Jumping into a new venture

Pete Bradshaw and Kiele Iverson were making a respectable amount of money as an auditor and marketing analyst, respectively. But their jobs didn’t give them a hop in their step.

Looking to do something more adventurous, the two friends decided to trade in their 9-to-5 jobs and open Get Air Surf City, Huntington Beach’s first indoor trampoline park.

The venue, at 5142 Argosy Ave., is tucked away in a quiet industrial park on the northwest side of town. The company had a soft opening earlier this month and will have its grand opening Saturday.

Get Air Surf City offers various activities, including a dodgeball league, a fitness class and foam pits with video cameras so that people can review their jumps.

“The scariest part for me was walking away from a well-paying job and telling people,” said Bradshaw, 36, who was tired of being the bearer of bad news as an auditor for Ernst and Young.

When co-workers at Ernst and Young asked him if he was leaving to work for a finance firm, he timidly told them no, that he was going to open a trampoline park.

Starting a business was a new path for Bradshaw and Iverson, but they both grew up around trampolines.

Iverson, 27, participated in tumbling when she was 7 years old but said she had always been the type of kid who was climbing on everything.

“My dad sold trampolines my whole life,” Iverson said. “I grew up having at least one trampoline in my back yard.”

For Bradshaw, on the other hand, trampolines were sort of forced on him. In England, where he grew up, everyone in school had to take a gymnastics class for credit.

“We had a trampoline semester. Everyone took it and we didn’t have a choice,” he said. “I bet most kids in England know how to jump with form. Whenever I jump here, people tell me that I point my toes so well.”

With little to no experience in starting a business, Bradshaw and Iverson had to hit the ground running, learning about zoning changes and safety regulations.

The building they moved into was originally zoned for commercial use and had to be changed to public use to accommodate a trampoline park. They also needed to make the facility compliant with American Disabilities Act regulations and safety rules set by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Every support bean in the building is padded, and the floor is cushioned throughout. Additional trampolines are positioned under the foam pits to ensure that guests aren’t hitting a hard surface.

“Safety is the main priority, and that’s what we want to brand ourselves as,” Bradshaw said. “We went over and beyond with this.”

Bradshaw and Iverson said Huntington Beach, with its reputation for sporting events and fun, was a perfect fit for a trampoline park.

The park has been open for only a week and yet their calendars are booked with birthday parties and other events for the next couple of months, the owners said.

With construction finished and the business up and running, Bradshaw and Iverson have time for a little fun of their own.

“Now that that’s behind us, we can get back on track with what we wanted to do in the first place,” Bradshaw said. “We can get back to the fun side of it.”

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If you go

What: Get Air Surf City

Where: 5142 Argosy Ave., Huntington Beach

Hours: 2 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 2 p.m. to midnight Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday.

Prices: $12 for one hour, or $8 for children under 46 inches. Second hour of jumping is $8. The trampoline fitness class is $10.

Information: (714) 916-5815