ethlete lab academy

What ethlete lab academy does

Ethlete Lab Academy (ELA) is a privately held Ohio LLC founded in 2023 that operates a single physical youth gaming lounge and education center at 14414 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio, serving the greater Cleveland metropolitan area. The core facility includes 20 high-performance gaming PCs in an Open Floor Zone, console setups, VR stations, and streaming pods, supported by event space for parties and tournaments. The company was founded by Mike Newton, whose background includes coaching the Golden State Warriors Affiliate esports team to an NBA 2KL Championship and being recognized as the first Black coach to win a 5v5 title.

Ethlete Lab Academy targets youth gamers ages 8 to 18, their parents and guardians, and secondarily K-12 schools and youth organizations. It monetizes through a multi-tier subscription model (monthly memberships, an annual Ultimate Ethlete plan at $950, a 3-month pass at $400, and lower-hour monthly tiers), usage-based hourly gaming passes (including a $90 for-10-hours trial pack), seasonal STEM and esports camps (Spring Break half-day at $185 and Summer STEM Camps 2026), private party and event rentals, school field trips and workshops, and a made-to-order branded merchandise storefront. Per-session STEM classes covering game design, coding, esports strategy, and cybersecurity are priced at $20 each for non-members and bundled free with higher tiers. All bookings are processed through SimplyBook.me and WellnessLiving, with payments handled by Wix Payments and Stripe.

The company operates a community-led, event-driven go-to-market model anchored by in-house tournaments, field trips, and word-of-mouth among Cleveland-area families, supported by content marketing (an "Inside the Lab" blog), an active social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn, retargeting via platform pixels, and an email lead magnet offering one free gaming hour. The technology stack is operational and undifferentiated for the category: no proprietary platform, no AI/ML capabilities, and no mobile app. The operating model relies on the founder's championship-level esports credibility and a structured curriculum to convert youth gaming time into supervised, skill-building programming, addressing parental demand for educational ROI on screen time in a single-location, single-metro footprint.

Name

ethlete lab academy

Legal name

Ethlete Lab Academy LLC

Website

https://ethletelabacademy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ethlete Lab Academy operates a single youth gaming lounge and STEM/esports education center in Lakewood, Ohio, serving ages 8-18 and their families through memberships, hourly passes, seasonal camps, classes, parties, and school field trips.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Gaming & Esports Education

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (71394), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Coding, Game Design & Computer Science Camps (EDAMALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Collegiate/Scholastic Esports Programs & Leagues (MPAFADAK), Single-Sport Skill Academies (Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, etc.) (MPAKAJAB), Virtual Labs, Remote Labs & Hands-On Practice Tools (EDAFABAH)

Keywords

• Youth esports training
• STEM gaming classes
• Gaming lounge memberships
• Youth technology camps
• Esports birthday parties

Headquarters

HQ city

Lakewood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Monthly recurring memberships providing unlimited or tiered gaming lounge access, with member-only discounts on classes, camps, and events, plus exclusive invites. Auto-renews until canceled.
2. STEM Classes and Camps: Weekly STEM and esports classes for kids and teens (ages 8-18) plus seasonal day camps and summer camps covering gaming, coding, game design, and esports strategy.
3. Hourly Gaming Passes and Day Use: Pay-per-use gaming passes allowing non-members to access the lounge on an hourly basis. Includes casual passes and 10-pack options.
4. Party and Event Rentals: Private gaming event bookings for birthdays and team celebrations, including custom setups, hosting, and cleanup managed by ELA staff.
5. Merchandise Sales: On-demand branded merchandise including hoodies, t-shirts, accessories, and collectibles sold through the online store. Products are made-to-order with 2-5 day fulfillment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ethlete Lab Academy operates a youth gaming lounge in Lakewood, Ohio that combines supervised access to gaming PCs, consoles, and VR with structured STEM and esports classes, camps, memberships, parties, and tournaments for children and teens ages 8-18. The academy is led by a championship-winning esports coach and pairs hands-on gaming with STEM curriculum in a safe, supervised environment for the Cleveland metro area.

