Memories Traverse City, Michigan

Join Jared Christie, Polaris Adventures Content Manager, on a trip to Northern Michigan and the home of Traverse City. Meet the man who started with one ride and soon became hooked on a lifetime of adventure. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to the Polaris Adventures podcast. I'm your host, Jared Christie. If you've ever done something fun in life and then it immediately I'm gonna start over because I screwed that up. See, I told you I'd screw up. Oh good. Welcome to the Polaris Adventures podcast. I'm your host, Jared Christie. If you've ever done something fun in life and then become immediately hooked, then you'll understand today's guest. His one-day rental turned into a purchase and then it turned into multiple purchases, and now he's planning to take over the entire state of Michigan. Please welcome to the show Craig Eatman, owner of Memories Traverse City Rentals. Craig, how are you, man?

SPEAKER_01 0:44

How are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:45

I'm doing well. Craig, how does it feel to have world domination on your goals list?

SPEAKER_01 0:52

It feels it feels great. It feels like a game that I just want to accomplish, man. I want to win.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Memories is located in Traverse City in northern Michigan. It's a good two hours north of Grand Rapids and roughly four hours from Detroit. Tell me about Traverse City and what makes it such a great outdoor destination.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Travis City, man, it's my first love. It's a beautiful place. It has it's full of lakes, it's full of trails, it's just something that's like no other out here. It's it's beautiful. And I've traveled all over the place. Me and my family, we took an RV, a lot of different states, and seen a lot of different things. And Traverse City is one of the best places you can ever be as far as just everything lakes, air quality, people. It's just amazing. Food. Yes, and the cherry.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Craig, talk about that story about how Memories Traverse City got started because you got hooked and then you couldn't undo yourself.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yeah, so pretty much. Um it started off. Uh me and my wife came up here on a vacation with our kids, and we stayed at the Grand Chargers Resort, and um I got hooked onto the lake, and I saw a guy out there that was renting some jet skis and boats, and I rented a jet ski from him, and I just fell in love, and I kept coming back every single weekend, every weekend with my family, and we just kept falling in love. And then, you know, I asked the guy, I said, Hey, you know, how do you feel about selling this jet ski to me? He goes, Yeah, I'll sell it. So I bought it from him and I came up with the business plan. You know, I asked him, I said, Is this your office? So you're telling me you make your money by just you know working here off the lake? And he goes, Yeah, and I looked at the lake and I said, I can definitely do this. Um, I can definitely do this. And I I made a decision and I took a risk and I jumped, and now we're here.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Man, that's crazy. You you hear people talking about like they they travel and they go, I could see myself living here one day, maybe, and things like that, but they don't ever really do it. You did it.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Oh yeah, oh yeah, man. Definitely took a lot of faith, um, a lot of just grinding, a lot of a lot of grinding. We started from the bottom, we started just writing jet skis off a beach and you know getting in trouble by the DNR, but you know, we became really good friends with the DNR and the sheriffs because, you know, we didn't know, but we definitely learned. And after our first year of success, we bought seven more jet skis and then we bought some side-by-sides and we connected with you guys.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

All you did was ask for forgiveness and not permission, and it seems to be working out.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

We worked it out. They called me the East Bay guy for a minute.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Well, we're in the middle, right? Well, we're in the middle of winter right now, and that means snowmobile season. I show up to your location. Can I leave and hit the trailhead immediately? And where am I going?

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Definitely. Um, so you come to our location right here off M37, and you know, we get you guys checked in, of course. You know, you can buy snacks or get some helmets, uh, just get things that are essential on the trail system, and after that, we show you how to use the machine and you can take off right from our shop. And the trail system is located right behind us.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Man, that makes it easy. How is snowmobile riding in northern Michigan?

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Addicting. I don't recommend it for people that have addiction problems. This is one of the most addicting things I've ever tried. I mean, I love side-by-sides, but snowmobile takes it to a whole nother level, completely different level.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Man, I hear that. I hear that all the time from people who do both. They they love to off-road, but snowmobiling, they're just like, there's nothing like that.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

My buddy, he said I'll never drive a side-by-side, and I'm just like, wow. He's like, I'm a snowmobile, and I never understood. Now I completely understand. The freedom is just crazy.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

Do you guys get a lot of lake effect snow?

SPEAKER_01 4:52

We are hit with a lot of lake effect snow. This year has been a beautiful year for Michigan as far as just snowfall. And it's really good for our lakes because our lakes, you know, they need a little bit more water this year. So this is working out pretty great in every aspect as far as just everything.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

What's it like when you guys get a whopper of a storm?

