CWA Blog Archive-Beyond Climbing What Does Your Indoor Climbing Gym Need

Beyond Climbing What Does Your Indoor Climbing Gym Need

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This article explores how gyms extend beyond climbing into amenities, and how to do it without compromising the core product. The beauty of a gym is that it serves many purposes: climbing is paramount, with routesetting quality and the walls integral to keeping climbers coming back, but beyond that the possibilities are wide open. Many gyms, whether bouldering-only or full-service rope facilities, have leaned into amenities that can span yoga studios, retail, weight training with professional instruction going well beyond training for climbing, or even a restaurant and bar with trivia nights. Every add-on carries a cost and a benefit, and knowing what will resonate with members and non-members is challenging. To find answers, the author spoke with Rich Johnston, founder of Vertical World (America's first climbing gym) and Brandon Workman, owner of Riverstone Climbing Gym, both in Washington. Johnston's philosophy is clear: he sees his gyms as climbing first, with everything else ancillary, believing you could probably survive on climbing walls and great routesetting alone. But he chooses to offer additional services because they help create a great atmosphere, which he calls the most essential ingredient in getting people to return again and again. That reframes amenities not as revenue grabs but as atmosphere builders that reinforce retention. The throughline is that amenities should serve the gym's core mission and atmosphere rather than distract from it. Climbing and routesetting remain paramount, and add-ons succeed when they enhance the experience that keeps climbers coming back, not when they dilute the focus. Operators weighing yoga studios, cafes, or weight rooms should ask whether each addition strengthens the atmosphere and resonates with their community, because as Johnston illustrates, the goal isn't to become everything to everyone but to build a place people want to return to, with climbing always at the heart.

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How gyms extend beyond climbing into amenities without compromising the core. Vertical World founder Rich Johnston sees climbing and routesetting as paramount, with everything else ancillary, yet offers extras because they build atmosphere, his key to retention. Amenities succeed when they enhance the experience that keeps climbers returning, not dilute it.