Bolts source Pride puck design from local artist, Chad Mize

On Tuesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning will host its sixth annual Pride Night at AMALIE Arena to celebrate inclusion and support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Fans attending Tuesday's game will see various Pride initiatives throughout AMALIE Arena, including the sale of special Pride pucks, with artwork commissioned by local artist Chad Mize, who was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but spent the majority of his childhood in Bradenton, and now resides in St. Petersburg.

Mize has lived in St. Pete for 20 years and designed a multitude of murals and art seen throughout the greater Tampa Bay area and beyond. This will be his second time working with a professional sports team, after he designed two different hats for events hosted by the Tampa Bay Rays over the past few seasons.
Mize's artwork can be found all throughout Florida, including murals painted at the Vinoy Hotel, Park and Rec, Tropicana Field, Disney Springs, Cycle Brewing, the St. Pete Fairgrounds, and many other areas.
In total, Mize has painted nearly 100 murals in the Tampa Bay area alone. Most of them are in St. Pete and not all of them are street murals. Some of his designs are found inside offices, restaurants or even residential homes.
For Mize, Tuesday's Pride Night at AMALIE Arena holds a special place in his heart. Identifying as a gay male, Mize is hopeful that nights like Tuesday can help people see the LGBTQ+ community for what they are - human beings.
"I think that when more people do a Pride Night, it just makes it more normal," Mize said. "It's even like seeing TV shows with characters that are gay. We're all people. We're all human.
"I feel like if we could just normalize it, it's not such a big deal. We're all just trying to live on this Earth and love one another."
Mize submitted six different puck designs for the Lightning to choose from, but had one particular design he was hoping would get selected. When he sent the designs over, he placed his favorite at the top of the list and, sure enough, that was the puck that was chosen.
"Whenever I present, the one I like most is always the first one," said Mize with a laugh. "That would probably be the one that I wanted them to pick. So, luckily, I think they picked the one that I wanted."
The puck design features elements that look very similar to that of Keith Haring, a gay American artist who rose to prominence with his graffiti-inspired art in New York City during the 1980s.
Now in his late 40s, Mize grew up idolizing Haring, but always had a fear of coming out as gay. Today, he sees himself as someone who can stand up for those who may be in the same position that he once was. Additionally, since coming out, Mize feels that he's been able to truly be authentic and that's been reflected in his artwork.
"As a kid, I never wanted to be identified that way," said Mize. "But as I've gotten older, I feel like I can be a voice for who I am and for my people, per se. It's exciting just to be able to showcase my work in that way.
"As an artist, you want to express yourself, and when you're hiding something throughout your life, you can't be 100% authentic. I think, once I came out, I could really be free with my art and who I was.
"Thankfully, I think we're in an entirely different state of the world now, in terms of being out. It's a lot more common for high school kids to come out. In my generation, nobody was doing that. It's just a different time to live, so it's great to see that going in the right direction."
With his art on full display Tuesday night, Mize hopes a positive impact is created. With all of his art, the goal is simple - generate positivity.
"My goal for tonight and always with my art is to create a positive impact," Mize said. "I don't really do dark art. There's almost always an underlying humor element to my work. I just want it to create some kind of positive impact on others.
"I truly believe I had to come into my own to realize what my gift was and what I was really good at. That didn't really happen for me until I came out. That's when you're natural, and that's when things should be easy for you - when you're truly being yourself."
The Lightning will have numerous promotions throughout the game to highlight Pride Night, including the 50/50 Raffle, presented by Moffitt Cancer Center. The proceeds will go to designated local non-profits within the Tampa Bay LGBTQ+ community. The 50/50 Raffle will run until the beginning of the third period and is available to fans at
www.bolts5050.com
.
Lightning players will again tape their sticks with rainbow-colored Pride tape for morning skate and warmups. Pride-taped sticks will be auctioned off to benefit local LGBTQ+ organizations via the Lightning Foundation. The auction for rainbow-taped sticks will run until March 17 and is available at
boltspride.givesmart.com
. The Lightning's Bolts Silent Auction for the game on March 7 will also feature Pride-signed items and can also be found at
boltspride.givesmart.com
. Various Pride Night merchandise will also be available at Tampa Bay Sports.
Chase will distribute 1,000 Pride sunglasses to the first 1,000 fans at the Chase Entrance at Gate C via the Publix Plaza. Additionally, a limited supply of Pride Mystery Pucks, with artwork commissioned by Mize, will be available for sale starting at 6 p.m. at
bolts.Givesmart.com
. For every mystery puck sold, Florida Blue will make a $10 donation to Equality Florida. Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community. Please visit
https://www.eqfl.org/
for more information.
Pride Month is part of the NHL and NHLPA's joint Hockey Is For Everyone year-round initiative. To join the conversation, use the hashtag #HockeyIsForEveryone or #NHLPride. For more information, visit
NHL.com/Pride
.