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Marcelo Nylund’s dream cars — a Camaro, Mustang and Mercedes — all have one thing in common: they aren’t the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

“Those three cars, (I) would love them to death, but it’s just different with the Wienermobile,” Nylund said. “Not only do you feel like yourself (when driving the Wienermobile), you feel like you’re impacting so many other people around you, and it is absolutely nuts everytime you drive it.”

Nylund, a recent Syracuse University alumnus, is seven months into his year-long journey across the eastern region of the U.S., with a few stops in the Midwest, in Oscar Mayer’s promotional vehicle, the Wienermobile. He is joined by fellow driver Nicole Sasiela, a DePaul University graduate, in the trek across the region.

Sasiela and Nylund — known as Nicole Slaw and Mustard Marcelo — are two of 12 “hotdoggers” touring with one of six Wienermobiles, which are each 60 hotdogs in length by 24 hotdogs in height. So far, the duo has traveled through about 20 states, stopping in over 100 cities and towns along the way. The Wienermobile came to Syracuse for two reasons, Nylund said: to recruit next year’s drivers and to attend events taking place around the central New York region.

While at SU, Otto the Orange caught up with the Wienermobile. Nylund called the encounter a wonderful collision of two worlds.

“(Otto is) such a beacon of happiness on campus, and the Wienermobile is such a beacon of happiness in general. Having the two combine, the atmosphere was so fun,” Nylund said.

From Syracuse, the duo will continue on their tour of the region by driving for approximately nine hours to Dayton, Ohio. There, the “hotdoggers” are going to attend the Dayton Off Road and Outdoor Expo where they will be spreading smiles to the outdoor community of Ohio, Nylund said.

For Oscar Mayer and the duo who are driving this vehicle around this year, the original intention of the program has come full circle since its inception in 1936. In an attempt to put a smile on people’s faces during the Great Depression, Oscar Mayer’s nephew, Carl Mayer, had the idea of creating a mobile hot dog that could tour the country — thus the Wienermobile was born.

Now, 85 years later, Sasiela thinks that the Wienermobile’s original purpose is once again needed as the country comes out of the years-long battle against COVID-19.

Nylund’s trip to Syracuse in the Wienermobile is his first time back in the city since graduating from SU in 2021.
Arthur Maiorella | Staff Photographer

“The pandemic has caused a lot of hardships for people, and to put a smile on someone’s face when they might need it most is the best part about (the Wienermobile),” Sasiela said.

For SU students who are hoping to become next year’s Wienermobile drivers, applications are due Monday, Feb. 21. Nylund offered some advice for prospective applicants.

“Being your genuine self is a surefire way to show everyone who’s recruiting you to be the best hotdogger you can be,” Nylund said. “If you have good stories that show how personable you can be, how much you’re willing to connect with people you’ve never met … show it in any of the stuff you submit.”

Nylund’s trip to Syracuse in the Wienermobile is his first time back since graduating from SU in 2021. He said that returning in the Wienermobile was a significant introspective moment for him.

“(Coming back was) an awesome look into everything that Syracuse gave me,” Nylund said. “Syracuse gave me so much as a student. It helped me grow so much as a person and to be able to come back and show that if you allow your college experience to impact you in positive ways like it did for me, you could end up driving an American icon.”

Published on February 20, 2022 at 8:07 pm

Contact Nathan: nlfennin@syr.edu