WILLIAMSBURG — Williamsburg native Jon Wooten recalls watching a national morning show in 2002.
“I was watching a morning show and I saw the athletes doing an interview and they were wearing blank white helmets. For me, that was like looking at a blank canvas. I thought it would be a great opportunity to reach out and offer our services,” Wooten said.
After reaching out to USA Luge in Lake Placid, Wooten was given the green light to paint USA Luge’s helmets into a colorful, patriotic design.
His first helmets debuted at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since then, he has worked with USA Luge on designing the helmets that those representing the country will wear during the Olympic Games.
Designing each helmet begins about six months out from the start of the Olympic Games. Wooten and his team begin by producing a mock-up of the design, which often complements Team USA Luge’s uniforms.
“We’ll base the colors and design off of their uniforms. From that point, we’ll start working on sketches and renderings. USA Luge will then send us a helmet, because what looks good on paper, may not necessarily look good on a helmet. We’ll make a mock-up to show the federation and allow them to make any changes before we dive fully into the project,” Wooten explained.
Wooten says that each helmet takes about 10 hours to paint.
In addition to the time it takes to paint the helmets, Wooten and his team must also adhere to strict guidelines set by USA Luge. Each helmet cannot exceed 36 grams of paint, while lettering cannot exceed 30 square centimeters.
“I’ve never been involved with something that is so technical. Based on the helmet itself, it’s made out of kevlar to protect the athletes’ heads while they are going 90 miles an hour down the luge track. Their helmets are one of the most important pieces of equipment beside the sled that they have. It was challenging to be able to work through and find out how we could make this happen,” Wooten recalled.
While Wooten paints each helmet, his friend Chase McClelland applies the clear coat and David Dye produces the USA and star templates.
“I couldn’t do this without them. It’s a collection of people who make this happen. There is a lot of heart and soul that goes into this whole process,” Wooten said.
Seeing his art on the largest competitive sports stage is something that he says he “still can’t quite wrap his head around.”
Erin Hamlin, who won the bronze medal in 2014, and Chris Mazdzer, who won the silver medal in 2018, both donned helmets that Wooten and his team designed.
“It’s been incredibly inspiring to watch these young athletes develop over the years — from traveling the world to compete, to ultimately standing on the Olympic podium and earning medals,” Wooten said.
Having been a part of the last seven Olympic Games by creating USA Luge’s helmets, Wooten and his team still look forward to the opportunity every four years.
“We still get so excited about doing it. It’s always a very exciting project for us,” he said.
USA Luge will begin its Olympic competition on Feb. 7 at the Cortina Sliding Center.