Inside Destiny USA Mall is an exhilarating adventure — Gel Blasting. And 11-year-old Jimmy Ginsburg is the mastermind behind it.
"Everyone can play," Ginsburg said. "It’s really fun and easy to do.”
Two years ago, Jimmy was at a business conference with his mother when he was introduced to Gel Blasters.
“My parents were like, 'Jimmy come over here, I bet you’d like this,'" Ginsburg said. "We went outside for it, and I was like, 'I love this.' When I first saw it they were like, 'Oh, come give it a try.' My grandpa got to shoot me. I got to shoot zombies. I got to shoot my grandpa. It was really fun. That’s when I decided, OK, let’s look more into this. Let’s find guns that look really futuristic.”
“And he was dead set on it, right? Jimmy's mother, Nicole, said. "He was set on figuring out all the logistics of it. He talked with some of my husband’s friends that have either done paintballing or air soft to try to figure out what’s going to be the best, what company we should go with for the other supplies and all the things that were going to be needed for safety.”
Jimmy’s parents own a haunted house in Palermo and a children’s museum just one story up inside the mall, so having their assistance with this project has been beneficial and he’s learning a lot along the way.
“It’s fun but it’s overwhelming sometimes because I still have to have good grades and I play baseball," Jimmy said.
“There’s things that he’s had to really learn about is that your business has to be open on this day," Nicole said. "We have to follow and be available for our customers. That’s been a really interesting conversation.”
The equipment is very simple and compact. The Gel Blasters shoot out water beads which are small and painless.
Jimmy’s having a blast owning his own company, but he’s learning it’s also a big responsibility.
“Dream big, work big," he said.