascots. The largest distinction between these and their well-known counterpart (the shape mascot) is that they have removable heads and bodies with arms and legs. Past these features, they can be incredibly diverse.
Walkabouts and Athletic characters can be cute, cartoony and approachable ambassadors or teaching tools for corporations; think of a cuddly bear or a dopey dog. On the other hand they might be tough guys meant to antagonize the opposing sports team or school, like a Trojan warrior or a fierce falcon. They may range in height, gender or age.
Athletic mascots are highly mobile characters… often fast, energetic and acrobatic. They are often referred to as sports mascots! These mascots are built to be agile and streamlined so they can perform crazy stunts or strike a signature pose with grace and style. The best athletic mascots are usually smaller and close fitting for optimal vision and mobility, and may even be specifically tailored to fit one or two dedicated and athletic performers. And remember, athletic characters need not be limited to the sports mascot market… there are quite a few athletic characters in many diverse markets. The reverse is also true – sports mascots do not necessarily need to be athletic in nature!
MUSCULATURE
Musculature in the form of padding or fully carved muscle groupings can give the illusion of a heroic and fierce character. For an economical approach, musculature can be as simple as extra shoulder padding used to create that “V” shaped cartoon character. If you would like a more dynamic look, we can hand carve individual muscles on the shoulders, biceps, abs and calves. Muscles can even be painted in place. Athletic characters will want to consider lighter musculature that doesn’t interfere with movement, perhaps emphasizing some of the performer’s natural muscles. In fact, some of the most athletic team mascots have no added musculature at all!
HANDS
There are many style options for hands, such as: large cartoon hands, animal paws with or without claws or paw pads, hands that look like hoofs, a four fingered or five fingered glove or a hidden hand that is part of the sleeve (e.g. wings). Whatever design you ultimately decide on, we always consider safety (such as quick release features), size adjustment and wear ‘n’ tear.
You may know what your mascots hands should look like, but have you considered dexterity? Think about the mascot’s general routines and consider the degree of dexterity that is best for you. We are able to create advanced detailing such as special gripping palms for holding basketballs or stadium grip hands that are specially reinforced for holding handrails (this is great for sports mascots).
SIZING
Small and light heads are the most comfortable option and can be worn with the support of the neck alone to allow movement of the head from side to side and up and down. Large heads require shoulder support or an added support system. They may limit arm mobility and feel bulkier. However, they can help you to achieve a more “cartoony” look. Adequate support is incorporated when constructing all our heads so as to avoid adding undue stress on the performer.
To determine size, take a human silhouette and place it over the image of your mascot design. While keeping the ratio of the silhouette constant you can enlarge or shrink it to fit in your sketch. Now considering this to be a person around 5’8” or 5’10” you can imagine what the height of your overall shape will be when complete.
While it is incredibly effective to pad and enlarge the shoulders, hips and tummy to disguise shape, having an extra-large body can be bulky to wear for characters wanting to perform gymnastic-type moves.
HEAT CONTROL
It is important to give special consideration to where you will be using a high performance mascot. Using a cooling system may be the optimal choice for a walkabout being worn in the summer, but many athletic characters find the addition of a cooling vest will change the balance when doing flips. Special materials to wick away sweat or carefully concealed ventilation can be incorporated into the design allowing comfortable access to air. Exhaust fans expel stale air. Oversizing a character can allow for both extra under-clothing in cold weather and circulation, but may create a more bulky character.
TAILS
Is the tail sticking out at a 90 degree angle? Is it a tripping hazard or tempting for children to pull on? A reinforced tail that is worked into the supporting under-structure is often the best idea for any character. However for the high performance mascot, we recommend limiting the length and overall weight due to the mascot’s activity level.
VISION
Good vision is important for all mascots, especially if they are athletic. We strive to give your character the best vision possible while still maintaining the look you are trying to achieve. Vision is generally provided through the mouth, nose or eyes (or a combination of all three) by using porous foam screening, or a combination of screening and foam.
Good vision means safety; if your mascot can see his or her feet then they will also see small children and objects in their path. Having great vision will allow the athletic mascot to exhibit talents beyond the regular walkabout character, like flips, jumps and rolls in between game-play. In some cases, when planned in the design stage, extra vision can be worked into other areas of the head as well!
Please keep in mind that some characters are inherently limited in their vision, and in this case, we will discuss best vision options with you from the very beginning of the production process.
FEET
Big mascot feet achieve a really fun look; however, we recommend smaller feet that are 16” in length or 25oz in weight for more athletic mascots. This will allow your footing to be more dexterous and your performance more active and dynamic. Here are some common mascot foot choices:
Standard mascot feet are made from flexible, durable soling which allows for a greater grip on the ground with some flexibility in foot movement. They are lightweight and can be worn by a variety of shoe sizes. Since the wearer uses their own shoe inside the feet, they are the most hygienic choice. Additionally, the hard carved foam ensures a long lasting foot that maintains its shape over time.
Convertible skate shoes are standard mascot feet with a removable panel at the bottom that skate blades can be slid through.
