Misfit Lab Skate & Snowboard Park Coming Soon!

UPDATE: As of September 22, 2011, MISFIT LAB has been officially APPROVED by the City of Fenton. This means that once they finish the building & construction, they’ll be able to open for business!

Last week I had a chance to chat with Shaun Hamilton who along with his wife Tera, is developing the Misfit Lab Skate & Snowboard park opening soon in Fenton, Michigan. Here’s the scoop on what to expect and when they’ll be opening.

Shaun & Tera, owners of Misfit Lab in the middle of the pic

When will Misfit Lab open?

In the works for over a year, Misfit Labs has faced challenges that all small businesses face: financing, real estate/leasing deals, business plans, zoning boards, etc., but most importantly, Hamilton says they have not had to fight city hall, “Not once did anyone ever say ‘This isn’t going to happen’. They (the City of Fenton and the DDA) have been very supportive.”

There are still a few I’s to dot and T’s to cross (and some ramps to finish building!) before Misfit Lab can open for business, but Shaun has an aggressive timeline: they hope to open as early as mid-October, and definitely intend to open before there is any snow on the ground in Michigan.

What jib features will be at Misfit Lab?

“If I don’t build a good park, I lose everything”, he tells me. Shaun knows he’s going to have to be creative for the Lab to succeed, because nobody is going to pay to come hit the same 2 features every day. So his plan involves a variety of changeable, moveable jibs so that they can always be creative with the setup and rotate features in and out.

Architectural drawing of proposed plans for Misfit Lab (via Facebook)

Some of the features he described include a 45ft long 12″ OD corrugated pipe, a few 2.5″ 8-10ft handrails, a 4ft x 6ft x 8ft spine feature. They will also have a flatland area where n00bs will be able to get the feeling for locking in to jibs on balance beams and other similar features as well as a trash can lid homage to Travis Parker’s part in Afterbang (fast-forward to about 8m35s).

Misfit Lab will be more than just a jib park

Misfit will also operate a skate park but I’ve focused only on the indoor snowboard facility which is the first of its kind in Michigan. In addition to the freestyle free-for-all, Misfit Lab is also planning to offer classes and training sessions where you can get expert advice and tips to progress your freestyle riding. There will also be a skate/snow retail shop.

The most exciting feature to me is the foam pit. Yes. Foam pit. There will be a trampoline and a 20ft x 20ft foam pit/kicker to practice jumps. This is not something that you can set up in your backyard, and it provides a relatively safe environment to practice hucking your spins.

More information?

I’m looking forward to getting out there in the next few weeks, lend them a hand with setup/construction, etc. and get some pictures of the park before it opens for business. Of course as soon as I hear anything newsworthy or have info to share, I’ll share it.

Otherwise, you can follow Misfit Lab on facebook or contact via email: misfitlab@yahoo dot com.