MY STORY
My name is Daniel, I am the Founder/Owner of Turtleball®. When I was a kid, I loved playing baseball and going to the beach with my family. One day after playing Skee-ball at the arcade, I decided to bring that concept to the beach. I started digging holes in the sand and tossing balls into the holes for fun. Many people stopped and asked what I was playing. That is when I knew this could be something special. I was only 12 and had not idea where to begin. I asked myself a few questions:
Throughout architecture school, I revisited my beach game concept and started brainstorming/sketching ideas and examining the cross section of the playing surface. I realized that digging holes illustrated a nest similar to a sea turtle laying eggs on the beach. Scooping out sand with my hands to make the holes was the easy part. However, I was still missing a physical product and a name. During my master's degree program at Catholic University, I continued to make 3-D models and prototypes until I finally discovered my ideal solution, a turtle shell (not a real one).
The turtle shell concept has as 5 key components:
Since my mission is to minimize the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean, I did not want to contribute to more ocean plastic and simply create another plastic beach game. Through product research, I was inspired by nature and discovered that billions of coconut shells were going to waste every year. As a biproduct of the thriving coconut industry, coconut shells have traditionally been burned or discarded as landfill. Since half coconuts are naturally shaped as a bowl, I believed that I could re-purpose these coconut shells into a fun beach game.
Coconut shells are lightweight, durable, and stackable which will save space in your bag and the trunk of your car. Lastly, I started hand etching turtle shell patterns on the outer shell. When the coconuts are flipped over, the shells look like sea turtles nesting on the beach. The final step was determining the name of the game. I knew the product name should be unique, simple and easy to remember. Since the game consists of a ball game and 'turtle' coconut shells, Turtleball® was born!
Ultimately, single-use plastic poses a serious threat to sea turtles and other marine wildlife. I believe in changing how beach games are made. Every coconut shell is unique, with its own shape, size, markings and imperfections. They are one in a billion and each game is an opportunity to make it your own. This means that nobody else in the world will have a Turtleball game just like yours! Have fun and save the sea turtles!
Daniel J. Hinchcliff // Founder of Turtleball®
- How can I create a physical product/game?
- How can I make this lightweight/travel-friendly?
- How can I turn this into a business opportunity?
- How will this game make an impact?
Throughout architecture school, I revisited my beach game concept and started brainstorming/sketching ideas and examining the cross section of the playing surface. I realized that digging holes illustrated a nest similar to a sea turtle laying eggs on the beach. Scooping out sand with my hands to make the holes was the easy part. However, I was still missing a physical product and a name. During my master's degree program at Catholic University, I continued to make 3-D models and prototypes until I finally discovered my ideal solution, a turtle shell (not a real one).
The turtle shell concept has as 5 key components:
- "turtle" to look like a sea turtle nesting on the beach. (female sea turtles lay their eggs on the beach)
- "shovel" or device to scoop out the sand. (female sea turtles dig the sand to bury their eggs)
- "nest" or bowl to catch the balls.
- "barrier" or obstacle to deflect/block balls.
- "scorecard" to track the score.
Since my mission is to minimize the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean, I did not want to contribute to more ocean plastic and simply create another plastic beach game. Through product research, I was inspired by nature and discovered that billions of coconut shells were going to waste every year. As a biproduct of the thriving coconut industry, coconut shells have traditionally been burned or discarded as landfill. Since half coconuts are naturally shaped as a bowl, I believed that I could re-purpose these coconut shells into a fun beach game.
Coconut shells are lightweight, durable, and stackable which will save space in your bag and the trunk of your car. Lastly, I started hand etching turtle shell patterns on the outer shell. When the coconuts are flipped over, the shells look like sea turtles nesting on the beach. The final step was determining the name of the game. I knew the product name should be unique, simple and easy to remember. Since the game consists of a ball game and 'turtle' coconut shells, Turtleball® was born!
Ultimately, single-use plastic poses a serious threat to sea turtles and other marine wildlife. I believe in changing how beach games are made. Every coconut shell is unique, with its own shape, size, markings and imperfections. They are one in a billion and each game is an opportunity to make it your own. This means that nobody else in the world will have a Turtleball game just like yours! Have fun and save the sea turtles!
Daniel J. Hinchcliff // Founder of Turtleball®
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10% of proceeds are donated to the Sea Turtle Conservancy with every Turtleball® purchase! Your support benefits sea turtle conservation by contributing to the activities of the STC, the world’s oldest and most accomplished sea turtle research and conservation organization!
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