Flow Climbing, a German-based equipment and clothing supplier for northern Europe has announced that they will be the “Official distributor in Germany for the amazing climbing holds from Teknik handholds out of Canada,” they stated on their website.
New Teknik holds. Photo: Flow Climbing
Flow also announced back in September that they “Are pleased to announce that we have teamed up with So iLL to once again bring these amazing shapes to the German market.”
So Ill volumes available in Germany. Photo: Flow Climbing
Lead area at new Earth Treks – DCEarth Treks Climbing Centers will be opening one of the Nation’s largest gyms in the Washington DC metro area next year. ET announced last week that they will be bringing 35,000 square feet of climbing surface to an undisclosed location within the DC beltway. All that climbing and fitness space will be housed in a 45,000 square foot building.
According to the Earth Treks press release announcing the new gym the footprint of the building will be more than 50% bigger than Earth Treks’ Rockville, Maryland location — which was ranked as the 2nd biggest climbing gym in the nation in 2014. Rockville is just outside the DC beltway and is considered by many to be one of the busiest gyms in the country.
Chris Jenkins, ET’s Chief Operating Officer, told CBJ that, “We keep finding, and the industry is finding, that bigger gyms work.” Earth Treks operates four other gyms in Maryland and Colorado, two of which are in the top 15 largest gyms in the US. “We have other big gyms and they are exceedingly busy and full. So the logical conclusion is to go bigger,” Jenkins said.
Bouldering area.
The large building size was more a result of what was available in the local real estate market than finding the ideal gym size. “I don’t know if we’d go to 45,000 square feet,” Jenkins said in describing the perfect size gym. “But I’m pretty confident that we’ll fill this space pretty quickly,” he added.
Though the location was not specified, ET is expecting that the new location will take considerable pressure off the busy Rockville facility and give their members a better experience. “We have customers that will find it convenient to go to both the new location as well as the Rockville location,” Jenkins said.
Currently the only climbing gym within the DC beltway is Sport Rock’s Alexandria, Virginia facility, which is just south of the District, and will most likely be the strongest competitor for the new Earth Treks facility. Sport Rock also runs a facility in Sterling, Virginia. Despite the close competition it seems ET is counting on the advantage of having multiple locations within the same metro area, which provides a valuable benefit to members. “We think it’s better to share customers with ourselves as opposed to our competitors,” Jenkins told CBJ.
Top rope area.
Where Others Have Tried
Gym operators have been looking to get into the lucrative D.C. market for years but have been stymied by high real estate prices and lack of suitable building space. Earth Treks is keeping the exact location of their new facility a secret for now, so it remains to be seen how far District residents will need to travel to get their climbing fix.
By the end of next year D.C. climbers could have multiple new places to climb. Earlier this summer a combination beer garden, bouldering gym and coffee shop was announced to much excitement. The project, a joint venture between a prominent D.C. restaurateur, a real estate investor and Steep Rock Bouldering of New York City, is located in the industrial area of Northeast DC. Alas, no further details have been revealed since the announcement, and the project seems in flux with the original coffee partner recently announcing that they are pulling out of the project.
Residents of the District will have to wait a little longer to see when they will actually get a commercial climbing facility within their fair city. But with major gym operators opening up in dense urban cities like Chicago and New York it seems only a matter of time.
Until then the over 6 million people living in the DC metro area will have to be content with taking the Metro Train to one of the outlying climbing gyms. But as Jenkins said, “We’re not done yet. We do have other things up our sleeves.”
TRX is just one of many growth trends.
Yoga, treadmills and small group training are here to stay and if you’re not providing them in your gym, you missing out. At least that’s according to a recent report released earlier this fall by the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and ClubIntel.
The International Fitness Industry Trend Report explores the offerings of fitness professionals and gym operators around the world and quantifies the data to reflect growth in trends over the past two years. Though it was an international study over 90% of responses came from the USA.
The study measured adoption and growth rates from 2013 to 2015 across multiple health and fitness categories including: equipment, facilities, programs, services, training protocols, and technology. The report broke down each trend by its level of adoption: niche (fad), emerging, growing or mature.
