EP Climbing

Leading the World’s Largest Climbing Gym Chain – CBJ Podcast with Anne-Worley Moelter

Today’s episode is a rare interview with Anne-Worley Moelter, one of the most accomplished and experienced professionals in the climbing industry. Currently she serves as CEO of Movement Climbing Gyms, the largest chain of climbing gyms in the world. But her start in our industry began over 25 years ago in Colorado, when she was a manager at Boulder’s first full climbing gym. She later co-founded the first Movement location with her husband Mike Moelter, after spending half a decade as USA Climbing’s first Executive Director. She’s also currently a Vice President of World Climbing, formerly the International Federation of Sport Climbing.

Through her wealth of experience, Anne-Worley has learned a lot about our industry, careers, personal and professional motivations for climbing, and much more. In this episode she sits down with Scott to share her insights, from leadership wisdom to stewardship guidance and beyond.

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General Topics Covered

  • Anne-Worley’s background
  • Perspectives on climbing industry career development
  • Leadership culture to nurture careers
  • Unionization at Movement
  • How private equity can affect a business
  • Differentiation, competition and saturation
  • Stewardship of outdoor climbing spaces

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Show Notes

Thank you Rúngne, Rock Gym Pro, Kilter, Strati Climbing and Trango for your support!
And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!

Anne-Worley Moelter

Anne-Worley and Mike Moelter
Anne-Worley Moelter and her husband Mike while opening the original Movement location in Boulder.
Anne-Worley climbing at a bouldering competition
Anne-Worley competing in a Professional Climbers Association (PCA) event in 2004.
Anne-Worley holding up a scorecard
Anne-Worley holding up a score at the 2004 TEVA Mountain Games, the pre-cursor to the Vail World Cups.
Anne-Worley climbing outdoors
Scrambling in the Flatirons.

Scott Rennak

Scott has been promoting indoor climbing since 1997 when he bought Climb Time of Cincinnati and started what would become the American Bouldering Series (which later became the USA Climbing bouldering division). Since then he has helped hundreds of small businesses grow including climbing gyms and manufacturers. Scott is the owner and publisher of CBJ, and is available for projects through Reach Climbers. In his free time he still scours nearby hills for fresh boulders, skis all year, and is a dedicated father.
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