Climbing Business Journal Podcasts

On this episode of The Impact Driver Podcast, host Holly Chen interviews Andy Nelson. Andy has been climbing since 1998, and he became the first paid routesetter at Vertical Endeavors in Minnesota around the mid 2000s. In the routesetting arena, he’s done it all, from commercial setting and running a setting crew to comps all the way up to the divisional level. He worked for Nicr

On this episode of the Climbing Business Journal podcast, host John Burgman meets with Climbing Roots owner Lindsay Runne. Climbing Roots' grand opening date is still a little up in the air, but the gym is getting ready to open its doors. During their conversation, John and Lindsay discuss some of the logistics of opening a new gym, what the whole process has been like for Lindsay,

Today The Impact Driver host Holly Chen meets with Claire Gordon, a former competitive youth athlete turned coach and gym owner. Claire has a bachelor's degree in psychology with an emphasis on development psychology, and her coaching spans from coast to coast; from First Ascent in Chicago to Planet Granite Portland (now Movement), ABC Kids Climbing in Boulder, and finally starting

On this episode of the Climbing Business Journal Podcast, host John Burgman speaks with Hailey Caissie. Hailey is the Programs Manager at The Crag in Tennessee, and she is also the author of 101 Climbing Games and Activities. So, for anyone who struggles to think of games to play in youth programs or even adult programs, this book may be an interesting resource. It’s a tool that

On this episode of the Impact Driver Podcast, host Holly Chen talks with Blake Green. Blake is the head setter at High Point Climbing and Fitness in Birmingham, Alabama. A veteran of the craft with over a decade of routesetting experience under his belt, Blake is a USAC Level 4 routesetter and has set for everything from qualifier to national-level USAC youth competitions. In his s

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 Senio

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 le

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 manag

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 fascinat

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 T