SPEAKER_01 5:12

I'm out there singing, I'm driving through it, I'm helping people out of ditches, and I'm just the only happy person in town. That's how it is.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

So I'm out riding around, I'm having a great day. It's lunchtime, and I hear a place called PGO's is the place to stop and grab a bite to eat, and you can't skip the buffalo dip. Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Oh man, so that trail right there to PGO's is actually a really, really amazing trail. It has a little history, it actually does. Um, in that area, that's actually where we started renting our side-by-sides from. And we used to send people right from the Rosha Road parking lot, which was across the ways from PGOs. And I never knew you can access that state of land until the winter time happened. And it's only open during the wintertime. So once we were able to pretty much go over there and see exactly what was going on, I decided that would be the best route for customers to take if they're looking to go have some really good fun and have some really, really big hills because that area is full of power lines, but the power lines are humongous. And I mean, it is fun and breathtaking at the same time. So yeah, PGLs is definitely one of the good spots to go to on the trail system. But we have a lot of different places you guys can visit a lot.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

What's that like when you have that power line trail or some of those hills and you're just letting it rip? Um, it's fun.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

I call it throttle therapy. It's it's definitely something that you know it gets to you. And then the machines that we provide to customers from you guys is top of the line. These are entry racing vehicles, and they're super fun. They're very super fun.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

Yeah, that's great. Now, when the winter ends and the off-road season opens up, I feel like Traver City is a place that just explodes with options. Where can I go on the dirt?

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Yeah, so we have a variety of options. Like I said, this trail system is over 3,400 miles long. So you have a lot to explore. Um, you can go from Traverse City to Williamsburg, from Williamsburg to Kalkasca, Kalkaska to Fife Lake, Lake Fife Lake to uh Lake City, Lake City to Grayling, Holton Lake. There's a lot of different places you can visit starting right from here, right in Traver City. So if you want to do a multiple-day uh trip or excursion, you guys can definitely do it. We have the uh Polaris Expedition. So if you're looking to go out there for a couple days and you know bunker down out in the woods and do some camping, you can do that as well, too.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Yeah, here things like uh Lake City ride, dunes, forest trees, open fields, got a bit of everything going on.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Not every single thing. It's uh you ride 30 miles and you're in a whole different terrain. It's beautiful. And it's nothing, I mean, you have your challenging parts if you want to go off trail system, but if you stay on the trail system, it's just lots of rolling heels, lots of turns, lots of trees, lots of just scenic, beautiful sights.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Does that surprise people? Do they know about it?

SPEAKER_01 8:26

No, I didn't know about it. When I got here, it was just jet ski because I didn't I didn't think that Driver City had a backyard like this. I didn't think it was so beautiful. I didn't know that people actually, you know, had a job on making fun things for grown-ups. And, you know, after riding that and sitting out there for a long time, I joined the uh ORV Club, the uh what is it called? The Northwest ORV Association, and I actually do the grooming on the trail system now. So it's fun to see people enjoying, and it was also it's an honor to be out there to actually groom the trail system too, to get back. It is in your blood now, isn't it? It's what I do. I don't leave anyone behind. I'm an expert at getting people unflipped and keeping people safe.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

Did you ever think that that was going to be a part of your life?

SPEAKER_01 9:15

I had a dream and I didn't understand the dream when I was younger, but now I do. I always wanted to do something with Power Sports. I've always been a Power Sports type of guy. I used to rent some machines from a place called Bunker Hill. I don't know if people know about that place, but you know, it's a crazy off-road place that I used to go to. And I came up here a couple times and I went snowmobile riding, and like I said, it's it's everything that was needed up here.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

You got the dirt, you got the snow, but you also guys do slingshots as well. And I hear in the fall, you got this place called the Tunnel of Trees that's absolutely spectacular.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

Oh man, like I said, Travis City is the whole bundle. It's you know, you go left, you go right. There's something to do every way that you guys go. So yeah, you have the tunnel of trees, but that's just not even it. You have the um the lighthouses, so many different lighthouses to visit, so many different small towns, but the restaurants are unbelievable. The restaurants are crazy. So if you guys are on a slingshot, you can go from here and take M22 all the way straight 10 minutes away from our location and go on the most scenic, beautiful ride that you've ever been on in life. Period.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

For those people who don't know, Craig is also the mayor of Traverse City. He's also in charge of uh the Convention and Visitors Bureau. What else, man?

