Gecko Climb Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Specs: Gecko Climb Darwin, a mixed-discipline climbing gym owned by couple Jackson Bursill and Grace Skehan as well as Jackson’s mom, Susan Bursill, opened on August 1st this year in Woolner, a suburb of Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. Jackson grew up in Sydney, Australia, before moving to Canberra, Australia’s capital, where he began climbing during what he described as a bouldering gym explosion. In 2019, Jackson finished university and wanted to progress his career, so he moved to Darwin. At the time, Darwin had a climbing gym called The Rock Centre, which Jackson said closed in 2021. He soon started thinking about opening a bouldering gym in Darwin, but after looking at potential locations and doing a feasibility study, he said, “It just wasn’t quite adding up.” Jackson continued to repeat the search once or twice a year for about five years, thinking of which locations would be best for his family and kids as well. “My wife and I were quite committed to this town and this place, and we want to see positive things here for young and old to do,” Jackson added.
Jackson equated Darwin to some southern cities in the U.S. where it is very hot and humid. So, in addition to being the right size, it was important for the building that would house the gym to be air-conditioned and well-insulated, he said, “to keep the space cool and inviting.” The team knew they wanted room for a café, strength and conditioning equipment, and “space for people to exist” comfortably, Jackson continued. “It was a long time, just sitting on our hands waiting,” he told CBJ, but eventually a spot they felt was just right for the gym—which had been unavailable when he toured it three years prior—became available.
The gym was constructed in a 1,277-square-meter (13,746-square-foot) former furniture store, in which Jackson said the team has done “an epic fit out.” That remodeling included tearing down drop ceilings and re-designing the layout of the gym to have distinct rooms, one of which now belongs to an onsite physiotherapist. Jackson spent about six months looking for a professional who would be a good fit to occupy the space, “someone who is thinking a little bit more outside the box, a bit more holistically about people’s health and well-being and rehabilitation,” he said, and eventually found a match. Jackson plans to run injury prevention and similar classes alongside the physiotherapist’s offerings, describing their partnership as a “mutually beneficial relationship,” where Gecko Climb has “the space and the facilities and the community, and he brings that expertise around physical movement and recovery.”
Other rooms in the gym were designed to provide space for birthday parties, corporate and community events, and movie nights, in addition to yoga and fitness classes. As for the climbing areas, the gym features 300 square meters (3,229 square feet) of bouldering surface—including a Kilter Board and spray wall—as well as 290 square meters (3,122 square feet) of rope climbing surface split between seven top rope and eight auto belay stations. Visitors can also access strength and conditioning equipment, a family-friendly zone and a café—which serves snacks, toasties, and espresso from Dtown Coffee Roasters—inside the facility.
As for advice for other gym operators, Jackson emphasized the importance of setting realistic expectations with customers from the outset of a gym project. Since Darwin is somewhat of a remote city, he explained, it was harder to transport steel structures and other materials needed to construct the gym, so he tried to be conservative with the gym’s timeline. Fortunately, the team was in a position with their funding and financing to not need to rush the build, so they opted for an August opening rather than an earlier one. Jackson said the decision has paid off, giving them more time to build hype on social media and take pictures of the untouched facility after completion. “At the end of the day, people’s happiness is the reality minus their expectations. So, if you’re able to exceed those expectations, people are going to be a lot happier,” he stated.
Walls: Climb ICP
Flooring: Climb ICP
CRM Software: BETA
Website: geckoclimb.com.au
Instagram: @Gecko_Climb_Darwin
In Their Words: “We haven’t cut any corners. Sometimes, in a place like Darwin, because things are hard to do…I don’t want to say it’s easier to take shortcuts, but sometimes compromises need to be made. But I think the biggest thing for me when I started this project was uncompromising compromises are the only ones that I will entertain. And that’s been my motto—only the uncompromising compromises.” – Jackson Bursill, Director and Co-Owner of Gecko Climb Darwin