Product overview

Ethlete Lab Academy is a youth gaming lounge and esports hub in Cleveland, Ohio offering a unified platform combining gaming facilities, educational programs, and membership services. The core offerings include: (1) Gaming Lounge facilities with high-performance PC gaming (20 PCs in Open Floor Zone), console gaming, VR stations, and streaming pods; (2) STEM & Esports educational programs including weekly classes, summer camps, no-school day camps, and spring break camps covering game design, coding, esports strategy, and cybersecurity; (3) Event services including parties, rentals, field trips, and tournaments; and (4) Membership tiers (Blizzard Pass, Monthly Memberships, Social Membership, Ultimate Ethlete Annual, and time-based passes) providing tiered access to facilities and discounts. The company also sells branded merchandise. All services are booked through SimplyBook.me and payments processed via Wix Payments/Stripe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gaming Lounge Supervised, in-person gaming facility with PCs, consoles, VR rigs, and streaming pods where youth ages 8-18 can play and learn in a safe environment.
• STEM & Esports Classes Recurring one-off classes (sold at $20 each) that combine STEM education with esports coaching, targeted at youth participants and paid for by parents.
• Summer STEM Camp Seasonal day camp held during summer break that delivers STEM and esports programming for youth.
• No-School STEM Day Camps Single-day camps run on school holidays/closures that combine STEM and gaming activities for youth participants.
• Spring Break Half-Day Camp Half-day camp program held during spring break, providing supervised STEM and gaming activities for youth.
• Parties & Rentals Private lounge rental bookings for birthdays and group events, giving customers exclusive use of the gaming facility.
• Field Trips & Workshops

Quantifiable outcome

• Youth members develop teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy skills through structured gaming programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• iD Tech: iD Tech operates STEM and technology-focused summer camps and after-school programs for kids and teens, including gaming, coding, and game design tracks. It is a much larger, multi-city incumbent operating a comparable youth STEM-gaming education model to Ethlete Lab Academy.
• Code Ninjas: Code Ninjas is a national franchise offering kids' coding, game-building, and STEM enrichment programs in after-school and camp formats. It competes with ELA's STEM/coding classes and camps for the same youth and parent segments.
• Super League Gaming: Super League Gaming runs youth-focused esports leagues, tournaments, and content programs (formerly in physical venues). It is a broad incumbent in youth esports programming with similar demographic and tournament-based offerings.

Direct peers

• Black Rocket Productions: Black Rocket delivers STEM and digital arts summer camps, after-school programs, and online courses covering game design, coding, and esports for youth. It competes head-to-head with ELA's STEM/esports class and camp business for the same 8-18 age group.
• Esports Gaming Club / Vanta Esports: Vanta Esports operates dedicated youth and family esports centers with PC gaming stations, leagues, and STEM-aligned programming. It is a direct peer running the same physical-lounge + youth esports + STEM model in other U.S. metros.
• Nerd Street Gamers: Nerd Street Gamers operates Localhost gaming facilities and youth/competitive esports training programs across multiple U.S. cities. It is a direct peer offering physical gaming lounges, tournaments, and youth esports coaching — overlapping heavily with ELA's lounge plus coaching model.
• Helix Esports: Helix Esports operates dedicated esports centers with high-end PC and console stations, tournament programming, and youth leagues. It is a direct peer in the gaming-lounge-plus-competitive-esports segment targeting youth and families.
• Activate: Activate operates high-tech, interactive gaming and team-based experience venues with points-based challenges. It is a peer in the tech-enabled family and youth gaming-lounge category, though oriented toward broader interactive gaming rather than esports-specific training.
• GameTruck: GameTruck provides mobile video gaming events for birthdays, schools, and community events with consoles and multiplayer setups. It competes with ELA's party and event rental business and field trip offerings on the experiential side.
• Brickhouse Esports: Brickhouse Esports runs community-based esports centers offering open gaming, leagues, camps, and STEM programs for youth. It is a direct peer in the youth gaming lounge and esports programming category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ELAgaminglounge
• Facebookfacebook.com/ethletelabacademy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ethlete-lab-academy
• Instagraminstagram.com/ethletelabacademy
• TikToktiktok.com/@ethletelabacademy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ethlete lab academy