Mike Becker is all about fun.
It’s the way he leads his life. It’s also in his job title and in the name of the mega-successful company he created.
Becker is Chief Officer of Fun for Funko, the pop culture business that makes and sells collectible figures and everything from games to coffee mugs, clothes to backpacks.
Although Funko is headquartered in Everett, Wash., it has strong ties to the San Diego community that Becker calls home.
“I love it,” he said.
Those ties will be on display Friday and Saturday when Funko takes over the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park for a Halloween “Mask-O-Raid” event.
Becker is the host of the event, which will include exhibits of vintage Halloween costumes and masks from his own collection, a mystery pop figure giveaway, a costume contest with prizes, music, food and refreshments and more.
The event is now in its third year and organizes expect it to attract 400 people each night this weekend, said Becker.
Tickets are $125 and benefit the non-profit museum and its education center.
For Becker, it’s a way to celebrate his favorite holiday. A self-described “true weirdo,” he said he’d dress up in costume every day if he could, adding that Halloween “allows you to be foolish and have fun without feeling awkward about it.”
But the event is also a way to give back to the community that he has called home for the last 14 years.
“We have an over twenty-year relationship with San Diego Comic-Con, which includes San Diego Comic-Con Museum,” said Becker.
The company’s sought-after products represent in-demand brands in pop culture, from Star Wars to Harry Potter to Marvel comics. Funko draws huge lines at the annual San Diego Comic-Con and other conventions.
Of the company’s success, Becker said: “What it represents is a feeling more than a product.”
Funko previously had an office in Coronado, but now Becker works with about two dozen people at a Funko office near downtown San Diego.
The San Diego office is known in corporate circles as Funko South and it screams fun with an employee lounge that includes a putting green, ping pong and pool tables, a row of pinball machines and collectibles and memorabilia in nearly every corner of the office.
It’s a long way from Funko’s beginnings in Redmond, Wash. in 1998, when Becker started the company. The first collectible he created was a Bob’s Big Boy bobblehead. He would eventually sell the company, but is still heavily involved in Funko.
Becker, now 60, said San Diego’s proximity to Los Angeles makes it’s easier to attend meetings. And he likes to walk around Balboa Park, SeaWorld or the San Diego Zoo to spark his creativity.
“I just get inspiration from being in this town,” he said.
That inspiration has led to a company with loyal fans who are described as Funko Fanatics.
“It’s the most amazing community of people giving, loving,” Becker said. “I’ve been so touched by stories and the love and the kindness and the friendships.”
He’s looking to return that love to the fans at this weekend’s event.
“Friends and family and fun, and in this case, frightening fun,” said Becker. “It’s just a fun night.”
As of Thursday, tickets for the event were still available on the museum’s web site.
Originally posted 2023-10-27 00:42:51.