Duo escapes 9-to-5 bubble with venture into soccer
New three-field facility uses boards and netting to keep the ball in play
“I like to have fun, I like to play,” says Thomas Yan, co-owner of the newly opened AT Bubble Soccer venue at Dufferin St. and Steeles Ave. W.
But as a first-generation Canadian who emigrated at age 10, and not coming from wealth, Yan knew he had to make money before he could play for work.
So he spent 10 years working at a bank, bringing home a good paycheque while plotting business ideas with longtime friend Alan Lui.
“We just don’t like the grind of 9to-5,” says Yan.
The duo began entrepreneurship with a foray into landscaping. That was tough: evenings and weekends, they got dirty planting and weeding, often not able to complete projects quickly as they kept their full-time jobs. “It wasn’t for us,” Yan says.
After he got out of banking and became a mortgage broker — which gave him a little bit more flexibility — he and Lui got more ambitious with their ideas.
They heard about escape rooms being huge in Asia and decided to launch one here. They put together AT Escape in a house at Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave. in early 2014 and that’s been a successful venture.
But already, the shine is wearing off: “We knew it would be a trend that wouldn’t last forever, but it’s a good start.”
They knew bubble soccer was getting huge overseas. They’d played a few times, but saw there was a gap in the market: You can rent bubble gear all over the GTA, but you need to then rent a space or play in a park.
They found a warehouse space earlier this year and got it ready for serious bubble play. There are three “fields” at AT Bubble Soccer: two full-sized ones and a smaller one for kids. They’re kitted with hockeystyle boards around the perimeter and there’s netting above. “There’s no more ‘out,’ we keep the ball in play at all times,” says Yan.
Since these guys love to play, they know the sport well enough to design games to share with customers. So an hour at AT Bubble Soccer — which will run you $20 to $25 per person (rates are higher on weekends) — gets you and six to eight pals a fully officiated game of soccer.
But when that tires you out, which it will, the guys have designed several other fun, even ball-free games to fill the time.
At last check, Yan was zipping off to China to talk to some factories about minor issues with his bubble soccer equipment.
While he’s gone, he’ll surely check out the latest overseas crazes. He and Lui have already thought up their next venture, which he’s calling a “new fun thing that Toronto does not have.”