Sometimes timing in life just seems to work out. I was at a juncture of looking for my next “occupation”. After spending 10 years as a professional musician and then another 10 years owning a mortgage brokerage, it was time for something new. It just so happened that at the same time my brother-in-law, Danny, was also exiting a career as the owner of a very successful night club in NYC.
At one of our family holiday events back in 2008 I mentioned to Danny about a business my brother’s best friend had started in California, an indoor trampoline park. Two years later in 2010 that individual had 4 parks either in operation or under construction. So Danny and I took a road trip to check out what it was all about. At that time there were approximately 10 trampoline parks in existence. We visited most of them and were very convinced that this was an extremely unique and successful business model. Here was an indoor sports activity that all ages could participate in and didn’t require a special skill set. We saw every age group from 2-year-olds to 50-year-olds jumping.
We realized, however, that we wanted to make some specific adjustments to what we had seen in these trampoline parks. We wanted to pay more attention to detail in regards to the spectator’s experience, to the parent’s needs. Most of the facilities we saw were very industrial and cold with little regard to color, floor coverings, and overall aesthetics. In addition, we felt there were certain engineering and design elements that needed refinements. So we had a mission: build an indoor trampoline park that appealed not just to those jumping but also to those watching.
We built our first park in Rockland County, NY. I had grown up in Rockland and I knew if I had a facility like Bounce! Trampoline Sports when I was a kid I would have been there every week. So, it’s where we searched for the right space and after finding it, opened our doors in November of 2011 to the first trampoline park in the North East. As of this writing there are now over 500 trampoline parks in the world. We have become a Franchisor and currently have 6 locations in our network. I have found what I believe will be the third and last stage of my career. In my opinion, being in the business of providing fun can’t be beat.
Let’s all take care on Earth Day to give care to those we love, as well as to our communities, cities, states, country and planet.
Finding out the answers to these questions will help you make an informed camp decision.
Each year as summer comes to a close, August’s National Night Out celebrates local community efforts to stop crime and create positive change.