A footbag Dream? Live it at....

Genzu · Post by **Genzu** » 09 May 2003 01:58

Hello fellow kickers.

The following post outlines a potential dream. There is a complex for sale resting on a 280-acre plot of land near the Sangre de Cristo Mountains - a few hours drive to the northeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the past, this complex has served as a place for meditation retreats, youth camps, yoga, psychological, as well as shamanic retreats. Without getting too much into the details, the complex consists of:

-Housing for anywhere from about 25-50 people (depending on single or double occupancy). Consists of a main adobe house, 5 “cloistered” guest rooms, 4 private guest rooms, 3 cabins, a tipi, a yurt with dorm space for 6, a caretaker cottage (includes hot tub), and two small staff homes.

-Meditation/Sanctuary building - main room 22’x39’ (Can you say, “shred room?”)

-Organic Greenhouse enclosing a 20’x40’ heated pool.

-An organic apple orchard (74 producing trees) as well as a hydraulic apple press and all necessary equipment for harvesting and preserving apple cider.

-Solar power!

I envision this place as a potential Mecca for footbag: Teaching footbag at camps, making footbags, having touring teams, and expanding the sport to levels thus far unimagined - a place where footbag is life.

Here’s the catch - Price tag: $2.4 million. That’s why I’m writing to the list. We need at least 30-50 people maybe as many as 100 to make this really happen. I realize that like myself, most footbag players are, well, let’s just say - not rich. While footbag will be the major emphasis, I don’t think it necessarily a requirement. We will need people with experience from all walks of life to make it really work.

I’m not sure exactly how the financing and the sticky details would be worked out. Maybe there in another better place to make this dream come true (suggestions welcome!), but it seems to me that a lot of the difficult groundwork is already done here, and with 280 acres, there’s certainly room to expand.

You can check out more of the details and some pictures at:

http://www.ocamora.org/

(The price listed there has dropped to the aforementioned).

Post your comments here as follow-ups. If you are SERIOUSLY interested, we’re going to collect all of the emails from interested parties: email my wife Sunny ([email protected]).

I just recently found out about this and have not had a chance to actually see it in person, but I’m hoping to make a trip down there before World's. Right now, I just want to put the word out there and see if we can find enough people to make this dream come true… Peace.

Doylie · Post by **Doylie** » 09 May 2003 04:23

Hi, long time lurker, first time poster here. Im afraid i dont have an money to contribute to this idea, but i do have a suggestion. Is the idea of sponsorship for such an endeavour feasible? I imagine that this sort of project would be pretty good press for a e.g. sports goods company. I know historically major companies have been reluctant to endorse footbag as a legitimate sport, so this might not be at all possible, i'm just throwing ideas around. Also, I know that on the website it mentions it being a non-profit retreat, so is it likely they would even sell to a corporately sponsored conglomerate? Just some thoughts..

hotstepper · Post by **hotstepper** » 09 May 2003 13:20

Personally, I feel that this is the sort of idea that could really work. All one has to do see a similiar success story is the Woodward camp in Pennsylvania. I has done wonders for the development of bmx and skateboarding. It has allowed members of both communities to develop their skills while acting as instructors.

I feel that with the ever decreasing age of people starting footbag, this sort of complex and vision could be realistically achieved. Daryl, I am sure you are aware of the snowboard schools, I mean schools, that they offer in Colorado. For everyone else, here is a brief explanation.

Snowboard schools are schools established in the United States which offer intensive instruction in snowboarding, while offer students also an educational program. This could be a reality for footbag.

I am presently finishing off a secondary education degree and would be willing to offfer my services to any such efforts. Like, just about all footbaggers, I am not wealthy right now, so all I could offer is my degree. I am certified to teach history, social studies, religious studies and french ( I am Canadian eh).

Another possible grouping which would go well with footbag would be to open this idea up to jugglers. I realize that this is not a popular idea here on this forum, but it is just a thought.

I hope that this type of project could be successful. However, years of concrete planning are required to make it successful.

