Algonquin man founds world's first HoverPark in West Dundee

Brad Garlin's four children once teased him because he didn't know what a hoverboard was, let alone how to ride one.

They can’t tease him anymore.

The Algonquin man not only learned to ride a hoverboard – secretly practicing in his basement for a month – but has founded what is believed to be the world’s first official park for hoverboards.

With what Garlin described as the “world’s largest hoverboard” serving as a front desk, HoverPark opened in December in West Dundee, offering timed race tracks, as well as training with harnesses to prevent falls for beginners.

The park, which shares space at 999 W. Main St. (Route 72) with Garlin’s partnering business, LifeZone 360 sports complex, provides all the hoverboards, along with required helmets and optional padding, such as wrist, knee and elbow pads.

For more experienced riders, a netted HoverHoops area gives riders the chance to play basketball, dodgeball and other sports on the boards. And Garlin plans to create some sort of skill-based test for advanced riders to be able to take on ramps and other challenges.

Does Garlin now consider himself advanced? Within the first day of his children – ages 8, 10, 12 and 14 – riding hoverboards, they were much better at it than him, he said.

Still, he said, “If there was a 40 and older group, I think I’d be very competitive.”

Garlin thought of the idea for the park while waiting for autographs with his children after a Cubs game in the summer of 2015. Starlin Castro rode out on a hoverboard.

The more he looked into it, the more he realized people couldn’t really ride hoverboards much in the winter, and riding them around kitchens or driveways gets old, not to mention dangerous. Go straight down a street too long, and you might find yourself speeding up quicker than you think, hitting bumps or running into other obstacles, he said. Plus, racing side-by-side on the hoverboards simply is too risky.

“Once you get a board, you kind of eventually need something else to do with it,” HoverPark general manger Brian Wright said.

HoverPark uses unique software created specifically for the park with riders timed on six tracks, their times displayed and rated fastest to slowest on computer monitors. So far, Garlin’s 12-year-old son Joey has the fastest time. Anyone who can beat him gets $200 in gift certificates, Garlin challenged.

He’d love to see HoverPark expand to other cities, even countries.

“It would be so cool if you could say, ‘Dude, that guy in Japan just beat you,’ ” he said.

For those who’ve never tried a hoverboard, HoverPark offers a free 15- to 20-minute trial using a harness system. Basically, latched into a harness connected to a zipline, you can’t really fall. And odds are, within the first few minutes on the board, you’re going to stumble a bit. It’s those first few minutes that are the trickiest.

“That’s when falls happen,” Wright said. “After that, they’re off and running.”

He and others involved with HoverPark, including the park’s chief technical officer Rob Abraham of Lake in the Hills, say they have yet to see anyone not be able to ride after undergoing the free harness training.

Most go on to buy a session, which costs $20 for an hour's worth of riding. The cost includes use of the hoverboard, and rides start on the hour. (A Tuesday special offers riding for $10 an hour. The park also offers party packages starting at $10 a person.) The park takes walk-ins, but reservations are recommended at www.hoverpark.com or 224-236-4687.

As for reports across the country of hoverboards catching on fire due to faulty batteries, Garlin said he offers top-of-the-line boards only. The Swagtron T1 and T5 boards are UL certified, meaning they’ve been inspected by one of several companies approved to perform safety testing by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The 30 to 40 boards used at the park all are charged overnight daily for 12 hours, and there have been no issues, Wright said.

With even floors and padding, the park has yet to experience any injuries. When they first opened, visiting paramedics predicted the fire department would be on speed dial, Wright said.

So far, a rider as young as three and a 75-year-old grandmother have ridden hoverboards at the park, with many people epeating visits.

“Initially, we all thought it was going to be a bunch of young kids,” Wright said. “What we’re seeing in the past couple weeks are families, kids, parents, grandparents.”

When the park first opened, it was believed riders should be at least seven years old, but they’ve figured out along the way it’s more of a weight limit. It’s now recommended riders weight at least 45 pounds and no more than 215 pounds. Though, again, Wright said he never thought the three-year-old would be able to do it, but the kid was off and running.

“Kids leave here happy. They want to come back,” Garlin said.