By GREGORY ZELLER //
A rookie sensation is making a splash at Citi Field this season, but it’s none of the heralded core of future Mets superstars.
Japanese import Kodai Senga is off to a strong start on the mound, all-world catching prospect Francisco Alvarez has cracked the Major League roster and budding Triple-A studs like Brett Baty and Ronnie Mauricio are champing at the bit – but they’ll each have to perform pretty well to pace Dan Abrams.
No, not that one – this Dan Abrams is the solopreneur behind Commack-based Athlete Logos, which started as a hobby and blossomed quickly into a registered LLC (and full-time gig for the founder) with an eye-popping list of professional organizations and athletes in Abrams’ virtual Rolodex.
The graphic designer is an ace in every sense, though don’t expect him to hurl seven scoreless innings.
Abrams, who earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at now-defunct Briarcliffe College, is an expert in “sports vector illustrations,” which combine his genuine love of sports with vector art, a type of digital illustration that eschews pixels for mathematical formulas and geometric shapes.
Turning that passion into a paycheck took some time. After earning his degree, Abrams spent more than a decade in the corporate world, designing packaging, user manuals, tradeshow graphics and marketing materials for a cellphone company.
Dan Abrams: Art lover.
It was “a very bland but well-paying job,” he told Innovate Long Island, and while the tedium of it might have driven another creative soul to the brink of surrender, it spurred this one to action – though not necessarily into entrepreneurism, at least not at first.
According to Abrams, his colorful spins on athletic lore began as “a creative outlet for me, with no intention of making it a business.”
“I wanted to do something to combine my love of graphic design and sports for fun,” he added.
Instead, the artworks found their way primarily onto social media sites. But they caught on fast, and “after about two years, I started taking on freelance clients in the industry,” Abrams said.
Add some old-fashioned hustle – “Showcasing my abilities and tagging teams and athletes put my work in front of some decision-makers,” he noted – and the graphic designer was soon a freelance force.
Like a high school phenom rocketing to the pros, Abrams built an increasingly impressive client base with record speed, quickly landing gigs with the NBA, the NHL, the PGA Tour and videogame titan EA Sports – and also attracting the attention of individual professional athletes via LinkedIn, Instagram and other social platforms.
Among the stars stacking his private-customer lineup: New York Jets cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, oft-traveled MLB infielder Dee Strange-Gordon and Mets slugger Pete Alonso.
Light touch: Abrams’ creations range from hats and shirts to posters and neon signs.
“The athletes who really stand out … are usually the ones who were very kind to me, either via direct message or promoting my work on social media,” Abrams noted. “I am forever indebted to them for their help and support.”
Now add Senga to the list. When the pitcher – a veteran of Nippon Professional Baseball but an MLB rookie – made his Citi Field debut last week, fans enthusiastically waved specially made “Ghost” signs created by Abrams in honor of the Japanese hurler’s legendary “Ghost Fork” screwball.
“When Senga first signed in the offseason and I heard about his pitch, I knew there was a design to be made,” Abrams noted. “I started off with a neon ‘Ghost Fork’ logo and had a neon sign created and sent to [spring training] upon his arrival.
“He was very appreciative and shouted me out on Instagram when he received it,” the artist added. “Since then, I have created multiple Senga or ‘Ghost Fork’ designs and I always make sure to send some to him.”
One of a kind: Athlete Logos has cultivated clients across the professional-sports realm.
The Opening Day placards – which wound up flashed repeatedly across TV screens – were actually a bit of an afterthought.
“A fan asked me if he could print out some signs with the logo and bring it to Kodai’s first start at Citi Field,” Abrams noted. “He was captured on camera [after] each strikeout.”
That kind of promotion – part word-of-mouth, part serendipity, all skill – perfectly summarizes Abrams and Athlete Logos, which finally began selling custom-designed apparel to the general public last year, six years after the artist started vectoring his vibrant creations.
If there’s a lesson for other graphic artists in his rapid rise through the ultra-competitive industry, it’s a two-parter, according to Abrams.
“If they’re looking to land a job, I’d say to be very well rounded and learn a variety of different abilities, like web design, animations and photo-retouching,” the graphic artist noted. “However, if they want to have their own business or be known for something, I’d give them the exact opposite advice.
“Pick whichever skillset you really love and are the most passionate about and try to be the best in the world at that,” Abrams added. “It will take a long time and a lot of effort, but … it’s easier to be successful at one specific thing than a broad range of skills.”
Great article athlete logos always has creative and professional graphics 👏👏👏👏👏