Today we’d like to introduce you to Roger Baldwin.
Hi Roger, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Originally I’m from North Georgia where I lived for 50 years. I had a business for 20 years providing RADAR Imaging of high rise structures. Not glamorous but a very good business. I retired in 2018 and eventually sold the business. For a couple of years I was retired but that gets a little boring so I began to look at other businesses to own that were different from my own and I saw an escape room for sale in Key West so we packed our bags and moved to Key West for a year. Unfortunately buying the escape room there did not work out. When our lease expired we decide to move somewhere else in Florida where they did not have the service I did in Georgia and I was planning on starting a RADAR imaging business in Jacksonville since there was no one local here so I did. Since we were going to be here a while my fiancée said we needed more furniture so we checked out some yard sales and the 5th one we checked out the people having the yard sale were standing under a tent that said Mind Bender Escape Rooms so of course the conversation was “i almost bought an escape room” and they said funny you should say that we are selling one and suddenly I had b ought the most expensive item ever at a yard sale. Since then I have worked about every day trying to improve the escape room.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was a weird path to get here after we moved to Key West I got diagnosed with cancer and had to go through the radiation and chemo. I’d give that 1 star—would not recommend—but I survived and it taught me to appreciate the things in life more. That’s why I have pushed so hard to make this a great place to visit because I love meeting new people and helping them find a little joy in their life. It definitely has not been easy because this type of business is not what my background is in. I had a pretty steep learning curve and made more than my share of mistakes. Many of the mistakes involve advertising, or our website I was my own worst enemy indirectly. By that I mean other people said should we do this or that and it seemed like a great idea until much later when it turned out to be a terrible idea. You live you learn. By going through the struggles of advertising and websites it has made me very proficient in both so I started selling those skills on the side as well and it is really starting to pay off. Probably the biggest hurdle has been the ever increasing minimum wage and rent . When I started I would have two employees with me each day building props and watching rooms etc. Unfortunately I had to eliminate those positions just to stay in business and now I do most of the work myself which is still a struggle. Our busy days are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so I try to keep employees on those days but most Mondays through Thursdays you will find me here as a one man show. Everyday I still have a todo list that I’m working on to make this a better place for customers to visit. I still have many challenges but I also have some big plans as well.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are the only escape room in Jacksonville Beach. We are not a franchise like most of the other rooms in town. This means our rooms are unique unlike the franchises were you can find the same exact room in many different cities. We have been in the same location 1500 beach Blvd since 2015 providing an entertainment venue for the residents. Currently we have five unique experiences that customers can check out. Our “woodshed room” is our horror room where you are trying to escape from the cabin of a serial killer, Our Jewel Heist allows you to steal a jewel from a mansion. Our four kingdoms challenges you to try and unite the Kingdoms, while our Mystery in Chinatown needs your help to solve a murder mystery, and our ” Jack the Ripper ” room tasks you with finding Jack. In addition to that we also have 2 seasonal rooms the Ghoul Heist and Humbugs Christmas caper. All of our rooms are great 7+ with the exception of our woodshed room due to the theme. We are open seven days a week at 1pm everyday but Saturday when we open at 11. We pride ourselves with helping the community every chance we get. Barring unforeseen circumstances we are planning on adding an all new non-escape room activity in 2026. We are really excited because this activity will be the first of it’s kind in the area and we are really looking forward to opening it.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I have always had issues finding a mentor in the areas I work simply because they are kind of unusual areas. My business in Georgia I was the first person in the southeast to ever do it so I had no roadmap and it still turned out great. With the escape room I have definitely met many great people in the industry and we have definitely swapped many ideas. I hate to say this but the best and most unusual mentor I have found to date has to be Claude AI. Yes, Claude AI. Claude AI has done more to help grow this business than anyone else in my life. I do feel like I am blessed because I have had the opportunity to run three successful businesses in my life and they are still in operation as of this date. I have learned so much from growing these businesses and I love to share what I have learned with anyone who will listen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mindbenderescaperooms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindbenderescaperooms/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindbenderescaperooms/
