Here’s a handoff brief you can give directly to someone building the Three.js mockup. # South Bay Freestyle Training Facility — Three.js Concept Brief ## Concept Design an **indoor ski/snowboard freestyle progression facility** in the South Bay, ideally Santa Clara / North San Jose / Milpitas. This is **not an indoor ski resort** and shouldn't try to reproduce a full ski run. Think: > **Compact Woodward-style freestyle gym focused primarily on skiing and snowboarding.** Core activities: * Dry-slope skiing/snowboarding * Rails, tubes and boxes * Kicker → airbag * Supertrampoline training * Tramp skis / aerial progression * Potential wall-tramp / related freestyle training * Coaching and open training sessions The differentiator versus MetroSlopes is a **smaller, more serious freestyle/progression-oriented facility**, rather than general indoor skiing, conditioning and beginner instruction. Comparable/proof-of-market concepts include **House of Air's ski/snowboard slopestyle + supertramp training, FreeSlope, and MetroSlopes**. --- # Target building For the mockup, use a **generic older South Bay industrial warehouse**, not a polished retail space. ### Ideal envelope **Floor area:** ~12,000–15,000 ft² **Clear height:** **30 ft ideal**, 24'+ acceptable **Long dimension:** preferably **80–120+ ft** **Short dimension:** ~100–130 ft depending on footprint A useful mockup starting point would be: > **120 ft × 125 ft = 15,000 ft²** > **30 ft clear height** Industrial construction: * Exposed steel roof structure * Concrete slab * Exposed utilities * Sprinklers * Industrial LED lighting * A couple roll-up doors * Minimal office buildout * Raw warehouse aesthetic * Existing bathrooms * Small reception/lounge area Don't make it look like a giant commercial trampoline park. The equipment should be the visual focus. --- # Primary layout I'd divide the warehouse into approximately four major zones. ### 1. Dry-slope freestyle park — ~3,500–4,500 ft² This should be the centerpiece. Build an **elevated starting platform approximately 8–10 ft above floor level**. One staircase serves the starting deck. From this deck, create **two adjacent mSnow lines**. ### Line A — Jib line ```text START DECK \ \ mSnow \ \____________________ ↓ takeoff / transition ↓ rail / tube / box ↓ runout / mats ``` Features should be modular/interchangeable: * ~10–16 ft flat rail * Round tube * Flat box * Down rail * Small urban-style feature * Potential kink feature later Don't permanently build five parallel rails. Show **one or two active features plus feature storage** so the park can be reconfigured. Run-in should be approximately **3–5 ft wide per line**. Synthetic surface is **white mSnow-style interlocking dry-slope material** mounted over the ramp. ### Line B — Airbag jump Adjacent to the jib line: ```text 8–10' START \ \ \ mSnow \ \_________ \__ \↗ KICKER SKIER ↗ ╔══════════╗ ║ AIRBAG ║ ╚══════════╝ ``` The jump is for practicing actual ski/snowboard takeoffs: * 180 * 360 * 540 * flips * grabs * eventually more advanced rotations It should be a **real shaped kicker**, but not enormous big-air scale. The landing should be a purpose-built **freestyle landing airbag**, preferably partially recessed or otherwise kept relatively low. A ~30-ft ceiling makes this substantially easier to design safely than a 20-ft warehouse. --- # 2. Supertramp zone — ~2,000–3,000 ft² This is the second major attraction. Include **one serious high-performance supertrampoline**, not a grid of recreational trampoline-park beds. Surround it with substantial padding. Potential layout: ```text WALL optional wall tramp │ │ padding ┌───────────┐ padding │ │ │ SUPERTRAMP│ │ │ padding └───────────┘ padding ↓ AIRBAG / MATS ``` Allow a huge unobstructed vertical envelope over the trampoline. No lights, HVAC ducts or decorative structures directly above it. If geometry permits, give the supertramp access to an airbag or heavily padded dismount area. Potential future additions: * Second trampoline * Wall tramp * Tramp skis * Harness training --- # 3. Shared airbag / progression area Explore whether the building can **efficiently share landing infrastructure**. For example, the ski kicker and trampoline don't necessarily need completely independent enormous landing zones if clever geometry allows one large