Though the study focused on traditional health and fitness center operations, the implications for climbing and bouldering gyms should not be overlooked.
Yoga class at Sender One. Photo: Sender One.
Mature Trends
Group cycling and traditional yoga are the only fitness trends that have reached the mature stage of their lifecycle. The report states that the implication is that while these programs have a powerful influence on programming in the industry they are not likely to grow much moving forward.
Climbing and yoga are symbiotic activities, and climbing gyms have been enthusiastically adding yoga to their offerings over the last 5 years. Climbing gym operators are building separate, purpose-built yoga studios into their new facilities, and are staffing them with experienced and highly trained yoga professionals. Though yoga is becoming more popular in climbing gyms and operators are seeing good returns, we’re still a long ways from tapping out the potential that yoga can bring to the climbing gym.
Growth Trends
Personal training was shown to have the highest adoption rate of any program or service in the fitness industry. Climbing gyms are a little behind the times on this one. Perhaps due to the nature of climbing and climbers’ independent streak, personal training is rare in climbing gyms but not unknown.
Boot Camp-style training, small group training, HIIT group exercise classes and functional resistance training have all achieved a high level of adoption in the industry and continue to show above average growth making them growth trends.
According to the report the following activities are poised for significant growth: Personal Training (individual) • Free weight training (individual or group) • Bodyweight resistance training • Functional resistance training • Boot Camp-style conditioning classes • Senior fitness programs • Small group fee-based personal training (six or fewer) • HIIT group exercise classes (more than six).
This shows is that health conscious customers are craving personal and group training, which could add a sizable new revenue source for climbing gym operators.
Personal training from Team of Two trainer Justin Sjong at Planet Granite San Fran. Photo: Team of Two.
The report also highlighted several types of equipment that are growing in popularity: Flexibility/mobility equipment (foam rollers, stretch trainers and myofascial release devices) • Traditional functional fitness equipment and accessories (medicine balls, stability balls, BOSU, balance boards, etc.) • Automated External Defibrillator (AED) • Treadmills • Elliptical trainers • Upright bicycles • Suspension training equipment (TRX or similar) • Non-traditional functional training equipment (Kettlebells, Indian Clubs, tires, ropes, kegs, sandbags, sandbells, etc.) • Stretching zones
Although you might assume treadmills, elliptical trainers and upright bicycles would be at the mature stage of their lifecycle, the survey indicates that at least for the last two years these tools have experienced a resurgence.
Also in the equipment category was suspension training equipment (e.g. TRX or similar). To this we could add gymnastic rings and hangboards which have seen a rise over the last two years in their adoption by both manufactures and operators.
Emerging Trends
All of the technology trends fell within the emerging category. Trends such as online pricing transparency, online registration and reservations for programs, selling memberships online, virtual training and mobile applications all have an opportunity to gain significantly greater adoption by the health and fitness industry.
Online price transparency, though rare for fitness clubs, has been a part of the climbing gym culture from the beginning and should continue into the foreseeable future. Thanks to recent innovations with Rock Gym Pro software, online registration and reservations are definitely an emerging trend in the climbing world. Likewise, online waivers filled out at home or with a tablet at the gym are quickly replacing pen & paper waivers.
Rings class at ARC Climbing in Sudbury, Ontario. Photo: ARC.
Outside the technology realm, the report identified many other emerging fitness trends: Suspension training classes (TRX, Jungle Gym, etc.) • HIIT small group training (six or fewer individuals) • Fusion-style group exercise classes • Nutritional counseling and coaching • Youth fitness programs • Health coaching/wellness coaching (one-on-one or groups) • Youth personal training • Sports specific performance training • Traditional endurance training programs • Medical-fitness based programs • Barre classes • Non-traditional/Adventure Training Programs • Functional training zones
Suspension training shows up again in the emerging category, but this time it’s in the form of organized classes. We are already seeing this type of activity in a few climbing gyms that are offering group TRX and rings classes.
