Climbing Business Journal Podcasts

Growing Membership Through Programming – Evan Pearce

Evan Pearce is the Senior Director of Movement Gyms Colorado. Pearce came from humble beginnings at what is now Movement Sunnyvale—his first industry position was as a front desk worker, which did include the occasional birthday party belay. He then became the assistant manager at the Sunnyvale gym, then became a manager at Movement Belmont, eventually working his way up to Senior Director in Colorado. All of these different career advancements and experiences gave Pearce the knowledge he shares in this podcast episode, especially regarding insights into working in and moving through certain gym roles, gym programming, and measuring success. He also mentions some summer camp hacks for tired kids.
Thank you OnSite for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

On Eye-Pro, Ugly Boulders, and Influencers – Kegan Minock

Kegan Minock is the Gym Director and Head Routesetter at Gripstone Climbing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Having gotten his start in the industry through the youth competition scene, Kegan began setting at Lifetime Fitness at the age of 17 before transitioning into setting at commercial facilities and becoming a USAC Level 4 routesetter. His industry career thus far has spanned leading routesetting at the iconic 90s gym ROCK’n & JAM’n to shaping holds of his own for setters. Our conversation today covers industry growing pains, what it means to be a professional routesetter, the evolution of the trade, the ethics of unpaid work, and the effects of social media on routesetting.
Thank you Approach and Bold Climbing for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Competition Keeps Us Honest – Gavin Heverly

Today's guest is Gavin Heverly, consultant and founder of Rise Above Consulting. Gavin has been working in and around climbing gyms since the late 90s, helping grow gym communities of all sizes, from mom-and-pops businesses to multi-market gym chains. Over his two decades of managing climbing gyms, he's become an expert in scaling, people operations, program development, risk management, and much more. Our conversation today centers on market saturation, differentiation, professionalism, and outdoor impacts as climbing grows.
Thank you OnSite for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Addressing the Entire Climbing Cycle – CBJ Podcast with Chris Klinke

Chris Klinke is the President of Trango, a Colorado-based designer and manufacturer of climbing gear and holds, with history dating back to the company's founding in 1991 by Malcolm Daly. Trango is now a producer of carabiners, harnesses, chalk, hangboards, ropes and more, and the company is also a distributor of Tenaya shoes in the U.S. Chris specifically has had a really fascinating, winding path to getting to the role of president of Trango, and he has gained a lot of business acumen from that multifaceted career journey. As a side note, be sure to start writing down your goals, whatever they may be, because written goals have played a crucial role in helping Chris experience such a cool life and career.
Thank you OnSite for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Bless Its Brushless Heart – Buck Yedor

Today’s episode features Buck Yedor, also known as “Big Wall Buck'' at The Spot Gyms in Colorado, where he oversees routesetting at the five Spot locations. True to his nickname in Colorado—and his Yosemite nickname “Bouldering Buck”—Yedor’s proudest climbing accomplishments include a ground-up free ascent of Freerider on El Capitan and double-digit boulders. Before The Spot, he worked on the Yosemite search and rescue team and was the Head Routesetter of Northern California gyms at Touchstone Climbing. Yedor has set for a couple of National Cups, chiefed the Battle of the Bay, and most recently set for both a sport and bouldering North American Cup. In this episode, Yedor covers the ins and outs of managing a multi-gym routesetting program and the importance of strong leadership starting from the top down. He also discusses the nuances of setting grade and quality consistency among multiple gyms under the same brand, building an environment of consistent learning, considerations for hiring novice setters, encouraging setters to explore different perspectives, and the ever-evolving trends of the routesetting industry versus the wants and needs of the community.
Thank you EP Climbing and Trango for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Gyms Have Changed; Culture Has Stayed the Same – Bryan Pletta

Bryan Pletta founded Stone Age Climbing Gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the 1990s. On this episode of the CBJ Podcast, Pletta details what it was like to create the gym, and he expounds on the gym’s progression over the years—ultimately resulting in two current locations, Stone Age North and Stone Age Midtown. Pletta also discusses “gym culture” of the 1990s: How that culture has changed since then, and also how the culture has not actually changed that much. Pletta also talks about the logistics of hosting competitions and the benefits of competitions for any gym.
Thank you OnSite for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Days of the “Big Boss Brain” – Kasia Pietras

On this episode of The Impact Driver Podcast, Holly Chen—routesetter, journalist, and contributing writer at CBJ—hosts Kasia Pietras, a legendary, OG routesetter. Kasia has been climbing since 1996 and setting since 2003. She has set for almost 100 competitions—91 to be exact—at the time of recording. Kasia is a USAC Level 4 routesetter, SPI and CWI certified, teaches USAC Setting Clinics on occasion, and is currently working at Kilter Grips in Frederick, Colorado. She’s also among the first cohorts of setters who saw a routesetting transition from unpaid volunteer work to a fully-fledged profession. Holly and Kasia’s conversation begins with a walk down memory lane, then covers conflicts that can arise between routesetting teams and gym management, insider knowledge, setter burnout, and more.
Thank you Trango and Rock Gym Pro for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Mexico’s Gym Industry Is Booming – Javier Díaz

Javier Díaz co-founded a gym, Sierra Elevation, in Mexico with business partner Adrian Hovelman in 2021. Two years later, Sierra Elevation merged with Adamanta, the leading climbing gym chain in Mexico. Packed into that multi-year period was an on-the-ground education for Díaz, as he learned what it took to operate a gym in Mexico, realized the advantages of partnering with a larger entity, and borrowed ideas and concepts from gyms that he had visited in the United States. In this episode of the CBJ podcast, Díaz discusses that backstory, while providing a brief history of Mexico’s gym scene and giving some valuable assessments of Mexico’s climbing gym culture. He also explains why he thinks Mexico’s climbing gym industry is on the cusp of a veritable boom period and about to “go big.”
Thank you OnSite for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Keep Them Sketched Out – Claire Kawainui Miller

Joining Holly Chen on the Impact Driver podcast this week is Claire Kawainui Miller, a crew leader at Touchstone Climbing, USAC Level 2 Routesetter, climbing movement enthusiast and loving mother of two cats. Claire and Holly’s simultaneously fun and serious conversation meanders from gender inequities to ladder fiascos and covers Claire’s most controversial setting opinion, the pervasiveness of imposter syndrome, offering inspiration and energy to coworkers, keeping comp climbers “sketched out,” the value of wide representation and different perspectives in all things, and at least one setting exercise you won’t forget.
Thank you Vertical Solutions and TRUBLUE for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Limited Resources, High Demand: Making It Work as a Nonprofit Climbing Gym – Jen Piperno

Jen Piperno is the Executive Director at Teton Rock Gym in Driggs, Idaho. Teton Rock Gym is unique because it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and that designation frames the gym’s operation, outlook and funding. In this episode, Piperno explains more about what it means for a climbing gym to be a nonprofit business and how such designation can allow a facility to uniquely connect with the local community. Piperno also discusses how her various academic and professional pursuits—including earning a master’s degree in nonprofit management with a concentration in social business—ultimately led to her current distinctive role in the climbing gym industry.
Thank you OnSite for your support!And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!