airbag system to serve multiple training modes. However, don't force this if it creates awkward or unsafe crossing paths. Airbag should visually occupy a substantial area. This isn't a little gymnastics crash mat. --- # 4. Support space — ~1,500–2,500 ft² Keep this deliberately modest. Include: * Check-in counter * Small lounge/viewing area * Ski/snowboard racks * Helmet/gear storage * Rental/training equipment * Feature/rail storage * Maintenance/workbench * Existing bathrooms * Small staff/storage room Potentially vending/drinks, but **no elaborate café**. This isn't supposed to become House of Air with birthday-party infrastructure. --- # Circulation This is important in the mockup. People should be able to walk around the facility **without crossing ski runouts**. Provide approximately 4–6 ft circulation paths around major features. The elevated starting deck should have: * Proper stairs * Railings * Queue area * Ski/snowboard staging * Enough room to clip in * Separation between the jib and jump starts A rider who finishes a line should be able to walk back to the staircase without interfering with incoming riders. --- # Safety envelope Make safety visually believable even though this is only a concept model. Around rails: * Artificial turf * Gym mats * Padding around structural columns * Generous fall zones Around trampoline: * Thick padding * No exposed hard edges * Huge overhead clearance Around kicker: * Airbag extends significantly beyond likely landing trajectory * Side protection * No columns in flight/landing zone Elevated platforms: * Guardrails * Stairs rather than ladders for normal operation The synthetic ski surface should only cover areas where it's useful. **Don't cover the entire warehouse in expensive mSnow.** --- # mSnow / dry slope Current product under consideration is mSnow. A Large Kit contains: > **108 tiles / 54 ft² / 5 m²** Each tile: > **7 × 10.5 in** White recycled-plastic synthetic ski surface. For the commercial concept, obviously we'd use substantially more than one kit. The important visual characteristic is the **white, somewhat textured/bristled synthetic snow surface** from the original reference image, rather than green artificial turf. mSnow is appealing because outdoor/UV durability seems better suited to permanent installations than some alternatives such as Enoki. For the commercial facility, durability and consistent glide matter more than making the surface look exactly like snow. --- # Building scenarios we've discussed ### Ideal / mockup target **~15,000 ft² + 30 ft clear** This is what I'd use for the primary Three.js concept because it demonstrates the uncompromised version. It potentially accommodates: * Elevated dual-line dry slope * Full jib line * Kicker → airbag * Serious supertramp * Good circulation * Storage/support space * Future feature expansion ### Acceptable **~10–15k ft² + 24–26 ft clear** Probably still supports almost everything, although aerial geometry needs more careful engineering. ### Compromised **~8–10k ft² + 20 ft clear** Still potentially good for: * mSnow * rails * boxes * smaller jump * trampoline But **20 ft is concerning for serious supertramp/aerial training** and substantially constrains the kicker/airbag. --- # Example property benchmark 3051 Corvin Dr in Santa Clara was an interesting real-world example: * 8,400–16,450 ft² available * ~20 ft clear * ~$2/SF/month asking * Industrial building * Parking/loading * Sports use apparently requires a CUP Great location, but its **20-ft ceiling is the primary compromise**. The property search subsequently suggested that older South Bay warehouse stock can sometimes provide roughly: > **12–15k ft²** > **24–30 ft clear** > **~$15–25k/month target occupancy range** That's the building class we're ultimately interested in. Don't design the mockup specifically around Corvin. Use the **15k / 30-ft idealized warehouse** so we can determine what building geometry we actually want. --- # Business positioning Target customer is more serious than a typical trampoline park customer: * Park skiers * Freeride skiers wanting aerial training * Snowboarders * Tahoe skiers training during summer * Kids progressing toward competitive freestyle * Adults learning freestyle * Coaches/teams * Potential skate/BMX crossover later