Wanted: Assistant Editor & Writers at CBJ

cbj_logo_white The Climbing Business Journal, a news, research and business site focused on the rapidly growing indoor climbing industry, is looking to add a part-time assistant editor and freelance writers.

Assistant Editor

As an assistant editor with CBJ, you’ll work closely with our editor-in-chief and freelance writers to help conceive and execute big ideas that are reaching thousands of climbing professionals every month. The position is part-time and can be done remotely (estimated 15 hours a week) with pay ranging from $500 – $800 per month depending on experience. If you are a self-starter, consistent and professional editor/writer and want to join a team devoted to giving voice to climbing gym owners, operators, managers and other professionals in the climbing industry, this could be a great opportunity for you. Responsibilities
  • Work closely with the editor-in-chief to create content ideas and an annual editorial calendar.
  • Edit various short and long-form articles, contribute to the conception, assignment, and line editing of stories and conceits.
  • Conduct interviews with article sources face-to-face, on the phone/skype or by email.
  • Create and research special projects and maintain various database spreadsheets.
  • Adhere to professional style guides and ensure that language is clear and consistent.
  • Ensure that stories are factually correct and maintain CBJ’s voice.
  • Help shape copy and headlines so that content is highly shareable and engaging.
  • Additional freelance writing assignments are also possible for additional pay.
  • Qualifications
  • 1 to 3+ years of professional experience in copy editing and/or journalism with emphasis given to business and research.
  • Strong understanding of climbing and the business of climbing.
  • Consistent editing and grammar skills.
  • Ability to meet deadlines and be extremely detail-oriented.
  • Open-minded, positive personality.
  • If you’re interested, please send a resume, cover letter, and links to your portfolio, or at least three relevant pieces of sample work, to Mike@Climbingbusinessjournal.com with the subject line: Assistant Editor — [Last name].

    Freelance writers

    We are looking to build a team of freelance writers who understand the modern climbing industry and create content that our diverse readership will find interesting. We are looking for writers that can take a good story idea and come back with a compelling narrative for an executive audience. Experience and expertise in writing about business and finance is strongly preferred. You must be able to perform research on the assigned topics, meet deadlines, and accept and apply constructive criticism. Please note that this is a freelance and remote position. You must be able to answer emails promptly and conduct interviews in a professional and courteous manner. CBJ articles range from 200 – 2000 words. We pay $100 – $250 per article depending on writer’s experience, scope of topic and length. Required qualifications:
  • Proven writing skills, as well as an aptitude for business news.
  • Instincts for writing headlines and stories that connect with readers’ interests.
  • Ability to follow professional style guides and match writing style to CBJ’s voice.
  • Ability to interpret and analyze business concepts.
  • Ability to drive reader interest via social media.
  • Deadline-oriented time management skills.
  • 1+ years of experience writing journalism, marketing or PR copy.
  • If you’re interested, please send a resume, cover letter, and links to your portfolio, or at least three relevant pieces of sample work, to Mike@Climbingbusinessjournal.com with the subject line: Freelance Writer — [Last name].