Mike

Turn It Up · Post by **Turn It Up** » 12 May 2003 18:21

i drool at the idea that something like this could ever become a reality. it, however, does not sound like something that would just happen. like somebody above posted, a hell of a lot of planning and financing

-James

FootbagginBum · Post by **FootbagginBum** » 12 May 2003 22:18

I'm dieing, I can't take it, it's what I want in life, and when I can't compete it just to teach it, and live in the atmosphere.....

wow, tears well up just thinking about it. Make it real Daryl. It'll make you hall of fame for sure. Get all the footbag company's, sell Shred zone and the shred house in San Diego and make it, I'll get there when I can.

bazroberts1984 · Post by **bazroberts1984** » 13 May 2003 03:09

Being stuck here in the UK I'm not in a position to offer much help but it seems a brilliant idea and really would be a "dream" come true if it happened. Sponsorship seems an appealing option but it would be very difficult to find such generous sponsors to aid Footbag. 100% Footbag would be brilliant, but you may need the support of other alternative sports. We in the UK receive a lot of help from those who run Disc-Sports - maybe their industry is slightly bigger than that of Footbag and could whip up the fincancial support for a joint venture. Worth a thought?

Acid~Reign · Post by **Acid~Reign** » 13 May 2003 03:38

It's an awesome idea. And I don't think there's one person who wouldn't want it to happen. I'm not too familiar with the geography around America but if it's pretty well centralised around lots of players I don't see why it couldn't go ahead.

It may get sticky but perhaps if there's a part ownership organised so that 50-51% is owned by footbaggers and 49% of it is corporate-run (kind of like a management thing. I'm guessing all the facilities wouldn't be used by footbaggers all the time so yep). That way you could possibly cut the price you have to pay roughly in half and possibly get a bit of funding to pay for maintainence/renovations to the centre.

But hey, if you ever need a podiatrist up there in a few years time, just yell

.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 13 May 2003 05:41

I'm not sure I understand how a miniature footbag community could use 280 acres and an apple orchard. (Although I like the lap pool and I can think of a few uses for a greenhouse

)

I nonetheless love the idea of some kind of footbag residence, and not that I'm any good at footbag (tiltless on a good day) or have any money (fast food forever) I would pretty seriously consider relocating to live in that type of environment if it were affordable. ($400/month)ish

How do ya figure the poor footbag community could buy a rich man's commune?

QuantumBalance · Post by **QuantumBalance** » 15 May 2003 21:56

i want to live there. i would make techno a lot and massage people for a living.. also i would drink cider.

-sam

im serious i would live there.. as long as there is also a school somewhere. a college

Chris Holden · Post by **Chris Holden** » 16 May 2003 06:48

As you know D, I'm a serious career professional, not just some confused kid, and it is my dream to live a life without worry where I can play footbag and do may art all day.
There isn't a day that goes by that I consider dropping everything and try to find a way that I coudl live and shred all of the time.

I bet you could easily haggle that price down, maybe as loq as 1.8.

FootbagginBum · Post by **FootbagginBum** » 16 May 2003 16:37

I completely have the same sentiment as Holden. I am a talented actor with a future in the Biz as well as being able to do basically any other career I want in life, but the is not a day where I don't think about dropping it all for footbag. Something like taking over the WFA one day, or going on the official touring team, or running the shred zone or something similar to it. It's its own seperate dream, but this idea would fulfill it.

ShredPirate · Post by **ShredPirate** » 16 May 2003 23:49

i've dropped SO much for footbag. nobody knows.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » 17 May 2003 08:36

http://modified.ca/footbag

Genzu · Post by **Genzu** » 20 May 2003 22:15

Hello Fellow Shredders,

Sorry to take so long to get back to everyone. I'm happy to see all of the positive responses (and to see the negative ones too

). Anyway, shortly after finishing this post, I'm going to post this to the .org list as well... that's where all the rich kickers hangout anyway

.

