Firstly, a big thanks to you, our reader, for taking the time to check out our site.
You’ve probably arrived here out of curiosity–perhaps not really knowing what an escape room is.
Or maybe you’re a seasoned room escapee, eager to try out Sydney’s latest rooms.
Whatever leads you to the fanciful world of Escape Rooms, I’m so so happy you’re here. For those of you playing catch up, you can read all about Escape Rooms here.
From First-Time Escapee to Fanatic, Overnight.
I had my first taste of an escape room three months ago. A group of friends and I took ourselves along to a really great one in Sydney’s CBD – Paniq Room Sydney at The Rocks. Owners, Martina and Akos were great hosts. They explained what we could and couldn’t do, were helpful when we needed clues and allowed us to see the game in more detail once our time was up. (This blog’s featured image is courtesy of their Facebook page).
From that first day, I’ll be the first to admit I was hooked.
I remember the excitement I felt after our time was up. We didn’t escape the room in time, but it was still the.most.fun I’ve had in a long while.
I vividly remember whispering–as loud as I could–to my partner, Frank, “THIS IS IT! THIS is what I want to do!!”
Seeing the Vision of an Escape Room for Myself.
We sat there for what felt like hours after our escape, talking about the puzzles and the impressive amount of creative detail that went into the theme.
We reflected on what each player did well, and how we worked together so effortlessly, communicating and voicing our opinions as we worked through the puzzles.
Fast forward to 3:00 am and I found myself up, wide awake, grinning from ear to ear.
I set to work reading and researching everything I could about Escape Rooms. I looked at other peoples websites. I read the reviews. I poured over every blog I could, from the ones here in Sydney, to people raving about the quality of Escape Rooms over in Europe, England and across Asia.
I started to imagine that there could be a community of people who travel and do Escape Rooms around the world.
Believing that, if there was, I would pack my family up in a suitcase to be a part of it.
I started dreaming of the day when Escape Room owners would get together and put on something like a Mega Escape Room, or an obstacle course for those who want to be locked in a puzzle-packed room for longer. Or for those who might like to try numerous themes back to back, testing teams from all over the world to escape the room in record time.
From Vision to Reality in Sydney’s West.
That one magical night led to events that eventually brought Frank and I here–almost about to open Sydney’s Eleventh Escape Room in the heart of Parramatta.
For the last 3 months, we have searched endlessly for the perfect space to lease, spending hours purchasing props, puzzles, latches and padlocks. We’ve tried out every last Escape Room in Sydney, going back and forth on ideas for our logo and our website.
As locals of Parramatta, we’ll admit that yes–there’s great places to eat on Church street. But there’s not really much else to do for young adults in the area.
Frank and I really want to bring something unique and memorable to the community; one that we know will draw families and friends closer, and bring a little known spark of fun and excitement to the often mundane everyday.
A Little Thanks to Those That Helped Our Dream Along.
A few people we want to mention for helping us get to where we are include:
- Our amazingly talented website designer, Tess, from TNP Creative, who worked tirelessly to get our logo, the layout of our website and our print materials exactly how we envisioned it.
- Super cool and extremely gifted duo, Kat and Nina, from Hello Developers, who coded and developed our website.
- Patrick Holcombe, from Douglas Fir Design, who is creating custom puzzles for us!! He is a true artist and such a creative genius!!
- My brother, Jonathan, for mapping a successful path for our first 2 years with his fantastic strategic insights and forward-planning. When he’s not helping us, he’s studying to be a director at Sydney Film School and will one day be making blockbuster hits on the big screen.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Jim Carrey in his address to a group of 285 students at Maharishi University (the whole speech can be found here). One line in particular had an immense impact on solidifying Frank and my leap of faith, if you will.
“You can fail at what you don’t want,
so you might as well take a chance
on doing what you love”
We sold our previous business–our main (and only) source of income–and followed a path which we believe will truly inspire fun and excitement back into people’s lives.
We’d love it if you, your family and friends came down and said hello and through our rooms and the detail we’ve poured into our themes, we hope to inspire you to follow your dreams too.