A moment of inspiration
My name is Silas, some of you have already met me, some of you will meet me. Hi - thank you for reading this and perhaps, thank you for booking with Just In Tyne Escape.
Why have I started my own escape rooms business?
I blame Dave. Actually I blame a lot of people but in a good way. More on Dave in a bit.
Like many of us ‘kids’ born in the 1970s we grew up in an era where ‘play’ was not focused around a screen, it was very much about YOU finding something to do, somewhere to go. If I was ever bored I would solve this simple puzzle by occupying myself with some activity. I may have continued with a word-search, a jigsaw, or got out my colouring pencils and felt like van Gogh, or built some random Lego model that performed a task I was confident would be useful at some point. Or, I’d go outside and play football in the street with my pals or spend hours playing board games indoors. Those halcyon days! From a young age I was destined for a life solving puzzles, creating puzzles and finding ways to solve problems. I think maybe you could call me an ‘engineer’ of sorts.
However, I didn’t go down that route. I did study, I did gain qualifications and I actually ended up becoming a teacher. Hats off to any of you that remain in the teaching profession and indeed those that are just setting out into the profession. It is not for everyone! I struggled to cope with the planning and felt the rigid type pressures of teaching - particularly the focus on getting kids through exams - never gave me the opportunity to really be creative. As I say, it isn’t for everyone and I felt a bit shackled.
Dave! I haven’t forgotten about Dave. In 2016 I found myself enjoying a few weeks respite in New Zealand. I was travelling on my own, switching off from the pressures back home and spending time reshuffling the deck of cards in my head. Dave is a great friend of mine and had relocated to New Zealand a year or two previous. I stayed with him for a week or so and it was during those days that he recommended I go try something I’d never heard of - an escape room.
Although thinking back it wasn’t the most spectacular experience I’ve ever had, it was however something I immediately felt envious of, enthralled by, and at home in! That was the moment I think. That was the moment I found my calling - I just didn’t quite know it yet.
Cheers Dave.
Cut to the chase…
In December 2017 I escaped teaching. I had had enough. I felt like I was close to collapse and didn’t care where I’d end up or what I’d do, I just needed ‘out’.
Two friends of mine both sent me the same job advert - not knowing they had done so. It was for ‘Escape Room Manager’ at a venue in the city centre - Exit Newcastle. I applied in November 2017 and eventually got invited for interview in January 2018. The owner of Exit Newcastle - Bradley Murphy - I liked him straight away. I was also acutely aware of how much older I was. Maybe my wisdom would help.
Bradley - Brad - is an eccentric character and we got on from the off. He had built up his business from nothing to one of the strongest privately owned escape rooms business in the North East. At the time of joining, he had designed and built four escape rooms. I got to play all of them and find out what goes on behind the scenes. As my experience grew, my role developed into that of a ‘hands-on’ fixer / repairer / builder / designer. Brad entrusted me to help come up with puzzles, make changes to existing games, even build new escape rooms. I loved my job - for the first time in a long time, I was enjoying work. That is not something many people get to feel. I owe a lot to Brad and the opportunities he afforded me.
I was fortunate to work alongside Exit’s other manager, James. He looked after the day-to-day running of the business, bookings, website maintenance, phone calls, advertising etc. We had great times, lots of shared humour and laughs. We also both took a lot of pride in making sure groups were well looked after and hosted to the best of our abilities.
These attributes we made sure to pass onto staff, who in turn would see the benefits themselves when customers were kind enough to leave reviews and mention staff by name. So - please, if you have a moment, always leave a review - it really does help!
My background in teaching and many other roles working with and under a wide range of professional managers, has given me a wealth of experience. I consider this to be an extremely valuable asset and I will always try to pass on my ‘wisdom’ to others. One lesson I will always pass on is: treat every customer with the same level of enthusiasm. Doesn’t seem like much but when you are involved in the escape rooms ‘world’ it is hugely important to remember that every group is a new set of minds. You may have hosted 8 groups before them but they don’t know that - nor should they care - you need to show them the same level of professionalism and enthusiasm you showed your first group. It takes a lot of effort and motivation to be like this and many people I’ve worked with have struggled - whereas many have thrived. I name a few I worked with at Exit who were and still are, exceptional: Joe, James, Johnny, Thomas, Poppy, Sophie, Nathan, Steve, Brad (of course), Simon, Connor, Emily, Izzy, Eloise, Lauren… and many others. No doubt they will message me to pester me about why their name isn’t here. I’m almost 50, I forget things now.
Every single person - I have learnt something from and I hope that I have helped each to develop too.
Being a positive role-model is an extremely important role - so keep doing it!
We all need them…