In this first season of Swing Forward, co-hosts James Siegal and Jen DeMelo of KABOOM! speak with leading playground manufacturers in the US and around the world about the playground industry and advancing playspace equity. In this episode, we talk with Ole Barslund Nielsen of MONSTRUM about how his company builds unique, custom playgrounds that become the central gathering places in communities. BIO: Ole Barslund Nielsen holds a Master’s degree from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and specializes in sculpturing. This led him to design scenography for Danish theater sets, where he met Christian Jensen and shortly after, the duo pioneered MONSTRUM together in 2003. Ole is the Creative Director of the company and oversees the design of all its playgrounds. He has many years of experience in designing play equipment for kids and is also a certified Playground Inspector. Alongside an extensive knowledge of safety regulations and play value, Ole’s uncompromising approach to artistic and architectural expression has been fundamental to MONSTRUM’s swift growth and progress.  MONSTRUM: MONSTRUM designs and produces unique playgrounds with a focus on artistic and architectural quality. MONSTRUM’s thematic playgrounds spark the imagination and inspire movement while gathering both kids and adults. MONSTRUM now counts over 95 builders, architects, and designers at its workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark. MONSTRUM exports playgrounds to countries all over the world. LINKS: www.monstrum.dk About Swing Forward Swing Forward is a podcast series from KABOOM! on the future of playgrounds and playspace equity, co-hosted by James Siegal and Jen DeMelo. About KABOOM! KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity – the reality that quality places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. Since 1996, KABOOM! has partnered with kids and communities to create or transform 17,000+ playspaces and ensure that nearly 12 million kids have equitable access to the critical benefits and opportunities that playspaces offer. In 2022, KABOOM! launched the 25 in 5 Initiative to End Playspace Inequity to accelerate its mission in 25 high-priority locations over five years. Learn more at kaboom.org or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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