For one student, carrying the spirit of the 49er is more than just an attitude: It’s a job and a passion.
“Once you put the suit on, you become that character,” said Daniel Abarca, two-time United Spirit Championship winner and senior kinesiology major at Cal State Long Beach.
Abarca is responsible for bringing Prospector Pete, the Long Beach State athletics mascot, to life. Before putting on the suit, he has a pre-game ritual.
“I listen to a Broadway show to make sure I’m full of beans,” Abarca said. “Once at the game, I start listening to Metallica to get myself pumped up.”
And once he’s had a couple of bottles of water or the occasional Monster energy drink to give himself an extra kick, Abarca puts the suit on and goes to work.
As a collegiate mascot, Abarca has competed in the United Spirit Association National Championship three times, earning his first national championship in 2009 — his first-ever mascot competition — followed by a second place finish in 2010 behind the University of California, Los Angeles. He regained his first-place title last weekend in Irvine.
Prior to Pete, Abarca had no mascot experience, but he had a versatile background — musical theater, wrestling coach and fraternity brother — that gave him an advantage.
“Energy, energy, energy”
At home in the Walter Pyramid, Prospector Pete is the spirit of Long Beach State athletics.
Abarca stressed, “Energy, energy, energy,” when performing.
He said he can’t simply hide behind the mask: Energy and dedication are the most important characteristics of being a mascot.
“But once people start recognizing that it’s me in the suit, that’s when it’s really cool,” he said. “It’s really rewarding.”
The concept of acting freely in front of crowds — as if no one is watching — is almost a necessity, according to Abarca.
He said, as a mascot, he must express his true self during the games just as a spectator would during a last second play: Teeth clenched, stomach tightened — all while holding on to the edge of the seat.
“Act nervous, because you really are nervous when watching a game,” Abarca said.
There is a relationship between Pete, the fans and the players that gradually builds up during every play.
Pete performs countless acts — from comical dance moves, courtside sprints and satirical moves directed at opposing teams — to the famous one-armed push-up. The often-anticipated push-up is well respected by a fan base that asks when he doesn’t do it.
Abarca recounted a time when he failed to perform the move. He said one fan shouted, “You didn’t do it!”
“My bad, I was hoping for one more time out,” Abarca responded. “[I] just couldn’t fit [it] in there.”
Gaining the Prospector title
After graduating from high school, Abarca applied to CSULB. It was the only university he applied to.
“I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” he said. “It’s in my family and I always wanted to come.”
Once at CSULB, he decided to apply for mascot after he saw an advertisement.
Abarca also worked at the Nugget, where people began finding out he was the mascot. When word got around of his peculiar position, the Kappa Sigma Fraternity insisted that he join, so he did.
Doing the job
“It’s a job just like anything else,” Abarca said. “I know I need to be there and give 110 percent just like any other job; the only difference is I love what I do. I love going to work.”
Abarca described the rivalry against CSU Fullerton.
“There is real hatred,” he said. “Just as big a rivalry as UCLA v. USC, the Dodgers v. the Giants — whatever you can think of in sports — Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton do not like each other. I need to be prepared to embody that rivalry and that animosity toward their fans.”
Even after five years, the rumbling of the crowd and the chanting of “Long Beach State” still gives Abarca butterflies. Even with the excitement and energy carried on throughout a game, it becomes quite uncomfortable underneath the Prospector Pete suit, Abarca said.
He said there are moments during the games where he goes under the bleachers and takes off the head of the costume to catch a breather.
Abarca, along with a supporting group of friends and fellow staff members, composed a routine called “Pete 90 X,” based on workout regimen P 90 X in order to win his championship.
“That is my Super Bowl,” Abarca said.
The performance consisted of a lot of “cheesy, testosterone-filled infomercials, getting ripped, getting buff and just incorporating a lot of fun.”
“Pete 90 X” also featured spin-offs of the Shake Weight infomercial and the Old Spice character — all portrayed by Abarca. The idea came to him at the campus recreation center. It was an epiphany, Abarca said.
What’s next for Prospector Pete
Abarca said he would soon like to get his teaching credential and become a physical education teacher and a full-time wrestling coach. Then, he said he wants to have his own program and build from there.
The CSULB mascot will consider using his kinesiology degree for a possible résumé submission at the professional mascot level again.
Abarca has been approached by a few potential candidates to replace him in the Prospector Pete suit — some having mascot experience, others having just pure energy, such as a woman from the Monson Maniacs who attends every game at the Pyramid.
However, as far as when he will finally “hang up the pickaxe,” Abarca said that he will continue his work until graduation.
“I think I’ve got one of the best jobs in the world,” he said.
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