What does it really mean to push an industry forward without losing sight of the people climbing on your walls? On this episode of the Impact Driver Podcast, host Holly Chen invited Rylan Marshall-Meistrich (he/him) into the studio to hear his answer.
Rylan has been climbing since 2004 and setting since 2005, starting out at ROCK’n & JAM’n (now The Spot Thornton), one of Colorado’s earliest climbing gyms. He then worked at Planet Granite in San Francisco and a stint in Tahoe before returning to Colorado in 2017 as head setter at Movement Boulder. Now, Rylan is Movement’s Colorado Director of Setting.
With nearly two decades of setting experience, Rylan has set at nearly every discipline of USA Climbing nationals and holds a USAC Level 5 certification. Outside the gym, he runs a small recording studio in his basement and has been playing music since middle school—a side of him that shows up more in his setting philosophy than you might expect.
General Topics Covered
- What is a routesetter’s job, really?
- Setting for your audience: from professional athletes to the birthday party room
- Setting for yourself: when it can serve the climber and when it only serves yourself
- The fine line between creativity versus usability
- The impermanence problem: why routesetting innovation often has to happen slowly and what that means for setters trying to push the envelope
- How trends move through the industry and the difference between duplication and emulation
- The difference between vertical and lateral career progression in routesetting
- The USAC pipeline, online presence, and how setters are building reputations in a more competitive field
- Where competition bouldering is heading, and an honest reckoning with what experience actually means with a long career
Show Notes
- Movement Gyms Colorado
- Necessity Breeds Invention – the Impact Driver Podcast with Andy Nelson
- On Eye-Pro, Ugly Boulders, and Influencers – the Impact Driver Podcast with Kegan Minock
- Lessons From the Sharp End of Modern Setting – the Impact Driver Podcast with Mike Bockino
- Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
- Born from the Climbing Life: Episode 4—Drifter’s Escape—The World’s Hardest Trad Climb
Closing Notes
If you’d like to nominate someone as a guest next guest, have a topic you want to see us tackle or have questions, we’d love for you to reach out. You can find our pitch form here.
The Impact Driver Podcast is a production of the Climbing Business Journal. Today’s episode is sponsored by Rúngne, Cascade Specialty, Trango, the Climbing Wall Association, and Kilter. It was edited and produced by Holly Yu Tung Chen, Megan Cheek, Scott Rennak and Joe Robinson, and our theme music is by Devin Dabney.
