Gripped Fitness
Fayetteville, West Virginia
Specs: Gripped Fitness, a bouldering and pickleball facility in Fayetteville, West Virginia, opened last October after years of planning. Owned by Jeanna Crockett, Kensie Whitfield and Kim Shingledecker, Gripped started as an idea after Crockett and Whitfield “were splitting our lives between Charleston, South Carolina, and Fayetteville, West Virginia,” Whitfield explained. The two had been running Coastal Climbing in Charleston since 2012 but were drawn to the New River Gorge region for its “bulletproof sandstone, wild water, bikes, dirt and community,” said Whitfield. According to Whitfield, “People have tried for many years to build a climbing gym here [in Fayetteville], and it somehow felt like our turn.” They started talking with Shingledecker, “a local legend and owner of Pies and Pints,” in 2019, before “things got serious around 2022-2023,” he said. The team felt “the community here deserved a proper climbing facility,” Whitfield added, and if they wanted it, they’d have to build it.
According to Whitfield, “the New River Gorge climbing community has grown a lot over the past decade—thanks in no small part to Gene and Maura Kistler, whose fingerprints are all over the culture here,” and since the pandemic “more and more climbers have been calling Fayetteville, West Virginia, home.” Located just miles outside of the country’s newest national park, Fayetteville is an entry point to the New River Gorge, and, with the recent population growth, the owners of Gripped were confident “this area could support a new social anchor point, a place to move, train, and be human together,” said Whitfield. “Gripped exists to strengthen those connections—to be more than just a gym. To be a kind of hearth for the community, made of plywood, foam floors, and honest sweat.”
The Gripped team started looking for property pre-pandemic, but nothing fit their vision. They considered renting, which they felt “puts you at the whim of the landlord,” then ultimately “made the decision that either we build it ourselves in order to control costs or it doesn’t happen,” Whitfield explained. Eventually, the trio found a flat plot of land where they built the facility from the ground up. Whitfield said he and Crockett “try hard not to make waste for the sake of convenience,” and during the build-out phase they “found a gym in Louisiana unloading beautifully built, barely used Walltopia walls.” Whitfield met a crew in Shreveport, Louisiana, tore down the walls with the help of OnSite, then transported and installed the walls in Fayetteville. “After years of operating my other gym inside a century-old building in South Carolina, having a space built intentionally for what we do feels like an unfair luxury,” Whitfield stated.
When considering the new gym’s location, Whitfield said it was important that the end result be “a place that feels good to work in,” adding, “that matters just as much for our staff and the people who walk through the doors.” The facility is right next to a private airstrip, where Whitfield said folks can “glance out the bay doors to see a biplane cruising in or out.” Gripped is in proximity to the town’s grocery store and is just off Highway 19. “It’s tucked away, yet convenient and unmistakably Fayetteville,” Whitfield continued.
Gripped Fitness encompasses an 18,000-square-foot space with 3,000 square feet of climbing wall surface, including bouldering terrain, two adjustable Kilter boards, an adjustable Treadwall, a crack machine, campus boards, hangboards and a fitness area.
Additionally, Gripped features a 10,000-square-foot area for pickleball, which includes four pickleball courts. Whitfield said they decided to include the sport because “pickleball runs on a business model that mirrors bouldering—low staffing, predictable surges, simple check-ins. It’s exploding nationally, and the tri-county area didn’t have a dedicated facility.” Additionally, they wanted a way to attract non-climbers to the gym. “Pickleball is accessible, disarming…It broadens the community in both directions,” Whitfield said. “And the space doubles beautifully as an event venue, or potentially even a covered arena for bigger regional climbing comps. Versatility is king when you’re building something from scratch.”
A standard membership at the gym provides access to both pickleball and climbing, and both sports are also accessible via a day pass. “Climbing has deeper roots here, so that crowd is stronger, at least for now. But the pickleball community is picking up energy fast,” Whitfield said. “It’s a great rest-day activity and an easy entry point into the building for people who might otherwise be intimidated by a wall full of holds.”
Walls: Walltopia (installed by OnSite)
Flooring: Strati Climbing
CRM Software: Rock Gym Pro
Website: www.grippedfitness.com
Instagram: @GrippedFitnessWV
In Their Words: “A gym is a community engine. If you’re not genuinely invested in people—their needs, their dignity, their quirks—then you’re building the wrong thing. Too many folks open gyms chasing expansion, clout, real estate holdings, or some hollow version of influence. But the real work is quieter: honoring your staff, paying them fairly, respecting the diversity of ideas they bring, and listening to the community you serve.” – Kensie Whitfield, Co-Owner and Operator of Gripped Fitness