There are a few things I did not mention in my original post. This place also has:

- A small lake/pond.
- An outdoor organic garden
- Year-round stream, a natural spring, and beaver ponds
- 75-acre feet of water rights
- A library
- Hiking/Biking trails

Certainly at this point the main obstacle is the c.a.s.h. Like I just mentioned, .org is the place where the $$ is, and I’ve yet to post. I really feel that this could work even if people don’t have tons of cash sitting around. How? Well, like others and myself have mentioned, we’ll have strength in numbers. If just a few people can come up with enough money for a down payment, most of the people could simply live there and pay rent (which, ideally, will be under $200/month - perhaps somewhat less – truly a variable factor dependent on the number of people that live there). This will be the only real expense, ideally, as we will grow most of our own food. This obstacle can be overcome.

Another important factor in all of this is diversity. Don’t get me wrong, I envision the main focus of this place to be a footbag Mecca, but there’s plenty of room and even a need for a diverse range of people and their skills. For example, I have a friend that’s willing to help put in a disc golf course, and we wouldn’t shut out the other alternative sports either!

I am a licensed engineer in Colorado, and I believe I can transfer this to New Mexico as well… I have a feeling that we may want to do some expansion. We also need people that understand organic gardening, and skills like massage therapy, teaching, D. J.ing, cooking, you name it. Some people can certainly help to make footbags, but I don’t imagine that’s what everyone will do. People will also need to cook, clean, and tend the gardens. There’s also the cider business, as well as those of you that can live anywhere that has internet access (web developers, etc.).

If this is really going to happen, it’s going to take real commitment. So far, that is the biggest obstacle I see. Of the 15 people that have voted yes, not one has taken the time to email Sunny

. Please do so, it takes about 15 seconds ([email protected])… We just want to get a contact list of people that are really serious about this.

Peace.

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 23 Jun 2006 23:32

***BizUMP***

Did we ever set up this FOOTBAGLAND that Daryl proposed?

Splint · Post by **Splint** » 24 Jun 2006 05:21

DUDE WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???

We got that off the ground about 2 years ago. About 20 of us got it on it at the ground floor. It was rough at first with all the sweat shop labor Daryl put us through (ah the irony of "Freedom Footbags"). Then we realized that Daryl was really just in it to make profits and live over us as some sort of Cult Messiah. After he got through sleeping with all of our wives and girlfriends we finally got a clue about what he was up to and rose against him. We killed him slowly so that he would feel the pain we all felt at his hands. Sunny actually dealt the final blow. It was glorious, yet sad.

Left without purpose, Dan Feary actually came up with the idea that we take over Freedom Footbags only do it right this time. So, sure enough we set to creating a factory and hiring a staff that was both efficient and used to working tireless hours for no pay. Santa was sad to lose his elves, but they were damn sick of the fuckin' North Pole and gladly accepted a move to the balmy deserts of New Mexico.

In the last year, we've seen record profits seeing as we've more than doubled the workforce (those little fingers can sure stitch a mean footbag), and we don't have to pay them. Sadly, no footbag ever gets played by the original members. We're entirely too busy counting all of our money, so we just hire people to play for us.

We're planning on expanding overseas within 6 months to a year. Possible areas of interest are The Basque Region of Southern France and Loompaland (we hear the Oompa Loompas work for chocolate).

If you are interested in getting involved in one of these new ventures and are driven to achieve our dream, go ahead and text "Freedom's for the white and aristocratic" to 7734 on your mobile phone.

Post by **Zac Miley** » 24 Jun 2006 10:20

Omg.

*Dies from laughter*

BalinorNZ · Post by **BalinorNZ** » 24 Jun 2006 12:29

Lol brad

brilliance.

RawSko · Post by **RawSko** » 24 Jun 2006 17:55

Oh no! I don't have a mobile phone!! How am I going to get in on this??

A footbag Dream? Live it at....

Does this fit YOUR footbag deam?

A footbag Dream? Live it at....