Investing in community, funding an indoor climbing center

By Stephanie Purifoy

Sun contributor

Nancy and Larry Bordine are used to doing things ahead of the curve. The owners of Beachnut Surf Shop in Frankfort started buying and using stand-up paddleboards and riding electric skateboards before many in northern Michigan knew what they were. The couple, who live in Traverse City, was once stopped while paddling in Grand Traverse Bay only to be asked about their rides. Larry was even arrested for riding an electric skateboard in Frankfort, the officer informing him that he had broken state laws.

The Bordines are now working with state lawmakers to promote the use of alternative transportation. In the meantime, Larry has brought the electric board up to “code” with a tiny piece of glass for the windshield and a small mirror secured by tape to the deck.

With this forward-thinking nature, it’s not surprising that their next venture would be bigger than anything previous. The Bordines’ new goal is to see their rock climbing facility, MI Summit, erected in Long Lake Township just west of Traverse City and just south of M-72. Once built, it will be the closest indoor climbing center for 27 counties in northern Michigan. The next closest ones are in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor.

Nancy grew up in eastern Michigan doing all sorts of outdoor activities from waterskiing to climbing trees. After completing her nursing degree at Michigan State University, she moved up north to Petoskey and took up downhill skiing. It was during a day on the slopes that her friends set her up with Larry. He grew up on the California coast, also doing every outdoor sport he could like rock climbing and surfing.

The couple made a living in northern Michigan through several companies such as Larry’s business for designing and selling backpacks specifically made for rock climbing, and their Frankfort surf shop which they opened in 2010. But as their retirement approached, they had a decision to make.

“You can go with Morgan Stanley or Fidelity or any other institution, but after you work your whole life for this little nest of money, you have to give it all to them and then they pay you back so you can live on that,” Larry said. “We wanted a way to do something with the money and get some back. It’s pretty much the same thing except not only do we get to use it, everyone else also gets to benefit from it.”

With their lifetime savings, they decided to fill a hole that had existed in the Traverse City region for almost 10 years and build a state-of-the-art rock climbing facility. The Bordines purchased a plot of land on M-72 with these savings and began planning their building.

Up until this point, there was relatively little risk involved. If they wanted to abandon the project, the land and the building could be sold and most of their money would be returned. But, if they made the investment to buy thousands of dollars to build and equip the climbing wall, all of that money would be lost. So the Bordines decided to invest in a crowdfunding campaign which will launch later this summer.

The goal of the crowdfunding campaign is to find several hundred more people who would be willing to buy season passes in advance. If they don’t reach the required mark, every participant gets their money back. But if enough money is raised, the initial investors will receive lifetime discounts for all future MI Summit programs. Aside from the money, the Bordines say it’s a good way to gauge interest in the area.

“It’s kind of a market study before you do anything,” Larry said. “I’d rather lose $20,000 right now, than spend $300,000 to find out it’s not going to work.”

He grew up rock climbing and when he moved to Michigan, would frequently make trips to Canada with Nancy and friends. Nancy was drawn into the sport by Larry and fell in love with the strong bonds within the rock climbing community.

“You can walk into the room by yourself but by the time you’re on a route, you’ve got coaches on the ground encouraging you and helping you,” said Larry. “And you’re also establishing this bond with your belayer. It’s really easy to meet people like that.”

Nancy sees this project not as just an opportunity to build a sport, but also as a way to help the community.

“All the skills you learn on the wall are applicable in real life,” she said. “Setting a goal and reaching it, helping others achieve their goals, trusting others and having someone trust you. These lessons could really strengthen the community,” she said. “I want to reduce the feeling of isolation for some of the fringe members of our society.”

With the space they will have, Nancy said she wants to have fitness classes, birthday parties and other community events.

The biggest challenge for any new business owner is figuring out all of the logistics and this has been no different with the Bordines. When they first came up with the idea, they assembled their group of friends with whom they climb frequently. This group became the steering committee and together they designed the company and the feel of the brand. Then they found an architect and builder who would design the kind of building they wanted.

“We always remember that we’re doing this as a group, and we’re doing this for our community,” Nancy said. That’s always the bottom line that brings us back into focus throughout any challenge.”

The builder, Nathan Greenwood, and the architect, Jess Glowacki, presented the Bordines with detailed designs and a rendering of a 3D fly-through of what the space would look like.

“It felt like I had been in this 18-month pregnancy and now someone was showing me what my child was going to look like,” Nancy said.

The Bordines hope to eventually take a step back from the venture. They are currently laying the groundwork but hope to leave the company in younger hands. After that, Nancy said she hopes the company will eventually buy the building from them and expand to an even larger facility.

Both Nancy and Larry say they want people to know them as the couple who stayed ahead of the curve and established a gathering point for the community.

“Why leave our retirement money sitting in a bank account where no one except for us gets to have fun with it?” Nancy said. “With this, we get a cool place to climb, we get to help develop a sport, and I have the chance to do some community outreach with it.”