Neighbors Bringing “Shipwrecked” Pirates & Mini Golf To Red Hook This Summer

Neighbors Chris Schneider and Ryan Powers, known across the Slope (and beyond) for their incredible Holiday Light Spectacular, are weighing anchor and sailing over to Red Hook.

The longtime friends introduced Shipwrecked Miniature Golf, located across from the Red Hook Ballfields at 619 Court Street, to the community on Thursday. Encompassing over 11,000 square feet, as first noted by DNAinfo, the planned 18-hole course says goodbye to the miniature golf of yesterday, and envelopes guests in a total immersion pirate adventure.

Best of all, Shipwrecked is completely indoors, and will be open year-round; a fantastic entertainment option during these endless winters we’ve come to know and hate.

We recently sat down with Chris to learn a bit more about the birth of Shipwrecked, the highs and lows of searching for a commercial property in New York City, and most importantly, what pirate fans young and old can look forward to when the talented duo officially opens their doors this summer.

South Slope News: Tell us about the genesis of Shipwrecked Miniature Golf.

Chris Schneider: Ryan and I met in the theater program at Youngstown State University. We were both into themed entertainment and miniature golf, and would visit theme parks and miniature golf courses whenever possible. We even flew to Belgium to check out one of the most thematic courses we have ever come across.

I would have to say Ryan was most likely the one who said, “Wouldn’t it be fun to own a miniature golf course,” and I immediately started designing it in my head. Years and years later, after honing our craft in live theater and events, we decided it was now or never and took the leap. We had no idea that the official leap would be such a long process.

We officially started in 2011 when we came across the Brooklyn Public Library’s business plan competition called PowerUP. This was a chance to put together our business plan and possibly win a little money to put toward the business.

We made it into the final round, placed in the top 10, and made a little money, which we put toward a lawyer to put together our investor paperwork. From there we started following our plan, learning anything and everything we could about starting a business the only way you really can — by doing it and learning as you go.

No matter how many things we thought we had learned, every day brought new lessons. Many of those were not encouraging, but somehow we kept waking up each day determined to make this dream happen somehow.

When did you guys know the concept could actually become a reality?

We knew we were onto something when our Holiday Light Spectacular had drawn over 1,000 likes on social media. When we shared our vision for Shipwrecked, we always got the same response, “That’s amazing! I will definitely come. We need more things like this!”

As for the concept becoming a reality, I don’t think we will ever be 100% sure until we open. Opening a business is never easy, and at any moment things could so easily come apart. I don’t think either of us will sleep well until…well maybe never. At least that’s how it feels currently.

Tell us about your adventures in finding a spot large enough and affordable enough in NYC.

Wow, finding a space. That could be a whole book in itself.

We spent two years. It was the hardest two years of our lives. I can’t even count the number of spaces we looked at. We searched Gowanus, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Bed-Stuy, South Slope, Greenwood Heights, Midwood, neighborhoods I have never heard of, and Queens as well.

We had landlords string us along to get more money out of their current tenants, we had deals fall through as buildings changed ownership, we signed a lease and then weeks later the deal fell through.

We both believe everything happens for a reason, though, and eventually when we finally ended up where we did, we could not be happier. We are minutes from our homes, which makes a seemingly endless day of tasks just a slight bit easier by reducing our commute to almost nothing. In fact, Ryan walked home from work today.

What made the Red Hook location “the one?”

Oddly enough, after the deal fell through on the place we signed a lease for, we were going to call it quits. We had spent two years looking for a space and a great deal of time and money making sure that location was going to work. We had all but decided to throw in the towel, get back to our previous lives, and move on.

For some strange reason I decided I was going to look one last time on Craigslist. Most of the postings, if you’ve never looked for commercial spaces, are 100 of the same person posting the same thing. Occasionally there are some “too good to be true” posts that are basically bait to get you to contact a broker and then they try to get you to look at other places they actually have, but this night I found a place I had never seen, and forwarded it on to Ryan, kind of as a little joke.

We had already said to each other it was over. He contacted the broker the next day, we went to see it, and within a short period of time we were reviewing a lease. The rest is history. Well, recent history.

Our theme fits in really well in Red Hook, and we are extremely pleased it worked out this way.

This doesn’t sound like your everyday miniature golf outing. What can folks expect on a visit to Shipwrecked?

The best way to describe what you can expect would be to compare it to the types of things we have previously created in our Holiday Light Spectacular. There will be music and sound effects, written and created by Ryan, that change depending on the themed area you are in, animatronic characters, special effects, and if we can pull it off, even some things that test our own limits.

We have lofty goals which sometimes outshine our bank accounts. We would love to make all of those goals come true, but that will all depend on the amount of additional support we get over the next couple months.

Ultimately, we want everyone to be immersed in this world, and be transported someplace kind of magical. Someplace they can forget about the stresses of the day and just relax and have fun. We have been amazed at the number of New Yorkers who tell us they have never played miniature golf, and some have even said they have never seen a miniature golf course.

Is this more of a kid venue, or will adults get a kick out of it, too?

We have made a concerted effort to design everything to appeal to all ages. We try to add those little jokes that go over a young kids head and make the adults laugh. Fun is really for all ages! Miniature golf is one activity that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy, and we hope that everyone does come and give it a try!

Will Shipwrecked host birthday parties and other special events?

We have three spaces available for rentals, and they all have nice big windows with views and natural light. We will also be able to open up two of them to accommodate a larger group and activities.

We know you have been friends for years, and have a long history of working together. What makes you guys such a great team?

I think we make a good team because we have such different skill sets. Many of the things I can’t do well, or things I totally have no interest in, Ryan excels at, and vice versa. We also push each other to always reach for the stars and accomplish sometimes impossible sounding ideas. We never really settle with good enough. We want things to be the best they can be.

Shipwrecked Miniature Golf, located at 619 Court Street in Red Hook, is scheduled for a summer 2015 opening. For updated information, be sure to follow Shipwrecked on Facebook and Twitter.