Possible products: * Open gym * Hourly sessions * Membership * Coaching * Clinics * Camps * Team training * Private lessons Summer is likely the strongest season because this becomes a way to **train for skiing when Tahoe isn't operating**. Tentative timeline discussed: > Research/prototyping fall/winter 2026 > Property search/negotiation winter–spring 2027 > Build spring 2027 > **Target opening May/June 2027** --- # Existing Bay Area validation There are already several nearby concepts demonstrating demand: **House of Air — San Francisco** Has/had supertramps and ski/snowboard slopestyle training with dry-slope jib features. We've heard, but haven't independently verified, that its Presidio rent may be increasing from roughly $40k → $55k/month. The Presidio is an unusually expensive location, so this isn't necessarily representative of South Bay economics. **FreeSlope — Fremont** Dedicated dry-slope/training concept. **MetroSlopes — Burlingame** Much larger concept, reportedly around 32,000 ft² with a long dry slope, freestyle terrain, trampolines, conditioning and broader ski instruction. Our concept should **not duplicate MetroSlopes**. Think: > MetroSlopes = indoor ski center > **Ours = freestyle progression lab** --- # Capital philosophy Initial thought is **self-funding approximately $200k**, rather than immediately seeking investors. $200k is an acceptable experimental investment, but the goal is to avoid letting fixed costs explode. Most important financial constraint: > **Do not reproduce House of Air's ~$40–55k/month rent situation.** Target something closer to **$15–25k/month occupancy**, preferably toward the lower end. An ugly warehouse with fantastic geometry is preferable to expensive retail-quality space. Investors become more interesting later if Facility #1 demonstrates demand and expansion capital becomes the bottleneck. --- # Prototype before commercial build There's also a potential backyard prototype: ### Backyard mSnow rail One mSnow Large Kit: * 54 ft² * Could make approximately a 3 × 18 ft surface * Small elevated roll-in * Rail * Mats/turf landing Useful for learning actual synthetic-snow behavior and feature geometry. ### Backyard supertramp A friend has enough backyard space for a supertramp. Possibilities include: * Standard above-ground installation * Screening/walls * **Partially sunken installation** Sunken is interesting because it reduces visual height and improves access/fall geometry, although excavation introduces drainage, retaining-wall and permitting considerations. Together, these could function as a **miniature R&D version of the commercial facility** before committing to a warehouse. --- # What I want from the Three.js mockup Don't spend much time making it beautiful initially. I want an **interactive spatial feasibility model**. Ideally expose parameters such as: ```js warehouseWidth warehouseLength clearHeight startDeckHeight slopeLength slopeAngle kickerHeight kickerAngle kickerRadius airbagWidth airbagLength airbagHeight railLength railHeight supertrampWidth supertrampLength walkwayWidth ``` Make the major equipment movable. Useful toggles: ```text 10k ft² / 15k ft² warehouse 20' / 24' / 30' clear height jib line airbag line second jib line supertramp second tramp wall tramp ``` Include a **6-ft human mannequin** and skier models throughout so scale is immediately obvious. Also add measurement overlays for: * Ceiling clearance * Feature dimensions * Flight envelope * Run-in length * Runout length * Walkways * Total occupied area A particularly useful feature would be a translucent **"aerial safety volume"** above the supertramp and ski kicker. That would let us load approximate dimensions of an actual property and immediately see whether roof beams/sprinklers/20-ft ceilings interfere. ## Overall design goal The first mockup should answer: > **"What is the smallest warehouse in which we can build a genuinely good ski/snowboard freestyle training facility without compromising the supertramp and kicker?"** Start with **15,000 ft² / 30-ft clear**, build the good version, and then progressively shrink the building to 12k, 10k, 24 ft and 20 ft. That should tell us much more about what property to lease than starting with an arbitrary available warehouse and trying to cram the concept into it.