Nestled where an old ax throwing range used to be, Industry City’s latest darling is a chic archery range called Wild Captives.
Its Founder and CEO Kendall Tichner, a TikTok sensation whose balloon-bursting videos engross millions of viewers, hopes the space will be where New Yorkers can find “happiness and self-control in the world, for a little bit of their day.”
The startup’s headquarters opened its door early this July with private weekend lessons in an open room with large windows on the second floor of 67 34th St. The entire course and the arrows were all handmade by Tichner, and she designed the bows herself.
Tichner said she aims to make archery more widespread while encouraging people to feel more embodied and experience an overall sense of belonging.
“It feels like what I should do because it gives more people a chance to pick up and learn [archery] in the way that I think is helpful for people [and] in a way that's inviting,” she said.
“I’m no professional,” Tichner said of her archery skills. It might just be her modesty talking, though, given the way her arrows fly toward the target board with stunning precision.
It’s no wonder her followers, which now amass more than 600,000, liken her to Katniss Everdeen of the popular book-turned-movie series, "Hunger Games." But unlike Everdeen, Tichner is not in it to win it.
“I’m pretty good, but I'm not going to compete in the Olympics, you know,” she said. “It’s about [doing] things that our bodies want to do, and stop thinking about [having] to be great at it.”
Since opening, she’s had coworkers, mother-daughter duos, couples and TikTok followers try their hands at archery.
“It’s great for bonding because it’s a very encouraging atmosphere,” Tichner said. “Everybody is getting better on their own. You’re cheering on everyone next to you.”
Originally from Long Island, Tichner lived in Sunset Park for 10 years before moving to Los Angeles. Tichner initially planned to launch the business in LA. However, this changed when she returned to New York, temporarily for a pop-up event.
“I realized it [made] so much more sense to have a business in New York," she said. "It is just designed better for productivity in that way and people wanted it so much here."
Given Tichner’s previous experience as head of marketing for Industry City, she is already familiar with the Sunset Park community and what people and families like to do in their free time. At first, the range was not open to the public, but she received numerous requests from people who wanted to come in and shoot.
“I’ve just been accommodating based on what the local audience wants and needs [and] I plan to continue to do that,” Tichner said.
When visiting the range for a lesson, participants will do three rounds of free shooting after safety and stance instructions, then pop their own balloons pinned at the center of the target board before ending with a group game.
“People have been gatekeeping [archery],” she told BK Reader. “It is not to be over-thought. Follow the safety rules, and half of it's mental. If people think that they won't be good at it, they probably won't be. And if they can just switch that for a little and be like, ‘You know what? I can do this,’ then they usually do.”
She said sometimes people write what they want to bring into their lives and put it inside the balloons, which could make the activity a manifestation.
“Then everyone's just super jazzed, they high-five, and that's an hour.”
As Wild Captives expands, Tichner hopes to grow as a leader and entrepreneur. Her next growth phase includes hiring and figuring out how to sustainably employ people without fundraising. All Wild Captives employees hired in New York live in Brooklyn, a trend Tichner said she intends to continue.
“The scope of [Wild Captives], I don’t know yet… I hope people love it and want to come shoot all the time,” Tichner said. “I plan to grow with the people.”
Wild Captives is now open for one-hour lessons on weekends.
