Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Whetzal.
Hi Jason, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in a small, working-class suburb outside of Chicago. My dad was a diesel mechanic and my mom was a beautician, and from a very young age I learned how to work with my hands and wasn’t afraid to get dirty. Around our house, we didn’t hire people to handle home improvements or vehicle repairs, we figured out how to do things ourselves.
I discovered pretty early that there was something incredibly satisfying about using my mind to solve a problem and then using my hands to actually build or fix it. It became almost an addiction for me, and it’s something that has followed me throughout my life.
I was fortunate to attend a high school with an exceptional trades program. Every year, students in the program would build a house from the ground up, and we also had a nationally recognized woodworking and cabinetry program. I became heavily involved in those programs while also focusing on team sports. By my senior year, I was named Vocational Student of the Year and received a soccer scholarship to play in college.
Even then, I knew two things about myself: I loved building things, and I wanted to choose my own path to success.
Then I graduated from college in 2009.
I came out of school with a business degree, a chip on my shoulder, and enough money in my bank account to cover about six months of rent in downtown Denver. I assumed I would find a comfortable office job, earn a good salary, and hopefully find an older, successful mentor who could teach me how to build a career.
Instead, I graduated into one of the worst job markets in recent history.
After months of struggling to find a job, I ended up selling mattresses on 100% commission. At the time, I thought it was a huge step backward. Looking back, it was probably one of the most valuable experiences of my career. What felt like a setback was actually a springboard.
Selling mattresses taught me how to sell value rather than simply a product. I learned how to communicate with everyday consumers, understand what mattered to them, earn their trust quickly, and close a sale within a very short sales cycle. Retail hours weren’t for me, so I didn’t stay long, but the lessons did.
From there, I moved into a management position in the construction industry. I was essentially given the opportunity to run a department as though it were my own business, just with somebody else’s money. That experience made something very clear to me: eventually, I wanted to become an entrepreneur and work for myself.
I went on to spend roughly 10 years as a partner in an industrial minerals business, developing new products and creating markets for them. That business took me all over the world and gave me an education I don’t think I could have gotten anywhere else.
One of the biggest lessons was understanding the difference between how something is supposed to work on paper and how it actually performs in the real world. You can engineer a product, develop a business plan, and account for every variable you can think of, but once that product reaches the field, there are a million different elements working against those assumptions. Learning how to adapt, troubleshoot, solve problems and keep moving forward became invaluable.
Eventually, that experience helped bring me full circle. I wanted to get back to my roots—to building things, working outside, solving tangible problems and being able to stand back at the end of a project and see what we had accomplished.
That’s where Go Play entered the picture.
Go Play had already been serving Colorado communities for approximately 18 years under its previous owners, Dave and Jennifer Van Warmer. They had built an incredible foundation, reputation and business. Just over a year ago, my business partner, Mike Kalicak, and I were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take over the company and begin its next chapter.
Mike and I were both relatively new to the playground industry when we took over, so there have certainly been learning curves. There still are. But one of the things I’ve come to appreciate most about this industry is that it’s filled with people who genuinely care about what they’re creating. These aren’t just construction projects. They’re spaces where kids play, families spend time together and communities gather.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not exactly smooth, but every step of it taught me something I needed. Graduating into a recession and settling for commission-only mattress sales felt like failure at the time, it wasn’t. The years in industrial minerals showed me over and over that what works on paper rarely survives first contact with the real world, and you have to be ready for that gap every time.
Mike and I were both relatively new to the playground industry when we took over, so there have certainly been learning curves. There still are. But one of the things I’ve come to appreciate most about this industry is that it’s filled with people who genuinely care about what they’re creating. These aren’t just construction projects. They’re spaces where kids play, families spend time together and communities gather.
We’re still learning, still growing and certainly still making mistakes, but we’re building the type of company that we would want to do business with ourselves.
We’ve been impressed with Go Play LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Go Play designs and installs playgrounds, parks, and site amenities for communities, schools, and municipalities. Ask me for the first words that come to mind about the work and it’s usually some combination of fun, rewarding, and smiles on kids’ faces. Technology and screens play a huge role in kids’ lives today, I don’t think that’s inherently bad, but there’s something incredibly rewarding about watching kids, families, and whole communities enjoy a park or playground that Go Play designed and built.
What sets us apart is our ability to white-glove a project from inception, through design, through installation, to completion. One of us is heavily involved in every step of the process. The buck starts with us and it stops with us. We pride ourselves on a high sense of urgency, quality work, and building a real relationship with every customer we work with.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
First and foremost, credit to Dave and Jennifer Van Warmer, the foundation they built over 18 years is what Mike and I get to build on today.
Entrepreneurship has also taken on a different meaning for me now that I’m raising two young children with an incredibly supportive wife.
Right now, my kids think it’s pretty cool that their dad builds playgrounds. I’m sure the novelty of that may wear off as they get older. But what I hope doesn’t wear off is what they saw while growing up.
I hope they remember watching their parents take risks. I hope they see that building something worthwhile requires hard work, uncertainty, sacrifice and resilience. Most importantly, I hope they learn that it’s possible to work incredibly hard while genuinely loving what you do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://goplayplaygrounds.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goplayparks?stkn=ZGR2dDYzNzlvZDI2
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goplayinc
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-whetzal-96860757/
- Twitter: https://x.com/GoPlayParks