Youth fitness and youth personal training are an emerging trend in both health clubs and the climbing gym industry. Youth climbing teams, however, may be more accurately classified as a growth trend with almost all commercial climbing facilities offering some kind of competitive team. Youth personal training is seeing an uptick in larger markets.
Lifecycle of a Trend. Source: Fitness Industry Trend Report
Fad or Trend?
Many people may confuse a fad with a trend and vice versa. The authors of the study noted this confusion and went to pains explain the difference. Fads are events; short-term phenomena that arise quickly, take the world by storm and just as quickly fade into obscurity. In business they have been known to create mercurial success and mercurial failure. In social spheres, fads have created short-term changes in social consciousness that just as quickly became forgotten.
Fads are a virus that can quickly take over business thinking, sometimes generating short-term profit and more often than not, causing permanent harm. Consequently, as business operators it is vital to see fads for what they are and not incorporate them into your business strategy.
An example of a fad showing up in climbing gyms right now is the rise of ninja warrior courses and classes. It’s true that this style of fitness is very hot right now (and pretty fun) but it is unlikely that ninja warrior training will be around in three years. Is it OK to make some money off this fad? Definitely, but be careful not to put all your eggs in the ninja basket until you’re sure it’s moved from fad to emerging trend.
On the other hand, group instruction and youth training centers are niche trends that are evolving into movements in the indoor climbing industry. Trends have the ability to gain momentum and create long-term societal and business impact. Trends have vitality, often ingraining themselves within the cultural roots of society, whether it is a social trend or a business trend. The power of a trend can manifest itself in the attitudes, values and behaviors of its audience.
High Point Climbing in Chattanooga, TN. Photo: High Point.
Chattanooga-based climbing purveyor, High Point Climbing is not stopping at just three gyms. Earlier this month the company started demolition on their new Birmingham, AL facility which will be their 3rd operation. High Point opened their first facility in downtown Chattagoona and is one of the larger climbing facilities in the US.
High Point co-owner John Wiygul told Nooga.com that the success of the locations has made the expansion of the climbing gym possible and that they had been looking to add a climbing facility to Birmingham, Alabama, since 2014.
“We chose Birmingham because it is twice the size of Chattanooga and it is only two hours away,” he told Nooga.com. “Birmingham was a wide-open market with a location close to their downtown.”
The new Birmingham location will mark a change in business strategy for the company. Currently their Chatty location is heavily dependent on tourists that visit the scenic and retail-heavy downtown corridor. Nooga.com reports that day passes account for 40% of the gym’s profit. Though Birmingham sees a number of tourists, the gym there will be mostly dependent on membership revenue like a typical climbing facility.
High Point Climbing and Fitness Birmingham is scheduled to open in spring 2016 and will offer 28,000 square feet of climbing surface, Wiygul said.
High Point is currently eyeing six other locations in the Southeast for expansion.
“We want to keep expanding in the Southeast and have a network of gyms,” Wiygul said. “We are considering other markets, and the property we find in the city will determine if we expand there.”
Photo: metroparent.com
Owners of climbing facilities have a lot to worry about: risk management, member recruitment, employee retention, the list goes on. Most of these issues can be addressed with straightforward and uncontroversial strategies. However, gyms face a number of issues, from dress codes to free speech, same-sex family passes, breastfeeding, transgender locker room access and public prayer, that are much thornier issues to navigate.
These hot button issues are challenging for gyms, not only because of their controversial nature, but also because many of them are protected by state and federal laws. Therefore it’s essential for business owners to have clear policies in place before an issue arises that could expose a business to bad publicity or a legal battle.
Tom Margolis, a Madison, Wisconsin-based attorney who has expertise in the fitness industry told Club Industry that it’s important for fitness facilities to have policies in place for all aspects of their business that could have legal ramifications. “If they wait to handle things when they occur, as opposed to before they occur, the damage could already be done,” he said.
Letter of the Law
Despite being a private business, if you offer services to the public you are subject to federal law that dictates how you can treat your customers. The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin.
