Today we’d like to introduce you to Kerby Barker.
Hi Kerby, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My entrepreneurial journey truly took off in 2018 with a leap of faith: a video game truck, a trailer, and a stack of zero-interest credit cards. My background was actually in zoology, and I had previously tried a couple of times to build a business around my love for animals. But when I pivoted to mobile entertainment, I found my footing, and the gamble quickly paid off.
For two years, our business thrived. Alongside the video game truck, we offered mobile laser tag and archery tag. We were at the top of our game, partnering with schools all over the area and working with major organizations.
Then, 2020 happened.
Overnight, our momentum came to a grinding halt. We had $70,000 worth of bookings on the calendar, and in a flash, every single one of them was gone. Because we were still aggressively paying down the initial debt from launching the business, the pandemic shutdowns absolutely devastated us. We lived off credit cards for nearly a year just to survive.
I knew we needed to adapt. I realized our laser tag experience was incredibly unique—it felt exactly like playing a live-action video game—and I wanted a dedicated space to fully explore that potential. In March 2021, with practically nothing in our pockets, we opened a standalone Family Fun Center called the Colosseum in the Layton Hills Mall, located directly above Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Through sheer grit, we built that empty space into something incredible. Sales took off, we grew to a team of 10 employees, and for our first two years at the mall, we did exceptionally well.
The Plateau and the Grind
However, surviving COVID had come at a steep price. Almost all of our spare profits were being poured into paying off the debt incurred during the pandemic. We couldn’t save any of the money we were making; we were just trying to catch up. As times got a little harder, our equipment began to decline, and the business eventually plateaued.
In 2023, feeling the strain of the Colosseum, my passion for zoology called to me again. I started an animal-focused YouTube channel. While it gained exciting traction, it wasn’t generating an income yet. Recognizing that I couldn’t rely on the animals to pay the bills just yet, I put my head down and went back into the trenches at the Colosseum.
I started working Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every single day. By January of 2025, I was determined to do whatever it took to make the Colosseum a massive success. I teamed up with my new business partner, Ammon—who had actually worked for me as an employee at the Colosseum in its early years—and we started rebuilding. I maintained those grueling 72-hour work weeks without exaggeration, a schedule I have kept from January 2025 all the way to today in March 2026.
The Comeback—and the Flood
Our hard work paid off. The Colosseum made a massive comeback. Customers were thrilled, five-star reviews were pouring in, and we were creating highly unique adventures. We introduced “RC League” (a real-life version of the video game Rocket League using RC cars), gel blasters with tracer rounds, and archery tag. The energy was electric, and by 2025, we were having some of the best financial months in our history.
But then, in October 2025, disaster struck.
A flood originated in our space and leaked down into Dick’s Sporting Goods. As the anchor tenant paying the most rent, they held all the leverage, and they had our lease terminated. Just as we were reaching our peak, we were given two and a half weeks to vacate the mall.
Because I had spent all my capital rebuilding the Colosseum, Ammon and I were in deep trouble. For the first time since 2018, I had to swallow my pride and get a standard 9-to-5 job working for someone else just to keep the lights on.
A New Habitat: Pets That Don’t Bark
Before the Colosseum was forced to close, Ammon and I had already hatched a plan to use the arcade’s success to kickstart a brand-new animal business. Even without the Colosseum’s funding, we refused to give up on that dream.
We found an affordable space in Ogden’s Newgate Mall and pivoted back to my original passion: zoology. We launched “Pets That Don’t Bark,” a highly interactive reptile and exotic pet store.
We’ve been running a soft opening for the last couple of months—with our official grand opening set for April 1st—and sales are already phenomenal. We offer a unique, hands-on experience; on Saturdays, or if you’re looking to buy, we encourage customers to hold and interact with the animals. Everything we sell is 100% captive-bred, ensuring we never pull from wild populations.
We also specialize in “bioactive” enclosures. These are essentially self-sustaining, no-cleaning ecosystems complete with real plants, real soil, and helpful bugs. They cycle waste naturally, smell better, maintain necessary humidity for the animals to shed, and provide a far healthier, more natural habitat.
