Work / Sports & Alternate Identities

Modesto Roadsters

Full franchise identity for the Pioneer League's Modesto club: name, mark, mascots, uniforms, launch, and the season that followed.

Client: Modesto Roadsters · Pioneer League
Year: 2025 to present
Discipline: Sports & Alternate Identities

Modesto Roadsters primary identity: Cruiser the Fox at the wheel of a candy-red roadster beneath the Roadsters script — The primary identity

The Challenge: A Clean Slate with a Clock Ticking

The team had already been introduced to the public under one name. But after weeks of community conversations, it became clear that a fresh direction could better honor Modesto's legacy. Dave Heller took that feedback seriously and invited us to help lead the transition.

The vision was already bold. Our role was to bring it into focus, rooted in community, powered by heritage, and built for the long haul.

The Slightly Obsessed Solution: Full-Throttle, Fan-First Branding

From the first call, working directly with Dave Heller was not only efficient but energizing. He respected the process, empowered creative risks, and gave us direct access at every milestone. That trust laid the foundation for one of our most immersive and authentic branding projects to date.

Renaming the Franchise

Introduced the Modesto Roadsters as the new primary identity, an homage to Modesto's car culture and working-class grit
Crafted a full brand story rooted in horsepower, heritage, and heart

The Mark

A custom M mark drawn from midcentury neon signage and diner culture: bright outlines and motion lines, vintage Americana energy. A name that honors the cars that made the town.

The system, not just the logo

The Cast

The Roadsters didn't get a logo with a face stuck on it. They got characters, each with a job to do and a story behind them. What we made for each one is different, so it's worth being precise about it.

Designed by SOS

Cruiser

A San Joaquin kit fox in shades and a leather jacket, behind the wheel of a candy-red roadster. We designed the character and developed his backstory, then delivered a full mascot system (head-only, half-body and full-body) built for merchandise, media and on-field entertainment. His car has a name: Throttle.

Designed by SOS

Crooner

Cruiser's older brother. Former high-school hotshot, talent-show champion, self-proclaimed lounge legend, still working the circuit, still waiting on one more big break. We designed him as a second character in the same world rather than a variant of the first.

Named and cast by SOS

Rally O'Malley

A leprechaun who throws gold coins into the crowd to start a rally. We named the character and selected the person who performs the role. The costume performance is his; the name and the casting are ours.

Crooner and Rally photographed by Haley Wilcox.

Cruiser the Fox at the wheel of the candy-red roadster, the Modesto Roadsters primary identity, used as the title card for the Cruiser’s Roadtrip film — **Cruiser’s Roadtrip.** Shot mostly on a road trip up from Bakersfield, and played on the board before every home game as Cruiser came out through the left-field fence.

Throttle’s eyes: the headlight-eyes of Cruiser’s candy-red roadster, drawn as a standalone mark above the Roadsters script — Throttle got his own mark. The car is a character too.

Cruiser the Fox, full-body: the Modesto Roadsters mascot in shades and a leather jacket — Cruiser, full build, one of three deliverable crops

On the Field

Home and away jerseys with vintage piping, modern tailoring and classic red flourishes. Caps, warmups, team gear and launch-season merch: a full uniform system, not three jersey drawings.

Modesto Roadsters home jersey and cap — Home

Modesto Roadsters alternate jersey and cap — Alternate

The complete Modesto Roadsters uniform system: home, away, alternate and cap variations drawn as one set — Every jersey, cap and alternate, drawn as one set

The Reveal

The official brand reveal launched in November 2025. In the team's press release, Dave Heller shared:

"After the Glow Riders were announced, we did a lot of listening and learned a lot about this community, its culture, and its people. I was blown away by the passion and the pride people here have for baseball, their team, and their history. We owed it to them to hit a home run with the new primary identity, and with the Modesto Roadsters we've hit a grand slam."

The brand gained traction immediately. Fan engagement spiked. Headlines praised the rebrand. And Modesto got a team identity that felt like it truly belonged.

