Breakout KC owners Matt Baysinger, Ryan Henrich and Lucas Thompson answer The Pitch‘s questionnaire

Hometown
Baysinger: Lawrence
Henrich: Overland Park
Thompson: Louisburg, Kansas

Current neighborhood
Baysinger: Barker neighborhood in Lawrence
Henrich: Robandee South (I live on 40 acres just east of the Grandview triangle.)
Thompson: Lawrence

What I do
Baysinger: I’m a catalyst. I love to take 10-year plans and turn them into 10-month plans.
Henrich: I’m an ideas man who seeks to make those ideas into reality. I dream. I do.
Thompson: In the process of turning crazy business ideas into crazy businesses to help KC keep the “cool city” status it has gained in the past few years.

What’s your addiction?
Baysinger: Creation. I think we’re here to do stuff, build stuff and create things.
Henrich: My Enduro. I can’t get enough of adventure motorcycling.
Thompson: Cheetos hot fries. My innards hate me for it.

What’s your game?
Baysinger: Indoor soccer, Settlers of Catan and Blokus
Henrich: Poker. Always brings the guys together for the best times. Oh, and skeeball.
Thompson: European board games

What’s your drink?
Baysinger: Cream soda — or any of the 1,300 soda varieties we carry at Mass Street Soda and KC Soda Co.
Henrich: La Fin Du Monde
Thompson: I’m on a Moscow Mule kick with the rest of the country.

Where’s dinner?
Baysinger: Jack Stack Barbecue. I am absolutely obsessed with their cheesy corn.
Henrich: Il Lazzarone pizza or any sort of rooftop picnic.
Thompson: Thai Siam

What’s on your KC postcard?
Baysinger: The skyline. I think we have one of the most beautiful cities in the country, especially coming from the north on 169.
Henrich: West Bottoms. I love the grittiness, and you’ll often find me tearing around there on my Enduro.
Thompson: Union Station. That place is beautiful and full of history.

Finish this sentence: “Kansas City got it right when …”
Baysinger: They revitalized downtown. In high school, I was told to stay away from certain parts of the city. Now we’re opening businesses in the same general area instead.
Henrich: We started making huge strides in reinvesting in the infrastructure in the heart of the city. Big things are happening and will continue to happen.
Thompson: They revitalized downtown. It’s completely changed the city.

“Kansas City screwed up when …”
Baysinger: They drafted Todd Blackledge instead of Dan Marino in the 1983 NFL draft.
Henrich: They didn’t move the ballpark into downtown or the West Bottoms (although I love the remodel at Kauffman).
Thompson: We got rid of the Zambezi Zinger at Worlds of Fun

“Kansas City needs …”
Baysinger: To host the Olympics. Seriously, it would be awesome.
Henrich: Mountains.
Thompson: The Zambezi Zinger back. It’s in Colombia. We need to start a Kickstarter or something.

“I always laugh at …”
Baysinger: Just about anything my 19-month-old daughter does. She is just the best.
Henrich: Hot Rod. My name is Rod, and I like to party.
Thompson: Charlie on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Mainly when he’s an oil tycoon.

“I’ve been known to binge-watch …”
Baysinger: Everything. Once I get hooked on something, I can’t let it go until I am done with it.
Henrich: I rarely watch TV, but when I do it’s House of Cards.
Thompson: Law & Order. Any version.

“I can’t stop listening to …”
Baysinger: Needtobreathe. They are the best live show I’ve seen in years, and their newest album is incredible.
Henrich: Needtobreathe.
Thompson: Hembree. A couple old friends from Lawrence who have always produced amazing tunes.

“I just read …”
Baysinger: Scary Close by Donald Miller. His work is a great reminder that our experiences are only as important as the people we share them with.
Henrich: Zag.
Thompson: City building codes. There are so many to follow, and there are so many things to make sure you’re in compliance.

The best advice I ever got
Baysinger: Do everything with love.
Henrich: Rate everything on a scale of 1–10. Take everything that is 8 or less and stop doing it. Do only 9s and 10s. And I’m much happier.
Thompson: My dad got me my first job at a restaurant when I was 14. He told me to never stop working. If there wasn’t any work, then I needed to either ask someone what needed to be done or find work to do. I’ve been working my butt off ever since.

Worst advice
Baysinger: “Nice guys finish last.” If we aren’t kind to people, I’m not sure whatever we are doing is really worth it.
Henrich: That I should finish my college degree.
Thompson: I was once told I could take a five-hour direct bus from Kep, Cambodia, to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We ended up riding in one bus and four minivans for 14 hours and then dropped on the wrong side of HCMC at 3 a.m. It made for a good memory, though.

My dating triumph/tragedy
Baysinger: Somehow, I convinced my wife, Emily, to marry me. It’s probably the smartest thing I’ve ever done.
Henrich: Against all odds, I found my adventure buddy, and she is smoking-hot, too.
Thompson: I broke up with a really cute girl my freshman year of college because I was a dumb 18-year-old. It just didn’t feel right. Ended up studying abroad with her again junior year in Italy and traveling with her, and became good friends. Started dating our senior year and got married a few years later.

My soapbox
Baysinger: My generation really sucks at RSVPing to events. People, it’s not hard. Make a a decision and do what you say you’re going to do!
Henrich: Do what you say you’re going to do! Be of your freaking word, and when you’re not, you better have the sincerest apology lined up.
Thompson: Kansas needs to fix its education issue. Cutting taxes and cutting funding to schools is not going to make Kansas a better state. It is hurting our kids’ futures.

My recent triumph
Baysinger: We are pretty proud of everything we’ve done with Breakout KC so far. The response has been tremendous, and we love seeing so many folks walk out with a smile and a shared story, whether they broke out in time or not.
Henrich: Getting the build-out for Breakout KC done. It was a bit of a roller coaster, but we’re still alive and now we’re open.
Thompson: Decided to open two businesses — Breakout KC and KC Soda Co. — within a month of each other.

See breakoutkc.com for more on the live-action escape game.