Casey Hinderman has been passionate about the skating industry for as long as he can remember. In fact, when he was only 18 years old, he had the idea of opening a skate park. On December 28th of 2015, he was able to make his dream a reality. Casey is the proud owner of O|A|S, which is an indoor skate park in Dubuque, Iowa.
A few years ago, Casey back after living in Colorado for eight years to pursue a career in skateboarding and snowboarding. He eventually made his way back to Iowa to open his own business. While working a full-time job, he was able to utilize resources provided to him to be able to kick-start the business. Casey enjoys skating all year round and with Olliewood, he is able to share that with others in the area.
A friend of Caseyās recommended that he use the Northeast Iowa Small Business Development Center. In April of 2015, Casey formed an LLC and SBDC Regional Director Jay Wickham helped Casey with his business plan, presenting to banks and investors. Jay helped Casey walk through all of his ideas. Casey describes his experience as āgreat ā Jay was super helpful. He answered all of my questions, gave me confidence and really helped get me to this point.ā With the assistance of the SBDC, Casey presented his ideas to an investor.
Working with his business partner, Casey maintains his full-time job as well as operating the skate park. At Olliewood, they plan to offer skate lessons and camps as well as hopefully hosting competitions as they progress as a business. A popular event recently has been holding yoga lessons at the facility. Casey hopes to one day add a studio area, a foam pit, a climbing wall or even a possible outside skate park in addition to the inside facility.
Casey markets his business through social media as well as having a website and running radio advertisements. The skate park also has a YouTube page that has reached over 2,000 views. The skate park is suited for many different ages and skating abilities. The age range is typically from nine years to third years old.
What is unique about Casey as a business owner is that he has been in the action sports industry for many years. He is driven by his passion. Casey enjoys being able to get out and skate with the kids that visit Olliewood. Casey also used a crowdfunding source, GoFundMe, to help raise money to open the business.
To learn more about Olliewood Action Sports, visit their website at
www.olliewoodactionsports.com, or their Facebook or YouTube page, Olliewood Action Sports.