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Not yet, not yet.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

No, not yet.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Maybe one day.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

That's awesome, Matt. Now, I also hear you've been doing some expansion. Let's start a little closer to home with Grand Traverse Resort, that place you first visited. You're already running snow out of that location with plans to do off-road and slingshot as well. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we actually are partners with the Grand Travers Resort. And um, we actually partnered up with them in the season, but they were just selling rooms with tours and they were sending it to us. And I decided, you know, instead of sending it to us, why don't we put an on-site location at the resort so this could turn your resort into the one-stop experience and give them the best, give them the best customer service in town. So we have a location that's at the Grand Travers Resort now in the Myers Field, right across the street from the resort. And if you book with the resort, you'll be able to get our tours. It's beautiful and it's fun. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

That's great. But that's pretty close to Travers City, but is the terrain different?

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Um It's right in Travis City, so it's pretty much if you guys are coming, there's two different ways you guys can come into town. Well, three. You can fly in, of course, or you can come in through M77 or excuse me, M37, and or you can come through M72, which is the same way that the Grand Travers Resort is at, which is on Williamsburg, which is right on the edge of Travis City. But same terrain, same situation, just different parts of the trail system to access.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Now I'm gonna assume the M stands for Michigan, and those are some of the the roads or highways or stuff like that from not being up there myself.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Yes, correct. Like M22, yeah, all that.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

And then just south of Travers City, near Fife Lake, which you mentioned, you're gonna have the setup there as well.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Yep, so we have a place that we're working with called the Upper. Um, so we're gonna have a location right there at the Upper, so you can grab something to eat. Um, the lake is located right behind the um restaurant, and you're able to grab something to eat there and have a good time, and also it's actually one of the spots of the trail system where the trail system actually brings you right to their parking lot. So now you can actually take off from there as well.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

And finally, a place where a lot of people in that area will recognize Torch Lake. I hear that's one happening spot in the summertime.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Yes, Torch Lake is going to be our main hub location. It's gonna be probably the biggest location that we have. It's known all over the world for the sandbar out there, the beautiful crystal, crystal clear waters. Everything about Torch Lake is just amazing. Now there's more stuff to do. Now you have spleen shots, you have side-by-side tours, um, you have our double decker pontoon boat rentals. It it's it's it's gonna be a different Torch Lake this year.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Do all of those areas have sort of their own unique vibe to them?

SPEAKER_01 13:58

They do, man. You know, everything is really close in town, but you'll have some people that'll never go to torch. You have some people that'll never go to Travis City because the area that they're in is just taking care of their need. It's it's like I say, you're just jumping into different beautiful, it never stops. It's just you're always gonna find something new. I've been out here for years, and I'm always every year I'm finding something new. Every time I drop off a boat somewhere, I'm like, I didn't know this existed. This is beautiful. I gotta bring my kids here. I have too many on the list like a goal-to-go places out here. Um I'm not done.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Greg, you're originally from the Detroit area. Traverse City is your home now. When did you get connected with Polaris Adventures?

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Uh, it had to be three years now. I believe it's three years ago. Yeah. Yeah, it'll be three years going on now.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

You were doing rentals. Why'd you partner with Adventures?

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Adventures, you know, Polaris is definitely, you know, something that I love. I always we have a couple of Polaris machines, you know, to begin with, and it's a machine that we really love. And I looked into the adventure program and I said, you know, this is us. This is us. They don't have a location that's in Travis City, and you know, we're the people that's holding it down in Travis City, so we're not partnering with the best people out here, which is Polaris. So, you know, we called and we spoke to a couple people and did a couple interviews, and now we're here.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

Where do most of your renters come from?

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Oh, everywhere, man. We have people that come from Russia, um, Ukraine, everywhere in Texas, um, Indiana, just everywhere. And a lot of people, you know, a lot of people are saying they said uh Chat GPT sent me to you guys. What? Yeah, they said things to do in Traverse City and Chat GBT. I had about 20 customers tell me that, and that's amazing too. But it's yeah, they're coming from all over right now.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

That's funny. You went way global to with your first answer with Russia and Ukraine, and I'm thinking he's probably gonna say, you know, Illinois and maybe Pennsylvania and Ohio and things like that. But he went full on like 10,000 miles away.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

You know what? We just had a big party. You know, it was about 20 um Ukrainians, and then we had a big party last week, and it was about 15 Russian people. It it goes all over. Everyone from all over the place comes and visit us, and it's always fun to get to know them, and they love us, and we love them.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

That sounds awesome. Well, whether it's winter, summer, or fall, if you're in northern Michigan, Craig and Traver City, man, they got you covered.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Yes. Come see us, we'll be more than happy to have you guys.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Well, I'm excited for you. I didn't realize you had so much going on. Craig, thanks for being on the show and enjoy the rest of your season. Thank you. Be sure to like and follow the Polaris Adventures podcast wherever you listen to your podcast, and we will talk to you again soon. Remember, you belong out here.