In a recent Instagram post, Adamanta, a Mexican climbing gym chain, announced a merger with Sierra Elevation, a climbing gym in Monterrey, Mexico. Since opening its Santa Fé location in Mexico City in 2014, Adamanta has grown to become the largest climbing gym chain in Mexico, opening a second facility in the nation’s capital in 2019 (Escandón) and two more locations last year (Satélite and Puebla) in nearby Naucalpan de Juárez and Puebla. The Sierra Elevation merger extends the Adamanta name further north in the country and brings its total gym count to five.
According to Adrian Hovelman and Javier Díaz, founders and co-CEOs of Sierra Elevation, in 2016 the pair wrote a climbing gym business plan “with the dream of opening a world-class climbing gym in [their] hometown, Monterrey, Mexico.” Hoping the gym would be a “bridge that connects the people of Monterrey with the mountains that surround the city,” Hovelman and Díaz opened Sierra Elevation—a mixed-discipline climbing facility with three floors of climbing, fitness and yoga, plus an onsite restaurant—in February 2021.
The Sierra Elevation founders had plans to open a second location in Monterrey and spoke with their acquaintance Jose Saucedo, the founder and CEO of Adamanta, about the challenges endured while trying to expand. “It became clear that both companies had the same vision, values and business culture regarding the climbing industry and shared the same principles of bringing people together through climbing,” the trio told CBJ. “Instead of growing separately, we realized that we could achieve bigger and greater things together.”
Now, the three gym operators have been putting the merger into motion. “Shareholders from both companies will be fused, with the assets and liabilities of both companies now being managed under one company,” they stated. Sierra Elevation will adopt the Adamanta name, and memberships will include access to all locations for the same price. Additionally, the team plans to retain all staff members, with few organizational changes.
The owners concluded: “Through economies of scale, this [merger] allows us to pool our resources together to grow faster and introduce the sport of indoor climbing to a bigger and wider audience by offering high-quality routesetting, classes, courses and services—all for an accessible price.”
For more stories on climbing gym development in Mexico, be sure to check out last year’s Gyms & Trends report and read about the Mexican climbing gym scene here.
Climbing Business Journal is an independent news outlet dedicated to covering the indoor climbing industry. Here you will find the latest coverage of climbing industry news, gym developments, industry best practices, risk management, climbing competitions, youth coaching and routesetting. Have an article idea? CBJ loves to hear from readers like you!
