1. The Economics of Auto
Belays
Kendra Eliason & Bill Carlson
May 30, 2015
2. WELCOME!
Thank you for joining us today!
We apply innovative technologies to bring new adventure recreation
equipment to the climbing, zip line, adventure and amusement industries.
Head Rush products make adventure activities safer, while increasing
throughput and enhancing customer experience.
We’re best known for our application of eddy current braking technology in
products such as our TRUBLUE Auto Belay, the zipSTOP Zip Line Brake and
the QUICKjump Free Fall Device.
Kendra Eliason
National Sales Representative
Bill Carlson
Director of Channel Sales
3. OVERVIEW
• Cost Of Auto Belays
• ROI Potential
• Level of Entry to Your Gym
• Setting Yourself Apart
• Volume of Auto Belays Matter
• Effect on Gym Hours
5. COST OF AUTO BELAYS
INITIAL COST
– Why our product costs what it does
• Self-regulating system
• Fail to safe design
• No sacrificial wear bearings, brake pads, or clutch
mechanisms
• Free belay gates with new orders for CWA members
– Only company to address solution for clipping in.
– All major wall builders are Head Rush
distributors
6. COST OF AUTO BELAYS
RECERTIFICATION
– Why important
• Auto Belays are life safety devices
• It is essential that they are inspected on a yearly basis
– What does this cover
• Inspection of all components within the auto belay.
• Inspection of webbing and attachment points
REPLACEMENT WEBBING COSTS
– Similar to cost associated with replacement
rope.
8. AUTO BELAY ROI
How many new memberships do you need to
pay for auto belays?
– Do the math
• Recommend 5-10 Auto Belays x $2,195
= $10,975 to $21,950
• Average monthly membership $70 x 12 months
= $840 per year
– Total Number of new memberships to pay for
Auto Belays in one year
= 13 to 26
– We are confident you can gain more!
9. AUTO BELAY ROI
“Trublue has helped to improve gym operation efficiency dramatically from the point of
check-in to climbing. We are a smaller, family owned and operated climbing facility, we
typically have fewer staff to cover essential tasks and responsibilities throughout the gym. By
using Trublue auto belays we have been able to reduce the amount of time needed to get our
customers climbing quickly and safely. This translates to less staff needed to operate our
business and money saved in labor costs.”
- Andy Straton
Escalade Gym, Georgia
11. LEVEL OF ENTRY TO YOUR GYM
LOWER SKILL LEVEL ENTRY
– Newer climbers more likely to climb using auto
belays
– New climbers with a sense of accomplishment
likely to become regular climbers
12. LEVEL OF ENTRY TO YOUR GYM
“Kids and families love Trublue auto belays. In fact, we frequently have families arrive at
our facility just to climb the Trublue auto belays. They love the fact that they do not
need help from a guide staff member to climb by themselves. Kids can race each other
up the walls and do not need Mom and Dad to belay them. Parents can sit by, relax and
watch their children have a blast.”
- Andy Stratton
Escalade Gym, Georgia
13. LEVEL OF ENTRY TO YOUR GYM
“The TrueBlue auto belays have helped Mesa Rim meet the diverse needs of our
community from first time walk in users to seasoned climbers without a partner …Also,
the general public can more easily walk in and try climbing before committing to a
lesson.”
- Ian Mcintosh
Mesa Rim, California
15. SETTING YOURSELF APART
Set yourself apart from competition
– Auto belays have become standard equipment
– Customers expect to see auto belays
– Invest in your gym with result on long term
customers
– “Imagine you go to your local fitness center and
there are no treadmills”
16. SETTING YOURSELF APART
“Everything about the TB's user interface is easy and welcoming to use. From watching
a first timer reluctantly let go and learn to trust the lowering mechanism for the first
time, to the local 5.13 crushers up and down climbing routes with the TB there as a
safety backup to get their workout on…besides, prolonged up and down climbing is
torture to a human belayer!”
- Joshua Livasy
Urban Rocks, Tennessee
18. VOLUME OF AUTO BELAYS MATTER
MORE VARIATION IN TERRAIN
– Can handle all skill levels
• Slab
• Crack
• vertical
– Every route has an opportunity to:
• Auto belay
• Top rope
• lead
19. VOLUME OF AUTO BELAYS MATTER
“One of my favorite endurance workouts is traversing the gym. I begin on the climbing walls
and work my way into the boulder. As I'm moving through the taller climbing walls and come
up on a TB Autobelay--without coming off the wall, I easily clip into my belay loop (double
check myself!) and up and down climb each of the routes on that particular Auto-Belay line
(typically 3-4 routes of varying difficulty), once all the routes have been climbed I unclip the
autobelay and move on with the traverse until the next autobelay. Our gym has 7 TB
autobelays. This gets the pump running thick when I finally finish traversing the main walls
and move into traversing the boulder. It's nice to switch up the left to right monotony with
some vertical movement as well.”
- Joshua Livasy
Urban Rocks, Tennessee
20. VOLUME OF AUTO BELAYS MATTER
PROGRAMMING
– Birthday parties
• More attendees
• Less staff
• Better experience for younger attendees
• Lower overhead for solid revenue potential
21. VOLUME OF AUTO BELAYS MATTER
“Birthday Party's and Group's at our gym come with staff belayers, and having TB's
create a better flow to parties in addition to those staff belayers. Parent's love the ease
of clipping their child in with minimal training and not having to belay which leaves
their hands open to snap photo's of their children having the time of their life!”
- Joshua Livasy
Urban Rocks, Tennessee
22. VOLUME OF AUTO BELAYS MATTER
PROGRAMMING
– Group events
• Scout groups
• School groups
• Corporate groups
23. VOLUME OF AUTO BELAYS MATTER
“Our multiple TRUBLUEs in all three of our facilities get used every day. Members who
are waiting on a climbing partner often use the TRUBLUEs to warm up. When we host
large youth groups, we’re able to get more kids climbing using the TRUEBLUEs as our
staff oversees their use. TRUBLUES have definitely helped us grow our business!”
- Joel Graybeal
Triangle Rock Club, North Carolina
24. VOLUME OF AUTO BELAYS MATTER
PROGRAMMING
– Classes
• Belay classes
– Top rope
– Belay assisted repelling
• Lead instruction
– Lead climbing
– Lead belaying
• Summer Camps
– Teach youth climbing
26. EFFECT ON GYM HOURS
EXPANDED HOURS OF OPERATION
– Auto belays attract climbers at “off” hours
• Mid-Morning
• Lunch
• Mid-Afternoon
• Late evening
– Takes pressure off of peak hours
• Rainy days
• Winter time
• After work hours
27. CONCLUSION
While the initial cost may be significant, the
positive gain in membership will immediately
provide an return on the investment.