While we are thrilled to serve the local Ogden and Utah communities in person, we also run an online store that ships nationwide. It took a pandemic, crippling debt, a mall flood, and years of 12-hour days to get here, but we are finally building the business I dreamed of from the very beginning.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
To say it hasn’t been a smooth road would be the understatement of the century; it has been a complete rollercoaster. We started on a massive high in 2018, building a thriving mobile gaming business out of nothing but zero-interest credit cards and hustle. But just as we hit our peak, the 2020 pandemic wiped out $70,000 in bookings overnight, forcing us to live on credit cards for a year just to survive. That desperation led to our first major pivot: opening a standalone mall arcade called the Colosseum in 2021. However, the crushing weight of residual COVID debt meant we couldn’t save a dime, leading to a painful business plateau that required me to grind out 72-hour work weeks just to get us back on top.
Just when that grueling effort paid off and the Colosseum was having its most profitable months ever in 2025, we hit our most devastating roadblock yet. A flood originating in our space leaked into the anchor tenant below us, resulting in our lease being instantly terminated and leaving us just two and a half weeks to vacate. It wiped out my capital and forced me to take a standard 9-to-5 job for the first time in years just to keep the lights on. Yet, that massive setback ended up being the ultimate catalyst. My business partner Ammon and I channeled our remaining grit into a brand-new venture at the Newgate Mall, finally allowing me to use my zoology background to launch Pets That Don’t Bark—a thriving, interactive pet store that wouldn’t exist today without every single one of those brutal hiccups.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Pets That Don’t Bark?
At Pets That Don’t Bark, we aren’t just selling pets; we are setting our customers and our animals up for lifelong success. My background in zoology drives everything we do, allowing us to offer a level of care, education, and quality that you won’t find at a standard pet store.
Here is what truly separates us from the rest:
Self-Cleaning Bioactive Ecosystems: We don’t just sell cages; we build bioactive enclosures. By using real plants, natural soil, and beneficial bugs, we create a self-sustaining ecosystem that processes waste naturally. It smells better, it’s healthier for the animal, and it requires virtually no cleaning.
Handcrafted Natural Elements: To complete that naturalistic feel, we custom-make real stone caves and water bowls. It ensures the environment isn’t just functional, but also beautiful and true to the animal’s natural habitat.
100% Captive-Bred Animals: We are strictly committed to ethical practices. Every single animal we sell is captive-bred by us. We absolutely never sell wild-caught animals.
Turnkey, Ready-to-Go Setups: We believe in doing things right from day one. Instead of sending a customer home with a confusing list of supplies, we sell fully completely set-up enclosures so the animal has exactly what it needs the moment it goes home.
Lifetime Customer Support: Our relationship doesn’t end at the cash register. We make ourselves constantly available to our customers. Whether they want to call or text us with a quick question or a concern, we are always here to ensure they have the best possible experience caring for their new pet.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
When looking at the future of the exotic pet industry, I see a massive shift happening right now. The reptile and fish hobby is rapidly moving away from bare-minimum care and pivoting toward providing the absolute best, most natural life possible for the animals.
Because of this, the demand for bioactive enclosures is going to skyrocket. Customers are realizing that setting up a self-sustaining ecosystem isn’t just healthier and less stressful for the animal; it’s also significantly easier for the owner to maintain. However, despite this growing demand, there are currently only one or two major players supplying true bioactive setups. That leaves a massive, wide-open gap in the market, and Pets That Don’t Bark is perfectly positioned to fill it.
Beyond just the product, our biggest competitive advantage is our background. A lot of people who open pet stores do it purely out of passion. They are hobbyists first and business owners second, which often means they don’t know how to market, scale, or weather financial storms.
We are the exact opposite. Because of our journey with the mobile game trucks and the Colosseum, we are business owners first. We understand marketing, we know how to run operations efficiently, and we know exactly what it takes to survive and build a brand from the ground up. We are taking all of that hard-earned business acumen and applying it to a trade we are deeply passionate about, which is a combination most of our competitors simply don’t have.
Pricing:
- Fully bioactive Gecko Enclosures 219.99
- Stone Caves $39.99-149.99
- Crickets 12 cents
- Dubia Roaches 18-50 cents
- Fully Bioactive bearded dragon enclosure 599.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.petsthatdontbark.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petsthatdontbark/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Petsthatdontbark