Skate shoes are separate skate covers that look like mascot skates.
Stage mascot feet allow for a high degree of natural movement and flexing. These feet are made from a soft foam top and a thinner soling than the usual walkabout foot. While these may not be as durable and long lasting as the regular walkabout shoe, they can be critical to a live stage performance. In some cases, a design can be incorporated into the shoes’ soling (i.e.: a paw print).
Customized athletic shoes are an option for highly active performances. This mascot foot incorporates your own shoe into the sole of our mascot foot so you always have direct contact with the ground.
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We LOVE Fiona the fisher! She showed up yesterday just in time for me to put her head on and walk into the start of our staff meeting. Folks are completely astonished at the quality of the costume, especially how realistic the fur looks. Thank you for working on this with us, and for producing such a top notch product!
US Fish and Wildlife Service
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She looks WONDERFUL! We're delighted to have her here and look forward to using her frequently. Thank-you so much for your patience and your feedback - it was a pleasure to work with you and your staff. Have a wonderful week and I'll be sure to say nothing but GREAT things about you guys.
Marymount Academy
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I have met Elliott (the beaver) during the 10th year party that was held on September 9th and I can confirm that parents and students were quite impressed by Elliott. Your team did a great job! Please thank all your team members.
École élémentaire catholique Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau
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Our Saanich Police mascot arrived late Friday afternoon and looks great! What a first class costume... It looks fantastic...
Sergeant, Saanich Police Department
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Just wanted to say the whole office LOVED the mascots and we had a great time wearing them and making them bobble last night. Tell everyone we were blown away by the quality of work. Thanks!
Boom Marketing
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He's very cute! I'm sure he will be loved by all in the Guelph community. Thank you very much to you and your team at Sugar's for putting this together in such a tight timeline.
Z Factor for Guelph Police Service
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You created an absolute masterpiece. In fact, I will go on record to say this is one of the best looking mascot costumes I have seen in my 23 years of sports management.
Sioux Falls Stampede Hockey Club
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Just a note to let you know that the mascot has been extremely well received. The kids love him and he can hardly walk for all the kids around him - kind of reminiscent of peter piper! We are learning a lot about crowd control and have a designated handler for him so he can make his way through the crowds. Omingmak is getting lots of hugs and making everyone smile. Thanks so much - he will be a big part of our annual Frolics.
The Hamlet of Cambridge Bay
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We love it We are very happy with the end product and I would recommend your company to anyone due to the great customer service, quality of the product and the very, very nice people who work there. Thanks again, Dave
Vancouver Island University
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I really enjoyed working together on this project. We just got our dog in today and I tried him on! Your team has done an awesome job. The goggles are amazingly well done! They look like they were made of real caribou antler! The fan is great too. The body is nice and buff...loving it!
Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, Gover
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I have to say again that He looks amazing...I am so glad we went through Sugar's Mascots. The professionalism on all levels of your company has really been great!! I do appreciate your hard work and the passion everyone has there for what you all do!!
Saskatoon Police Service
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I just wanted to thank you for your diligence and resourcefulness to make CAPER the best looking mascot I've ever seen. We did a rehearsal run with him yesterday and it looks terrific!! He'll be meeting the students today at noon with a big celebration taking place with our first day of classes. Any recommendation you want from us in the future, don't hesitate to ask.
Cape Breton University
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Yes, yes, yes! Our Spartan has come! He is magnificent! He will be presented at an assembly tomorrow and we're sure he'll make a huge impression. Thank you so much for accommodating us these last two weeks!
Margaret Barbour Collegiate
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I wanted to thank you for your outstanding work on Les Watts. We received him yesterday and were thrilled not only with how he looked, but with your attention to details. Sending a birth certificate and a personalized thank you card are both lovely touches.
strategie Revolution strategy
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Savertooth has made it here safe and sound. He's so adorable we can hardly stand ourselves today! He appears to be in perfect health, his fan unit works... and we especially like his birth certificate... very nice touch... we plan to have it framed!
BECU; Learning & Development/Financial Education
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He's a huge fantastic wonderful and furry addition to our staff. The kids went mad over him. Thanks so much for your wonderful work and thanks to Sugar Mascots.
Parks Canada -Public Outreach Education Officer
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Everyone who sees Mikey is instantly happy and delighted. People in cars passing by are shouting, waving and blowing the car horns. We are planning on an official arrival event for Mikey next week at the corner park where our sign is located . We hope to get coverage by out local papers. Thank you for producing Mikey for us.
Main Street Dartmouth and Area B.I.A.
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HE IS PERFECTLY AWESOME!!!!!!!we are all standing here looking at him and we are beyond pleased. Thank you and your team so very much!!
Town of Labrador City
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... just a quick note to say "Thank You" to everyone at Sugars. Everyone from the first phone call to when he arrived were all so helpful. "Flip" arrived on Friday afternoon and was a huge hit! All the staff was totally impressed how much he did look like our "logo in real life". He was in a parade on Saturday and the kid (+ adults) absolutely loved him - he got hundreds of hugs!!!
