Mikey Graff

Once upon a time at a basketball game in the ’80’s, our mascot Scotty Elsner let me put on the costume for a quarter, and I found out that being Hook ’Em was very difficult. Nothing in cheerleading had prepared me for the job. A mascot has to be bigger than life, and all your movements have to be exaggerated to be seen from a distance. It was not just a cheerleader in a costume. Movement was completely different. And the big problem: your vision is limited. Kids can sneak up on you at any moment, and you have to be careful not to trip. Oh, and the head smells. I did not enjoy the experience. I came away with a healthy respect for the mascot gig.

Mikey Graff came to the mascot world on a whim and a dare. It was the days of Colt McCoy, and UT was an exciting place to be. As a freshman attending his first football game with friends, Mikey surveyed the sidelines and said, “It would be fun to be part of the cheer squad, but how?’ That’s when a friend pointed to Hook ’Em, and Mikey immediately agreed mascot was his best option.

But it wasn’t easy. Mikey admits that his first try out meeting with the coaches was “awkward.” At that point he was still a shy teenager, and he needed to work on his act. Two years later, Mikey tried out again and made the mascot squad with two other guys. “Those were the Garrett Gilbert days. Interest in the mascot was low, and not many showed up.” It was Mikey’s lucky day.

“When you put on that mascot head, no one knows who you are, and you feel like you can do anything!” Mikey laughs. Thus is the power of the mascot, where a shy guy on the outside becomes a walking animation, fearless and larger than life. “I’m not the most shy person, but I’m definitely shyer than when I’m performing as one of these characters. When I was Hook ’Em, I was definitely mischievous.” Hello, alter ego!

Put on that costume, and suddenly you become Tony the Tiger, and the power of character charges your actions with comic intent. That’s when the creativity takes over.

“As Hook ’Em I was always photo-bombing and stealing popcorn. It was never ending fun.”

Mikey took that year of working as a mascot, along with his bachelor’s in Radio-Television-Film, back home to Los Angeles in 2013 and started working on screenplays and trying to make it in Hollywood. It’s the largest of dreams and also the most difficult. While Mikey was writing for free, he had to make money, so he took his mascot skills to—where else, but Disneyland. His Hook ‘Em skills got Mikey in the door, and soon he was playing VIP characters.

“Disney divides everything by height. I was in the Pluto height range, so I got to act like a dog!” I respond with a bark, and Mikey corrects me: “They wouldn’t let us bark. They had authorized sound effects. Every character can make a kiss noise, but Pluto is additionally authorized to make a slurping sound,” as if licking someone’s face.

Mikey starts naming all the characters he played in his five years at Disney: Nick the Sly Fox from Zootopia; Kenai from Brother Bear (a big fluffy Kodiac bear), and Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.

“Eeyore was a great change of pace because as Pluto I was really hyper.” It turns out that sad and slow Eeyore received lots of support hugs. Mikey even got a hug from actor Jack Black, who was there with his children.

Mikey worked a lot at the Story Teller’s Cafe at the Grand Californian Hotel. “The nicest person who came to the restaurant all the time with his grandchildren was Jerry Springer.” One week the hotel was replacing an emergency system, and the alarm would randomly go off in the restaurant, terrifying the patrons. Mikey happened to be playing Pluto at the time and he instinctively started howling at the noise. Instead of being fired for making an unauthorized sound effect, the restaurant manager requested that Mikey stay up front to provide comic relief every time the alarm sounded.

Eventually Mikey moved to Northern California and was immediately hired by Google, working as an alligator, a dream job for a professional mascot. Who knew such a thing was possible? It’s a cartoon life: Clock in, suit up, and comically make sure everyone stays in line because you are the Tail Gator. That Google job lasted an entire year and led to one of his current gigs: Maverick the Sea Turtle for the Santa Cruz Warriors basketball team.

After Covid happened, Mikey moved back to LA and works for Knott’s Berry Farm as Moxy Fox, Castle Park Amusement Park as Duke Dragon, and various events and conventions. “I have done lots of one-off characters over the years,” Mikey says. “I did an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race as purple Tele-Tubbie Tinky Winky.” What a wacky life!

Who knew back in 2009 that Mikey was making a lifetime choice when he first thought about becoming Hook ’Em. It turns out life is full of those kind of choices. It’s what you do with the opportunity that makes it count.