First and foremost, all operational policies should be written down and reviewed by a knowledgable local attorney to ensure that they comply with federal, state and local law. Second only to that is ensuring that you have adequate staff training on these policies.
“Staff should be involved from the standpoint of being educated on issues that could have a legal impact on the health club,” Margolis said. “Discriminating against a same-sex married couple, for example, by even one uninformed staff member could lead to legal action against the gym, as well as potentially damage the gym’s reputation from word of mouth and/or negative publicity.”
Photo: Chris Ayers
Hot Topics
Breast Feeding
Over the past few years many private fitness facilities and community centers have faced public outrage and lawsuits over breast feeding. One gym in Texas faced issues after asking a woman to move to the locker room to breast feed her 13-month-old, while a fitness center in California ran afoul of the law after escorting a mother out of their club after telling her she could not breast feed her son in the locker room.
Forty-nine states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have laws that specifically allow women to breast feed in any public or private location (Idaho is the odd one out). Although the laws regarding breastfeeding vary from state to state, many explicitly state that women are allowed to breast feed a child anywhere they are otherwise authorized to be.
Transgender Bathrooms
Currently there are no federal or state laws requiring businesses to allow transgender customers to use the bathroom of the sex they identify with. However, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers that urges employers to give transgender employees access to bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.
The guide is explicit that restroom access for transgender workers is both a civil rights issue and a health and safety one. “It is essential for employees to be able to work in a manner consistent with how they live the rest of their daily lives, based on their gender identity,” the OSHA guide advises.
Implementing a transgender bathroom policy may not be easy. Planet Fitness received a lot of unwelcome media earlier this year after a member complained to a front desk employee about a transgender woman in the women’s locker room. The employee cited policy that allows people to use changing rooms based on “their sincere, self-reported gender identity.” Planet Fitness’ corporate headquarters told the member the same thing when she called to complain.
The unhappy member began complaining to other members about the policy, which management found to be in violation of their membership agreement. They canceled her membership and the member sued for damages. Planet Fitness stands by the decision and says that it aligns with the company mantra of being a “Judgement Free Zone”. The lawsuit is pending.
Despite varying opinions on the topic, many agree that the best possible bathroom setup for businesses to provide is single-occupancy, unisex bathrooms and showers.
Dress Code
As private facilities climbing gyms have the right to set standards on what customers wear. While a few require everyone to wear shirts (the “no nipple rule”), most gyms in North America choose not to set a specific standard for their members.
It is more common to see specific dress codes for members of the youth climbing team. Many coaches have found that requiring adequate coverage prevents some unnecessary distraction amongst their teen members, and is an opportunity to ensure that team members, which are ambassadors of the organization, are presenting a respectful and family-friendly image.
It still may be a good idea for gyms to have a written dress code policy. Employees shouldn’t have to make a judgement call on how to respond to a sensitive topic such as: a customer walks in wearing a shirt with an offensive message written on it; a member complains about someone wearing a revealing outfit; or someone questions the safety of a member climbing in a long headscarf or hijab.
Are Climbers Special?
These issues may seem remote for some climbing gym operators. In fact when CBJ reached out to the community for examples of climbing gyms that had dealt with these situations we received no negative examples. We did hear from a gym owner in Canada who said, “We already live in a city which embraces all sorts of people from different walks of life, and the climbing community tends to attract those who really embody that spirit.”
This sentiment was found across the climbing industry. Is this because climbers are more highly evolved than the average person? A Texas gym manager responded to our query, “When you put as much trust in people who are basically strangers as quickly as we do (spotting each other and trading out belays). I think that takes out a lot of the initial barriers of acceptance. As climbers we are all a little out there anyway, and we’ve all got some weird stuff”
As climbing gyms become more main stream and attract a broader audience it’s inevitable that some feathers will get ruffled. But as the Canadian owner told us, “I think we’re pretty lucky in that we live in a very progressive community and don’t really have to deal with the tough issues like that (not yet, at least). Everyone just sort of gets along on their own.”