The mark, revealed

The Cruiser the Fox mascot sheet and M mark on a digital display at the reveal — Cruiser, revealed

Reveal night, under the Modesto arch

Faith Fest

When Promotion Became Community

Ownership gave us room to help shape an event rather than just produce graphics for one. We listened closely to what Dave Heller wanted the fan experience to be, and we paid attention to the players, their families, the staff and the people around the club every day.

What came out of it was Faith Fest: A Christian Night Out, on Friday 31 July 2026 at Modern Woodmen Field. Gates at 6:15, first pitch at 7:11. Fastballs, fellowship and fireworks. The Turlock Community Gospel Choir sang before the game, Modesto Downtown Worship played a postgame concert, and Roadsters players shared their testimonies on the field afterward.

Modesto Downtown Worship is the group that made the music happen, and they'll be back. They gather people in the streets of downtown Modesto through the year to sing and pray over the city, at least eighteen ministries by their own count. Bringing that to a ballpark, on a Friday night, in front of a paying crowd, was not a small ask of anyone involved.

The Faith Fest promotional flyer: Modesto Roadsters Faith Fest 2026, A Christian Night Out, postgame concert featuring Modesto Downtown Worship including player testimonies, Friday July 31, fastballs fellowship fireworks — The promotion, as it went out

By the club's own accounting, Faith Fest finished among the top three selling events at Modern Woodmen Field this season. The Roadsters have since committed to a Christian night every month in 2027.

That happened because the community voted with their attendance. Not because of a flyer.

Modesto Downtown Worship performing the postgame Faith Fest set at Modern Woodmen Field: singers, a bass player and a speaker on stage beneath the Welcome to Modern Woodmen Field sign — Modesto Downtown Worship, postgame

Faith Fest was the work of a lot of people: the Modesto Roadsters and Dave Heller, Modesto Downtown Worship and the churches behind it, the Turlock Community Gospel Choir, the performers, the players who chose to speak, and the team staff who ran the night. We helped develop and promote it. We didn't do it.

A Partnership, Not a Launch

The identity going live was the beginning of the work rather than the end of it. Across the 2026 season the brand moved from the logo sheet into the ballpark: merchandise, mascots, promotions, fan experience, signage and environmental work, with us still on it.

Met one-on-one with Dave Heller and VP Corey Gales throughout development, and stayed in contact through the season
Worked in sync with fan sentiment, press coverage, and Pioneer League timelines
Delivered quickly because decisions were made collaboratively, not behind closed doors
Continued with the Roadsters on ballpark wayfinding signage, in-park branding and further creative work

Outcomes

The brand in the real world

Uniforms on the field, merchandise in the store, mascots in the stands, signage in the park, promotions on the schedule. The identity stopped being artwork and became the place.

The We Are Modesto lockup: Cruiser driving the roadster beneath neon-framed WE ARE MODESTO lettering — We Are Modesto: a merchandise line, not a tagline we wrote

Community recognition

"We Are Modesto" is not a line we wrote for a website. It is a Roadsters merchandise item people buy and wear, which is a harder test than any brand guide.

Promotion and fan experience

Faith Fest is the clearest example: a night that started as a promotion and turned into something the club is building a 2027 season around.

Ongoing brand stewardship

We are still working with the organization. That is the outcome we care most about.

The relationship

Somewhere in the middle of all this, the client became a friend. That is not a metric and we are not going to pretend it is one, but it is the reason the work went the way it did.

What About Glow Riders? A Dual Identity Done Right

The Glow Riders identity was not retired. It was repositioned as a secondary brand the team uses on select nights to honor lowrider culture and celebrate local Latino-owned businesses. The dual-brand system lets the team reflect Modesto's diversity while connecting with multiple fan communities across the season.

The Takeaway: Partnership Fuels the Best Brands

The Modesto Roadsters project proves that when team ownership listens, trusts the creative process, and works shoulder to shoulder with its brand partner, the result is something fans can rally behind. It's not just a logo. It's a movement.

Ready to Build a Franchise Identity That Hits Hard and Lasts Long?

Slightly Obsessed Studios turns local passion into brand power. We build minor league brands that fans tattoo on their hearts and wear with pride. If your team needs an identity that drives culture and sells tickets, let's talk.

Let's get obsessed with yours.

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