From Superfan to Mascot Designer
Database Specialist Jake Gelvar funneled his untapped creativity into a MLP franchise
By The Pickleball Weekly Lifestyle Staff • September 2, 2026 • 7 min read
JAKE GELVAR WAS was sitting at home one day during the offseason, playing around with the Brooklyn Pickleball Team’s logo, when he decided to try something. The Major League Pickleball franchise did not have a mascot, and Gelvar, a devoted fan with a habit of creating things for the team, wondered what would happen if he simply added a face to the existing design.
The first attempt did not exactly scream Brooklyn pickleball. It looked like a beaver.
Gelvar did not see it at first. Then someone pointed out that the arch beneath the bridge resembled buck teeth and the eyes completed the effect. Once he saw it, he could not unsee it. So he went back to work, eventually transforming a casual idea into something much bigger.
“I would say for a non-creative person in his career, I am very creative outside of that.” —Jake Gelvar
Today, Gelvar’s creation is the official mascot of the Brooklyn Pickleball Team. Its front incorporates the team’s black-and-white logo, while its rounded back resembles a pickleball. A full-size version appears at team events, while miniature versions are sold as merchandise. Gelvar still prints every one himself on the 3D printer in his home.
Perhaps the most unlikely part of the story is the person behind it. Gelvar is not a professional mascot designer, graphic artist or sports marketing executive. He studied software engineering and works in technology. His connection to Brooklyn began in the most traditional way possible: as a fan. But Gelvar is not exactly a casual fan.
He traveled to eight MLP events this season, attending every event where Brooklyn competed except the first round of the playoffs in Dallas. Before Brooklyn, he supported the same franchise when it represented Washington, D.C. And before he was designing mascots and T-shirts, he was simply a guy who discovered pickleball with his parents and became immediately addicted.
An Addiction Begins
Gelvar discovered pickleball in early 2020, shortly before the pandemic, when his mother told him about a racquet sport one of her friends was playing at a nearby club.
His first impression was not particularly promising. He remembers seeing players in their 60s and 70s running around with what looked like oversized ping-pong paddles.
“I’m like, ‘Okay, this is kind of weird,’” he recalled. But after hitting a ball himself, his reaction changed. “Oh, this is actually kind of fun. This is kind of neat.”
Gelvar, who had grown up playing soccer and wrestling, signed up for a beginner clinic with his parents, only to have the pandemic shut down the club. When lessons finally resumed later that summer, he was hooked.
“Addiction! Boom, immediate!”
He began playing regularly and entering tournaments. Around 2023, someone at his club mentioned Ben Johns, leading Gelvar to discover professional pickleball. One player led to another, and soon he found Major League Pickleball.
“You got to pick a team!”
Living in the Baltimore area, Gelvar chose the D.C. Pickleball Team, the closest franchise. It would not remain a casual allegiance for long.
“I picked these guys based off of the location, but I actually really like these people. These are all fantastic, wonderful, phenomenal people.” —Jake Gelvar
Choosing the People
Gelvar attended his first MLP event in D.C. in 2024. Before arriving, he messaged the team to announce that its self-proclaimed biggest fan was coming.
“I want to meet you guys,” he remembers telling them. “I swear I’m your number one fan!”
The team responded, and Gelvar soon met team president and COO Adam Behnke, owner Al Tylis, general manager Josh Gartman, coach Kyle McKenzie and the players.
“I picked these guys based off of the location, but I actually really like these people,” Gelvar said. “These are all fantastic, wonderful, phenomenal people.”
Those relationships became important before the 2025 season, when the franchise moved from Washington, D.C., to Brooklyn. Gelvar had to decide whether to stay loyal to the franchise or support the team now representing D.C.
The answer arrived in a text message from a number he did not recognize. It was Rachel Rohrabacher, who got Gelvar’s number because she and her fiancé, Bobby, wanted to see how he was handling the franchise change.
For Gelvar, a professional athlete going out of her way to check on a fan settled the question.
“All right, well, there’s my answer,” he recalled. “Loyalty to the people.”
Gelvar followed the franchise to Brooklyn.
“They take their relationship with the public very, very seriously and with heart,” he said. “It’s not just like business decisions, it’s like people decisions.”
He attended five MLP events in 2025 and eight this season, making it to every event where Brooklyn played except the opening playoff round in Dallas.
Creativity Takes Over
Gelvar soon began channeling his fandom into creative projects for Brooklyn’s players, starting with T-shirts.
During the debate over professional pickleball serve rules, former team member Dekel Bar’s powerful serve frequently became part of the conversation. Gelvar created a “Free the Serve” shirt featuring someone breaking out of prison bars.
When Riley Newman returned to the franchise, Gelvar created “Pancakes Are Back on the Menu,” referencing Newman’s signature pancake grip. For Rohrabacher, he created “Rohr Louder for the Bach,” a play on the spelling of her last name. Jackie Kawamoto inspired “Maui Made Brooklyn Bold,” while Hannah Blatt became the “Kings County Queen Bee.”
For Chris Haworth, Gelvar created “LeBrooklyn Labubu,” inspired by the contrast between the player he saw on and off the court.
“On the singles court, the dude is a monster,” Gelvar said. “I’ve never seen someone hit the ball as hard as he can.”
Away from competition, Gelvar describes Haworth as one of the gentlest people he knows.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s kind of like a Labubu. Kind of demonic, but cute.’”
As the designs accumulated, Gelvar realized he had inadvertently become an idea generator for the franchise.
“I guess I’m becoming this kind of innovation, ideas-kind-of-guy,” he said.
Then came the mascot.
“They take their relationship with the public very, very seriously and with heart. It’s not just like business decisions, it’s like people decisione.” —Jake Gelvar
Building Brooklyn’s Mascot
Brooklyn presented an unusual mascot challenge. Its existing logo, adapted from the former Brooklyn Aces identity, incorporated the Brooklyn Bridge but did not have an obvious character attached to it.
“All right, we don’t have a mascot,” Gelvar remembered thinking. “What happens if I just slap a face onto this logo and see what it looks like?”
The beaver-like first version did not survive, but the idea did.
Gelvar found a 3D hockey puck model online and, despite not being a 3D designer, figured out how to add arms, legs and his newly created face. But the shape still was not right.
“I don’t really like how it’s a little too puck-y,” he said.
The Pickleball Lifestyle Staff chronicles the culture, personalities, trends, and experiences shaping life beyond the pickleball court. With contributors who cover everything from celebrity news and community events to fashion, wellness, food, and entertainment, the team is committed to capturing the lifestyle that continues to fuel pickleball’s global growth.
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