The man behind Clutch is reborn, as a dragon
Robert Boudwin is a character — for a second time.
For 21 years, Boudwin was the man behind, and inside, the costume of Rockets mascot Clutch the Bear. He created the character in 1995 and entertained Rockets fans at 1,000 games before leaving the team last year.
As Clutch, Boudwin was twice named the NBA Mascot of the Year and inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2013, he won the award for Mascot Stunt of the Year. That was for the time he bounded up the aisle at Toyota Center and was supposed to smush an enormous, Costco-size chocolate cake in my face — but missed and hit my son. (That might have been the plan all along, but, ssshhhhhhh.)
You can take the man out of the costume, but you can’t take the … you get the idea.
Less than a year after retiring as Clutch, Boudwin is back with a new character. As soon as the costume arrives next week, Boudwin will introduce Newton, Houston’s Smartest Dragon. He’s a blue dragon with glasses, a “clumsy bookworm” with a tail that waddles and a “love for facts and figures.”
As Clutch, Boudwin’s goal was to poke fun at Kobe Bryant and get fans to “scream for the team.” As Newton, Boudwin hopes to inspire elementary school kids to dream big, eat properly, get enough sleep and, most important, “focus at school and listen to your teacher.”
Newton plans to visit Houston elementary schools and spread his love of learning.
“I’ve had a wonderful relationship with HISD for 21 years. Newton will not be related to a company or sports franchise. This time, my only wish is to inspire kids and get them on the right track to college. That’s my message, and the whole idea is to deliver it with humor and entertainment. I call it ‘edutainment.’ If I’m not funny, the kids won’t pay attention to me,” Boudwin said. Why a dragon? “When I decided to do this, of course I had to come up with a character. A dragon seemed like the right choice. I’ve always liked dragons in cartoons and storybooks. I think a dragon is synonymous with creativity and imagination,” Boudwin said. And “Newton?” “I kicked around a lot of names. Einstein came up, but that’s not an easy name for this age group. Newton was suggested by an old friend. I think Newton makes you think of intelligence, being smart,” Boudwin said.
“There are fun things I can do with the story of Sir Isaac Newton, apples falling and gravity in my show. Plus, students have brought apples to teachers forever.” Yeah, brown nosers. This surprised me. How much do you think a mascot costume, a really good one, costs? I guessed “$1,000.”
Boudwin said, “Not even close. A good mascot costume costs between $10,000 and $15,000.”
Newton will be dark blue, with a light-blue tummy and a tail that waddles, but doesn’t drag, on the ground. Orange party blowers will come out of his nostrils. A red party blower will come out of his mouth, like a dragon breathing fire.
A big difference between Newton and Clutch — and practically every other mascot — is that Newton will talk.
“The sound won’t be muffled. I will need to talk to deliver my message about learning,” Boudwin said. “I don’t know if I’ll use my real voice or create a character voice. Right now I’m driving my wife crazy doing all sorts of voices around the house.”
Boudwin said he’s pouring his heart and soul — and the side of his right calf — into Newton. Last week, Boudwin had an image of Newton tattooed on his leg.
I’m surprised he found room for Houston’s Smartest Dragon. Newton was Boudwin’s 97th tattoo.
“But you can only see two, now three, when I’m wearing a T-shirt and shorts. I have Batman on the back on one calf and Superman on the back of the other calf,” he said.
“I have ‘Robert’ inside a heart on my right butt cheek and my last name inside a heart on my left butt cheek.”
I told him, you got your name backwards.
“I know. I got my first name done one year, and decided to do my last name a couple of years later. I tell people that I have a natural comma between the names,” he said.
It took me a second to figure that one out.