NEWS

Life Off the Pitch with Rugby ATL’s Chance Wenglewski

Chance Wenglewski arrived at Rugby ATL fresh out of college. Finishing his Bachelor of Art in Graphic Design at Lindenwood University, where he also achieved Collegiate All-American honors, Chance has been using the techniques that earned him a degree, to help Rugby ATL.

Crediting his artistic prowess to his mother and her side of the family, his first piece of work for MLR was to decorate the Rugby ATL team office in Sandy Springs. More recently he has gotten to put a design on a 30ft wall in office too, showcasing more of his talent for his club.

“We have this giant, 30ft wall, a wooden wall and had the opportunity to do a giant mural of a snake on it, so I took full advantage of that,” Chance said. “I spent a nice week on it, had to get one of those cherry pickers to get up to the 30ft mark, but that was a blast. Had some help from few friends and got the job done, which was really nice.”

At the start of August, Rugby ATL unveiled their secondary logo. Nicknames RATLER, the new logo is a snake, poised to strike with its fangs exposed. An instant hit on social media, it was Chance and fellow player Ryan Britain who designed the logo, adding more identity to the side moving into their second year of MLR.

“I think it speaks to what we are trying to represent here at ATL,” Chance, who played for the Eagles at last Fall’s Rugby World Cup in Japan, said. “We just collaborated, trying to make something that came across fierce, but at the same time was tangible to the Rugby ATL audience and fans.

“We are already getting this tag of being called the ‘RATLERS’ because of Rugby ATL, it just made sense to call it that. We took in the voice of the fans and we really wanted to grasp the whole entity of Atlanta and what we are built on with this idea of shedding our skin, building from the past, growing, not just as a brand, but as a professional rugby team here in the city of Atlanta.”

ATL were certainly not shy in their shortened first year of professional rugby. Winning two of their five games played, Atlanta ran the Toronto Arrows and Old Glory close, impressing many with their expansive style of play and looking relatively unfazed by the transition to MLR. With several players chipping in to the effort off the field, Chance is grateful for the opportunity to use his talent to aid the team.

“At the end of the day, it is very much a learning experience for everyone because we are just getting done with our first year of MLR and there are opportunities to grow the game,” Chance said. “But also, in our headquarters, making it look as professional as possible, but at the same time having a great time doing it.

“This opportunity has allowed me to, first off, express myself in ways that I wouldn’t get to in the real world. Sometimes you might need a permit to tag up the side of a highway. You probably wouldn’t get to do that.

“Here at Rugby ATL I have that free way to express myself if need be. I can just shoot some ideas by Kev (McCorry, Vice President of Operations) and other members of the management to make some of my dreams become a reality. Just like everyone else here.”

You can take a look at Chance’s work by looking at his Instagram and follow Rugby ATL on social media too.