Brak Buldring
Oslo, Norway
Specs: Brak Buldring, a climbing gym opening in the coming months in Oslo, Norway, was founded by Emma Norli Ivarsson, Julian Vargas, Oliver Sunde, Oda Sunde and Lars Andreassen. According to Ivarsson, the founders’ vision for the gym was “to create a place where people would come even on the days they weren’t climbing,” and they wanted it to be “more than just a place to work out.” Their hope was to provide a hub where community members could “grab a coffee, work for a few hours, hang out with friends, join an event, relax in the sauna, or just feel part of a community,” she added. The Brak Buldring team felt “climbing has always been social,” said Ivarsson, and “there was room for a gym that embraces that even more.”
Ivarsson said Oslo was deemed an ideal location for their facility because the city “has one of the strongest climbing communities in Scandinavia, and it continues to grow every year,” with “room for something a little different.” Brak Buldring is located in proximity to Oslo’s center—in a spot near several neighborhoods that’s accessible by bike and public transport—and is constructed in a preexisting building from the early 1900s. Ivarsson said the founders “transformed the inside while trying to keep as much of the original character as possible,” adding that the building has “a lot of personality, which was one of the reasons we fell in love with it…[with] high ceilings, the industrial feel, and the old stable in the backyard where the sauna is.”
Brak Buldring is a bouldering-focused facility, with about 900 square meters (9,688 square feet) of climbing wall surface on walls reaching 4.5 meters (14.76 feet). Included in those climbing options is an outdoor bouldering wall and board training area with a Quantum Board and Tension Board. The 1,500-square-meter (16,146-square-foot) space also features a sauna, cold plunge, yoga studio, shop, café and bar.
“One thing we’re especially excited about is our backyard,” Ivarsson shared. “We just got chickens that actually lay beautiful, colorful eggs. And we’re planning to serve breakfasts using eggs collected that very morning.” Ivarsson also said the gym plans to host “competitions, film nights, quizzes, yoga sessions, DJ nights, BBQ events, workshops and social climbing nights,” with an opening festival planned for September that will run each year.
Walls: Walltopia
Flooring: Walltopia
CRM Software: ClimbManager
Website: brakbuldring.no
Instagram: @BrakBuldring
In Their Words: “Talk to your future members as early as possible. We’ve asked for feedback constantly throughout the process, and so many of our best ideas have actually come from the community. There will always be setbacks, so it’s very important to work with people who are open to each other’s ideas and who keep the energy up when things get tough. And don’t forget to have fun along the way. Go climbing together, grab dinner, celebrate the small milestones. A great team culture doesn’t just make the process more enjoyable; it usually leads to a better gym in the end.” – Emma Norli Ivarsson, Manager and Co-Founder of Brak Buldring
