After 15 years as the Phanatic, Raymond went into business creating his own mascots.
And now hes created the mostinstantly famous mascotin years: Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty.
(The working title for this post was Grittys Daddy.)
My father was head football coach at the University of Delaware.
I ended up going to Delaware and playing football for my father.
He didnt want me to be a football coach.
He felt like that wouldnt be the best path for me, thank goodness.
He helped me get an internship with the Phillies in 1976.
I was an intern for two years and then they created the Phanatic in 78.
Some of the skill set that helped me be a good performer was understanding an athletes perspective.
That set me up for success as a performer.
What the Phanatic taught me was that fun wasnt only fooling around; fun wasnt just a vacation.
What were doing is were creating powerful fun.
Take us through a recent workday.
Every day is exciting for me, because Im working with different people and different clients.
So Im on the phone a lot, and Im on social media.
My day is always different.
The only monotony I find is that I do have an office at home.
Anybody with a home office space recognizes that they get distracted by things in their home.
So each day Im getting up, looking at my priorities, making sure Im focused on that.
Im posting regularly, I write blogs and then Im talking to clients.
I dont think theres been more [reaction to another mascot].
The difference is there was really no negative kickback with the Phanatic.
And the Phanatic has been on every television show; hes been all over the world.
But he did that over a 40-year career and counting.
Gritty seems like hes canvassed the entire world in two weeks.
What apps, gadgets, or tools cant you live without?
problem can shut you down quickly, so Ive got a good I.T.
company locally to handle all that.
I have a radio app where I can listen to my home radio.
Im a big sports fan so I listen to Philadelphia WIP sports radio anywhere where am in the country.
Whats your workspace setup like?
Whos at the office?
Then I have a studio Im leasing with people to do all of the sewing, cutting, sculpting.
I have a designer in Atlanta, Georgia, whos been working with me for over ten years.
Were very lean and flexible, and profitable because were lean.
One of the most fun things I do is go into the studio space.
Im in there managing the build and making sure that its done to our specifications.
Take us through an interesting process you have in place at work.
Your site mentions the cleaning and repair of mascot costumes.
We unpack the shipment, itemize whats in there and then determine the problem.
The client generally will let us know what some of their concerns are.
Then it goes into the studio.
I have a handful of spaces I can get the costumes to.
We have experts who can sew and fix problems.
That can take anywhere from a week to two weeks.
Then theres a full cleaning and disinfecting of the costume.
How do you keep track of what you have to do?
In a Word document, I have a list of to-dos each day.
Its great to fill in the stupid stuff.
It may be on my phone, it may be Outlook.
I used to think I was failing myself when I quit one.
Then I realized I would just migrate to another form.
I start thinking, Hey this is great, its new and its easier to do.
How do you recharge or take a break?
My life hack is a 30-minute walk every day.
Its a double rock event in that its healthy [physically and mentally].
I meditate a little bit but I end up walking more.
While walking, I just let my mind wander.
If Ive had a struggle trying to think of something creative, it usually comes to me.
I love to sketch and draw.
Ill grab a picture of my kids and attempt to sketch them, learning about how to use shading.
Mostly pencil sketching, a little bit of colored pencils.
That and jigsaw puzzles.
I get a thousand piece puzzle and I put it out.
It probably takes me a week to finish a thousand piece puzzle.
I completely forget about everything.
What are you currently reading, or what do you recommend?
I make a run at read self-help books and I never finish them.
I feel guilty but I realize they just dont get through to me.
And I just end up putting it down.
[But] Stephen Covey, I was a big fan of his, and Seth Godin.
Ive read most of Stephen Kings early work, likePet SemataryandIt.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
Somebody like Justin Timberlake.
Whats the best advice youve ever received?
My dad used to tell me to stop talking so muchand then look at the job I got!
I got a job that shaped the rest of my business career by not saying anything.
But my dads issue was, he didnt want to bother people.
If youre going to build a business, you have to realize youre not bothering people.
Youre trying to help people.
So its the best advice and the worst advice in one fell swoop.
Really what he was saying was listen.
And I think listening is the best advice you could give anybody.
If you evenpretendto be listening, youre going to be liked more.
If you really do listen, youll get smarter and you will be able to help people better.
Whats a problem youre still trying to solve?
Im always thinking, I havent done enough.
Im not contributing enough.
The most important is to contribute.
We do all want to contribute.
I still havent figured that out yet.
I havent made myself comfortable with the fact that I contributed.
And that is a daily struggle.
Im starting to give myself a little bit of leeway and credit, but its not easy.
Have someone you want to see featured, or questions you think we should ask?
