€10,000 Prize Pool • 7-Day On-Site Workshop • Long-Term Collaboration Opportunities
We’re excited to announce the International Walltopia Shapers Showdown — a two-phase hold shapers contest created to discover and nurture new shaping talent and collaborate with us to expand the product portfolio of our brands: Walltopia and HRT.
We’ve been shaping holds for almost 30 years. Now we’re inviting new creators to join and shape the future with us.
No matter whether you are an experienced or beginner shaper and want your work to reach climbing gyms and climbers around the world, this is your time to shine.
Why We’re Doing This
Climbing walls are the canvases.
Routes are the artwork.
Holds are the medium — the shapes that guide movement, spark creativity, and turn intention into experience.
We want to open the doors of the world’s top manufacturing facilities to new creative minds. We’re inviting shapers to collaborate with us, to expand the medium of setting and offer route setters an expansive toolbox for crafting the climbing experience of tomorrow.
We plan to commission up to 1,000 new shapes per year, and we’re looking to collaborate long-term with talented shapers who want to be part of that journey. This contest is the first step in connecting with our new colleagues.
This is an opportunity to showcase your creativity and to work side-by-side with us to turn it into real products, getting your shapes manufactured in the world’s most advanced hold production facilities – Composite-X and Walltopia.
How the Contest Works
Phase 1 — Online Concept Submission:
Submit your concept sketches, drawings or a 3D model for one set of holds, along with a short video that presents your idea and approach.
The deadline is January 31, 2026.
Phase 2 — On-Site Workshop:
The top 5 shapers will be invited to Walltopia HQ for a 7-day shaping workshop — all expenses covered. During this week, finalists will work hands-on in our shaping workshop, turning their concepts into production-ready sets. You’ll have access to tools and materials (foam). Production experts from Composite-X will teach you manufacturing tips and techniques and will help you refine your designs for manufacturing.
Prize Fund & What You Can Win
We’ve set aside a €10,000 prize fund, which will be distributed as follows:
1st PLACE: € 5,000
2nd PLACE: € 3,000
3rd PLACE: € 2,000
But the prize money is just the beginning.
What’s more:
The selected shapes will go into production, and each shaper will also get:
- Royalties for every set sold on holdtopia.com
- The opportunity to sign a long-term shaping and production contract with us
- Their name featured in the product line (e.g. HRT by [Your Name])
- Global distribution through holdtopia.com
- Have their shapes manufactured with world-class technology:
- PU & PE holds produced at Composite-X, the largest OEM hold production facility worldwide
- ABS macros and plywood volumes produced at Walltopia factory – the biggest climbing wall producer worldwide
With plans to commission up to 1,000 new shapes per year, this is a unique opportunity to shape at scale — with your work reaching gyms and climbers worldwide and being produced with the same manufacturing power trusted by hundreds of climbing brands across the globe.
Join Us
We’re open to working with both experienced and beginner shapers. If you’ve been shaping for years or if you’re just getting ready to take the next step into a bigger arena — we’d love to see what you can do.
- Prepare your concept sketch, drawing, or 3D model of one hold set.
- Record a short video introducing yourself and your design approach.
- Submit your application by January 31, 2026.
If this sounds like you, submit your sketch/drawing to vasil.sharlanov@walltopia.com
Let’s shape the future of climbing together.
CBJ press releases are written by the sponsor and do not represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
