Meet the man behind Youppi and other world-famous mascots

You probably won't know the man, but his creations are legendary.

Quebecer Jean-Claude Tremblay makes mascots that are famous the world over, and he makes them from his workshop in Mascouche.

Montrealers may recognize one of his creations: he's big, orange, and lovable.

Youppi, the Expos mascot who was adopted by the Canadiens when the baseball team moved to Washington, was born in 1979. But his early days were tough. He was bulky and he didn't move that well, so the expos brought in Tremblay.

He had been working as an art teacher at a maximum security prison and had just been laid off.

“I was in heaven because when I worked in the prison it was hell," he said.

He didn't just revamp Youppi, he became Youppi when the Expos asked him to perform as the man inside the costume. Tremblay was ecstatic to be putting smiles on so many faces.

“I was like ‘They pay me to do that?’ I had so much fun, but as a businessman, I thought I can make a business out of that,” he said.

Through his company Creations JCT, Tremblay starting selling mascots all over Canada, then the U.S. and even Europe and beyond

Mascots are big business — festivals and corporations often have mascots to soften their image. But their real power is in the sports world.

His team created the Tampa Bay Rays’ mascot Raymond, and the Indianapolis Colts’ mascot, Blue, among others.

“They won the Super Bowl with two of my costumes,” Tremblay said.

Mascots were originally sketched by hand and built out of clay and fiberglass. Now they're designed on a 3d computer and built with acrylics, although many parts are still hand-stitched. They're also built to be washable.

Dominic Tremblay is the next-generation mascot designer who helped modernize the business.

He fell in love with his job 20 years ago when he came in for what was supposed to be a two-week contract with his dad.

“Every day is different, we receive drawings from all around the world and the challenge is to do the mascot just like the drawing. That is a big challenge because you have something in 2D and now you have to bring it to life,” he explained.

The Tremblays don't want to miss any opportunities to put a little more life in the party. The fur may be fake, but the smiles are very real.

“When I see a kid going crazy over a mascot, that's what it's all about,” Dominic said.