Because the Geek Shall Inherit the Earth

Chris Boden is one of the most interesting people you'll ever meet. He might light his wallet on fire when getting you a business card. He might show up in a car covered in lightning bolts, adjusted for performance racing. He might candidly tell you about making a solar death ray. These are just the things he might do.

Boden will definitely be glad to introduce you to The Geek Group, the nonprofit hackerspace that now operates out of the old YMCA building on Leonard NW. Look for the robot in the front yard.

Originally born in Coopersville, MI, he started The Geek Group in '94 in an abandoned warehouse, technically, when he was a kid. The ideas grew and when the group started making videos, their recognition grew. Getting on NPR in 2008 caused their membership to double, and the The Geek Group moved into the old YMCA last December.  

"We have more tools than a Lowe's store," Boden says when you enter the facility.

You might enter through the large garage doors where a Lotus Esprit is being transformed into an electronic car, or a forklift has recently been dissected for a group of students. The room also holds the world's largest Newton's Cradle, made from bowling balls. You may find brothers Dave and Andrew "Batman" Harwood there, hands full of tools, working on any number of projects while Omni, the lab dog, watches patiently.

"Have you ever seen Mythbusters?" he asks. "We are the physical manifestation. Mythbusters is fake; it's a TV show. They built a set, they hired a couple guys and built a show about doing experiments and hands-on science. We went the other way. We built a lab and got a whole bunch of guys together doing hands-on science and then built a TV show around it. And the TV show is just a part of what we do -- it's not the primary focus."

Boden says The Geek Group is the largest hackerspace on Earth by square footage and members, with members hailing from 146 countries, including South Sudan, the newest country in the world.

As a certified 501c3, The Geek Group is funded by donations and membership fees for those who want to use what The Geek Group has to offer running at $40. Online access is free. With a full membership, you'll get access to a vehicular sciences lab, a complete CNC shop, a chemistry lab, a production studio, a live studio where rooms are broadcast constantly ("If you can see the building, the building can see you," Boden says, cryptically), a computer lab and a café. Once The Geek Group is fully online, it will be accessible to members 24 hours a day. "You can literally work on a project for days at a time," Boden says. For the DIY crowd, it's a dream.

When it comes to the vehicle lab, members could come and change their own oil safely in an air-conditioned lab with all the right tools and a hoist in 20 minutes. Members can also join Geek Group teams and work on projects, which may include work on electric vehicles like the Lotus Esprit. Projects may be shot for the Geek Group's YouTube channel, a channel that has an astonishing amount of hits and can contain high voltage, urban exploration and explosions on any given day. They've been on All Things Considered, Spike TV and numerous websites.

And that's not all. The Geek Group boasts "the largest high voltage physics lab that's open to the public," Boden says. The lab features "Thumper," a massive impulse generator that generates a DC high amperage impulse -- 1800 volts, 80,000 amps, 140 million watts. Here, you can watch a piece of tinfoil or a soda can be turned into dust.

So, why all this?

"I want to knock down the ivory tower," Boden says. "I want to fill the gaps in education. I want to champion skilled labor. I want to give everybody who wants it access to learn and explore and create at their own rate. I want to give people the empowerment of their own practical education."

He stresses they are not meant to be a replacement for a university, saying they will never be an accredited degree-granting institution, though it seems a great place for an internship. Anyone interesting in making anything, anyone who craves access to tools they can't get their hands on anywhere else, has just found their playground. Prototype heaven.

Currently, the Geek Group is looking for more members and volunteers who want to come join in the fun -- fun, which may, at this point in time, include painting and some handiwork to continue improving the facilities as well as the excitement of playing mad scientist. Interested parties should check out thegeekgroup.org.


J. Bennett Rylah is the Managing Editor of Rapid Growth Media.