    Shopping Centers Eye Climbing

    A climber at Momentum - Millcreek.  Photo: Rootsrated.com
    A climber at Momentum – Millcreek. Photo: Rootsrated.com
    Visiting a climbing gym has typically involved driving to an industrial area on the far side of town. And in many cities, this is still the case. Just finding a building suitable for a climbing gym typically forces operators into warehouses with high ceilings and amenable zoning. Add in the high cost of new construction and real estate, prime retail locations are a no-go for the average climbing gym operator. More recently, however, there’s a trend for large, multi-facility operators looking to place their business not where there’s cheap real estate, but in convenient and high traffic locations that are more typical for retail establishments. At the same time, malls and shopping centers are looking to replace their traditional big-box and mall anchor tenants with what modern shoppers want: experience over stuff. Movie theaters and malls have been pairing up for years. But shopping center operators have been increasingly open to recreational options like climbing gyms, trampoline parks and other experiential activities. Nationwide, there has been about a 6 percent increase in the amount of large shopping center space filled by tenants in the recreation business in the last four years, Suzanne Mulvee, research director and senior real estate strategist at the CoStar Group told the Chicago Tribune. But Americans’ shopping habits are changing as they shift spending to experiences, not stuff, and online buying options grow easier than ever. One such gym operator is Salt Lake-based Momentum Climbing. Momentum has served as the anchor for a neighborhood strip mall since opening their Millcreek location in 2014. The 24,000-square-foot location filled a spot left empty by Smith’s, a grocery store that was acquired by Kroger Co. CEO, Jeff Pederson was quoted in a recent Bloomberg article as saying, “Until Amazon invents a way to go rock climbing online, we are not going to be at risk of becoming a short-lived tenant for these landlords.” That doesn’t mean a recreational tenant is a landlord’s first choice, since such companies often can’t afford typical retail rents, but there just aren’t many retailers looking to add more big-box and anchor spaces, Lynne Brackett, first vice president with real estate firm CBRE told the Tribune. “If they’re doing a deal with an alternative user, they’ve probably exhausted the possibility of getting a retailer in there. But this is a good alternative,” Brackett said. Another gym operator that is moving into downtown and prime shopping center locations is California-based Planet Granite which is opening two Chicago locations in 2018. “Climbing has become more mainstream, so now we’re an acceptable use,” Planet Granite founder Micky Lloyd told the Tribune. “Landlords who 10 years ago would never have talked to us are actively courting us at this point.”

    Climbing is Good For Business

    In the past two years, the mall property manager where Momentum is located has seen increased foot traffic and sales are up at the nearby Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Savers Thrift Store and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt businesses. The gym also has a symbiotic relationship with the REI just down the sidewalk. The move toward experience activities in malls is bringing in more customers, but it comes at a cost. Because of climbing gym’s unique building requirements, many have to invest more in construction than the typical big-box store. Pedersen said his company put $2 million into tenant improvements to raise the roof, allowing for a taller building that could accomodate the climbing walls. When gyms are approached by developers and property owners, they are encouraged to sign longer-term leases. John Dahlstrom, property manager at Wasatch Commercial Management told Bloomberg:
    Momentum has a 20-year lease because they have an “unusual use.” An average lease for retail stores is five years, he said. “That’s part of the dilemma with this,” Dahlstrom said. “At the end of the lease term, it’s their cost and not the landlord’s cost to remove all those things and then make the building back into something that we can use.”
    As interest in climbing spreads and the business of selling climbing is seen as a good bet, Pedersen expects gyms to move into centers run by larger mall operators. “This is the evolution of gyms located in busier and busier retail-type locations,” Pedersen told Bloomberg.

    City Lifts Vacate Order On BKB

    The New York City Department of Buildings has lifted an occupancy restriction they had placed on Brooklyn Boulders’ Brooklyn location. The DOB gave permission to allow up to 280 people inside at the same time, after capping entrants to 75 since April, according to gym and city officials.
    Celebration as restriction is lifted.  Photo: BKB.
    Celebration as restriction is lifted. Photo: BKB.
    For the last six months, BKB-Brooklyn had been forced to limit the number of persons inside the gym to only 75 including staff. This gym responded by setting up a reservation system that was loathed by members. The lifting of the restriction comes just as BKB celebrates its 7th anniversary this week. Owner Lance Pinn told DNAinfo, “Our parties tend to have more than 75 people and it would’ve been a lame party if we didn’t get that [approval].” The May occupancy restriction came after city officials notified BKB of a code violation after a dialysis center moved in next door. The new neighbor forced the gym to separate the buildings fire sprinkler systems and until that happened the gym had to operate under a restricted occupancy. The DNA Info article also mentions an inaccurate certificate of occupancy:
    “The climbing gym opened in 2009 with a certificate of occupancy that listed it simply as a warehouse, according to DOB spokesman Alexander Schnell. It operated without an accurate certificate of occupancy for the next six years until gym staff amended its certificate last week, he added.”
    The code violations did not pose any structural dangers and climbers inside would be safe as long as the gym ran at diminished capacity, DOB officials said at the time. After hearing about the lifting of the ban Pinn said, “Everyone’s excited. I’m excited. You couldn’t find a happier team. If I could light off fireworks, I would,” the owner added.

