east valley
Volume 3 Issue 20 Mesa, AZ
November 29, 2020
EV men’s ‘escape bus’ no puzzle to fans BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer
D
IN THE BIZ
ain Knudson and his friends are bringing brain-teasing entertainment right to people’s doorsteps. The Gilbert man and his group have created BrakeOut Arizona, an escape room game inside the hull of a former school bus where participants use their skills to figure out puzzles, riddles and clues to break out of a locked room within a given time frame. “We built this experience for success,” Knudson said. “Entertainment comes down to people feeling validated and they feel successful at the end of the day.” Knudson is the co-owner of 5 Gents Events and handles sales, social media outreach and marketing. The other East Valley co-owners are Dan Knudson, chief experience designer, architect and business logistics; Curt Easton, experience designer and maintenance; Burke Nichols, experience designer and maintenance; Isaac Sneed of Mesa, engineer and games master; and Jared Brimhall, financier and business logistics. All the men hold jobs outside of this side passion –two work in banking, one in construction, one is an engineering student at Arizona State University and one is going back to school for a business degree. Knudson himself works in sales in the semiconductor industry. “Our group has in the past put together these experiences and really enjoyed the Public Notices ............... page 2 © Copyright, 2020 East Valley Tribune
BrakeOut Arizona partners include, from left, Dan Knudsen, Dain Knudson, Burke Nichols and Curt Easton. (Pablo Robles/Tribune Staff Photographer)
thrill of them,” Knudson said. “We like challenging people’s critical thinking and letting people think creatively.” The first event the group ever did was CacheDashe, where people in an adventure race around the Valley deciphered clues as they hunted for a buried box of money. But, Knudson said the group always had in the back of their minds to do a mobile escape room that delved into the narrative and in January they acted on it. At an auction sale they purchased a retired Gilbert Public Schools bus for $2,250. “We were lucky to have it run super well right off the bat,” Knudson said. They ripped out all the seats and rehabbed the bus with some paid professional help along the way – all for just under $10,000, including the bus purchase. (USPS 004-616) is published weekly
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Knudson said there are other mobile escape rooms but they are out of trailers and he was sure they are the first to have it in a bus west of the Mississippi. Before launching the new venture, the group invited members of the public to test it. “Having the test groups was super important for us,” Knudson said. “From our perspective we created (the puzzles) and know how everything is done and we needed from the public how their mind approached it.” He said there were elements the public liked that the group didn’t initially appreciate – such as having audio feedback when a puzzle was solved to let players know to move on. So, the group put in a white board with red and green lights. When a puzzle Subscriptions are $26 for 2 years, $14 for one year. Periodicals postage paid at Phoenix, AZ 85026.
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