Jumping into a new business venture
A boutique trampoline park has central Auckland residents jumping for joy. Health and fitness specialist Ezra Fantl sat down with reporter Lauren Priestley to talk about how the new business has put a bounce in his step.
Tucked away behind the Grey Lynn shops is a room made of trampolines – and Ezra Fantl wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.
Uptown Bounce, the latest trampoline park to open in New Zealand, set up shop just over three weeks ago.
Fantl joined forces with his mother, brother and another business partner to start the initiative after seeing the way the fun parks were blowing up worldwide.
And the atmosphere is electric, he says.
‘‘Everyone is coming in to have a really good time.
‘‘It’s their highlight of the week so there’s a lot of smiles.
‘‘They’re at their most excited and it brings you up, definitely.’’
The health and fitness world is where Fantl feels most at home.
The Ponsonby resident played basketball in the United States after high school before working for Les Mills International.
Co-owning a business is no easy feat when you’re 26 years old and Fantl is putting in 12-hour days to get Uptown Bounce on its feet.
He wrote the programme for the venture’s first fitness class on February 17.
‘‘You’re working out hard without realising it, that’s the biggest thing. I’m always looking for something to make people healthier.
‘‘This is basically just getting people of all ages moving.’’
Central Auckland is familiar territory to Fantl after growing up in the area.
The business popped up quickly after the partners found the perfect venue – the old Civic Video premises at 565 Great North Rd. A quick trip to Australia in November to research other trampoline parks cemented the idea, he says.
Uptown Bounce is a ‘‘boutique’’ park which is a lot smaller than parks around the world with a real focus on design, Ezra says.
A cafe has been included for parents to relax in while their kids hit the trampolines.
Residents living in surrounding areas can get a ‘‘hood’’ discount to use the facility, he says.
‘‘We’re local, we’ve known this space for a long time.
‘‘It’s an awesome location and we saw the high ceilings and these trampoline parks have been blowing up all over the world ... It all happened so quickly but it’s working.’’
Go to uptownbounce.co.nz.