    Boulder With A Twist

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    The Boulderbox.  Photo: Boulderbox
    The Boulderbox. Photo: Boulderbox
    The idea for the Boulderbox was already on Terry Brochard’s mind for years but he never had a reason, time or money to actually build it. Then, with the impetus to create a little fun activity for the European Ultimate Frisbee tournament he organized, Brochard decided the Boulderbox would be exactly what he was looking for. Brochard, a theater consultant and industrial product designer who lives in Amsterdam created The Boulderbox with two friends; one an experiential artist, and the other a design and development consultant. Together they created a 3D climbing game based on the classic game of Twister. In addition to their careers, the friends also worked at a local escape room in Amsterdam. This diverse group, with far reaching interests and hobbies tackled the challenges of what the box should be made out of; what the dimensions should be; and the positions of the colors and holds. They then transformed their solutions into a working prototype. “We wanted the game to be a challenge, but not impossible,” Brochard told CBJ. If you’ve played Twister (and who hasn’t) then you’ll understand how to play in the Boulderbox. Two to six players attempt to stay on the walls (and roof) of the box as hand and foot positions are called out. The difficulty of the game can be modified by switching out the size and type of the holds in each color. At first the group just wanted to give the spectators of the Ultimate Frisbee a fun activity to do and didn’t think much beyond this first ______. The box turned out to be insanely popular and a video was posted to social media where it quickly garnered over a million views.

    “OMG, where can I play this!”

    “After reactions like these we knew we had something special on our hands,” Brochard said. After talking with climbing industry experts in Europe they protected their idea and set out to make a home for the Boulderbox. In America, the box would have easily ended up in county fairs, schools and kids summer camps. Instead, Brochard and his team wanted to take the box to the millennials and make it hip thing to do while sipping cocktails rather than just for kids.
    The Boulderbox waiting for action at the TonTonClub in Amsterdam.  Photo: Boulderbox
    The Boulderbox waiting for action at the TonTonClub in Amsterdam. Photo: Boulderbox
    So after much searching, the first Boulderbox is now prominently placed and ready for action in an outdoor patio at the TonTonClub in Amsterdam. Could the Boulderbox replace cornhole as the backyard brewery game of choice? If it comes to America, it’s quite possible. Until then however, the team is working on improving the design to be more accessible easier to transport. And though it’s currently only available in the Netherlands, Brochard is getting requests from people all over the world interested in playing, renting, or buying it. “The most awesome request so far has been for Burning Man Festival in Nevada, USA,” he said. Taking the Boulderbox global is the next logical step for the group and the friends are looking for business partners that can help take this simple yet unique idea worldwide.

    Walltopia Fined For Workplace Safety

    The largest climbing wall manufacturer in the world was fined 500,000 Pounds ($663,325) by a UK county Health and Safety inspector during construction of an adventure course. The company pleaded guilty to unsafe working practices after a passerby noticed work at height being carried out from a pallet on the forks of a telehandler (a large boom-type forklift). The workers were also accessing the roof by climbing from the basket of a boom lift.
    Walltopia workers accessed the roof of the structure from a cherry picker, according to the HSE.  Photo: Derby Telegraph.
    Walltopia workers accessed the roof of the structure from a cherry picker, according to the HSE. Photo: Derby Telegraph.
    The Derby Telegraph reported:
    The individual reported the issue to Walltopia but – despite receiving assurances – the firm continued to carry out the work from an unsafe height. The member of the public then reported the matter to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which found that work was taking place on a section of roof 11 metres off the ground, without the use of any means to prevent two workers falling from the open edges.
    Speaking after the case, HSE Inspector Lee Greatorex said: “Using a pallet on a telehandler for planned work at height is an unacceptable means of access. It appears that the company failed to put in place control measures after being alerted about this.” Greatorex went on to say, “Walltopia failed to follow recognized industry standards during work at height and did not make effective changes to the control of their working methods following the matter being brought to its attention.”