Westridge Electric Ltd.
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The costume handled very well at the game. This being the longest I've had it on since a video shoot we shot about two weeks earlier, I found it quite comfortable and a lot more expressive than our old suit. I've noticed that the fans seem to react a lot better to this costume as well. Their excitement level has really shot up. Thanks for crafting our new costume. I feel like a whole new bird, so to speak!
Rochester Knighthawks
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We have used him in our Open House Rally! We are planning to use him... for recruitment and all our events next year! Thank... all the staff for the work they put into him! He came with a lot of character- looking fierce!
Roseland Collegiate Prep
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Trax is going over better than we could have ever hoped for. We have had nothing, but positive responses at all of our events! We had 7 appearances in May alone. Wherever we go we are hearing “look its Trax” not “look it’s the rail runner”. We are actually starting to get requests from the public to attend their events. Again, a special thanks to you and everyone at Sugars who brought our vision to life.
New Mexico Rail Runner
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Falco was "born" today. A huge success, the kids love him. Our idea was that Falco would start shaky on skates and improve during the match. From next homegame he will pick up the speed since he is then a week old and has "practised" the whole week. Thank you again. It's been great working with you.
Stjernen Hockey
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I would like to thank everyone who worked on our wonderful Mascot. He was a HUGE hit at our tournament. He brought an air of fun and celebration to our event. Huge smiles, hugs and high fives were shared, pictures were taken and memories made! Visiting teams were so impressed, they will remember our little town forever... We will definitely recommend Sugars Mascot's to anyone who asks... Thank you again for everything!
Winfield Minor Hockey Association
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Our Olympian mascot "Torchy" was a huge success. Our students went wild when he made his debut... The entire process with Sugar's Mascots from beginning to end was excellent. We are so happy with the final product. Thank you for working with me and building a mascot for our school!
The Academy at Nola Dunn
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I just wanted to let you know that the Bull arrived today!!! You can't imagine how exited we all are and I wanted to thank you for such a responsible, amiable and excellent job you guys did … thanks for being so kind and so into our mascot and taking so much care of us as customers. Be sure that we will recommend you with our eyes closed and we will always take you in account in any further mascot character. Once again thank you and your crew so, so much and we are extremely happy, it is beyond what we expected.
Collegio Granandino
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We just got him…It looks even better in person than it did in the pics…You guys get top marks for customer service!!
Stonewall Collegiate Institute
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…Everybody loved Clockey! He looks terrific. I was also surprised and impressed by the owner’s manual that came in the box. It is very comprehensive and useful – even the tips for how to be a good mascot. The whole thing looks really good.
Bakersfield City School District
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… Instantly everyone loved the Dude. Everyone wanted their picture taken with the Dude. We carried the Dude all over the country to shows and exhibits. We’d walk around display halls and people would immediately think of SchoolDude. It became the symbol and instant reminder of what we did and how and helpful that the Dude actually is…Fast forward to today and SchoolDude has grown to the point where it is the leader in the industry… So your company (Sugars Mascots) can make a huge difference in the success and branding of a company if done properly.
DudeSolutions.com
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It was such a pleasure to work with Sugars Mascot Costumes. The entire process was such a joy and we appreciate the attention to every detail. ... thank you for such a wonderful experience as you brought Mr. Owl to life right in front of our eyes!
Chi Omega Executive Headquarters
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He arrived safely and we LOVE IT!!!! Had so much fun unpacking our new mascot with both of our principals and everyone is super pleased with the quality of your product. I appreciate all of your help and support during the process, it was a pleasure working with you and your team!
Ridgemont Local Schools
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... how much we have enjoyed our new Mascot – “Appy” the Happy Duck. You all did an excellent job on him and he was certainly a hit all during our fair in August! It was very hot but we had a couple young people who did a great job!! Thanks to you all for your hard work designing and making him for us to have for many years to come!
Appalchian Fair
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Thank you so much! Your customer services was amazing. Feel free to follow our page "energetic city roller derby association" for updates on shotgun Sally including her formal debut and where we take her. We will highly recommend your company to other teams and organization.
Jennacide
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When we received our mascot we were blown away by the quality of the materials and the craftsmanship of the sewing. Overall I highly recommend Sugar's Mascots to bring your character to life. They did a great job, and when people see our mascot it always brings a smile to their face.
Lockout
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Our school went through Sugar's for our mascot... We started with a basic drawing one of our art students drew up for us based on what we wanted. They were able to design it and tweak it based on what we wanted. They were EXTREMELY patient with us and communicated with us every step of the way... went above and beyond to help us! Thank you
Eastlake High School
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That looks awesome!!!! Today was actually our 1st day back to school into the building. This was a welcome pick me up after a day of crazy new co-vid procedures.
Leipsic High School
NEED MORE INFORMATION
Sugar’s Mascot Costumes has been making mascots with heart since 1985! If you are interested in having us create a custom mascot for your company or would like information about cleaning & repairs, please complete the following form or contact us in person or by phone.