Dave Raymond performed and created the personality of one of the most iconic characters in Major League Baseball, the Phillie Phanatic. Dave shares his story growing up as the son of a hall of fame college football coach, what he learned as he developed the Phanatic from scratch, how he’s helped teams and businesses create meaningful mascots and how the Phanatic saved him from a dark time in his life. A great episode on importance of having fun.
0:00 Episode Introduction
1:50 The meaning of the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series
3:00 How Dave grew up in Maryland and being the son of Hall of Fame College Football Coach Harold “Tubby” Raymond
5:55 Where Dave got his work ethic
7:50 How he became the Phillie Phanatic
11:00 How quickly the Phanatic had success and passing it along to Tom Burgoyne
13:25 Wearing the costume was physically demanding for Dave
17:20 What he did to create, sometimes unintentional, the personality of the Phanatic
22:30 How he developed the character and how Dave drew inspiration from his mother
25:45 What some special moments for Dave was being the Phanatic
32:20 How Dave created mascot characters and how he feels a part of the Phanatic after all these years
35:38 How valuable a mascot can be to a professional sport team and how his company creates them
40:00 What justifies a mascot being paid upwards of $625,000
44:00 How Dave uses the stories of the mascot to help train people how to have fun
49:30 The Tommy Lasorda “incident.” youtube.com/watch?v=vX4L2LHGs98
52:50 Dave’s relationships with MLB umpires
54:15 His most memorable skit youtube.com/watch?v=kxfA72OTOXA
56:00 His most memorable item from the Phanatic
57:30 Don’s autographed picture of the Phanatic
58:15 Episode Close