When lifelong climber Bill Brooks turned 21, he traveled in his truck for a year and climbed all over the United States. He met many other climbers during his travels and wanted to stay connected with them after returning home. The idea to create the MyClimb Community was born. The goal of MyClimb would be providing a space where climbers could log their climbs, see their progress, and connect and support each other’s climbing journey.
Several years later, Bill set out to create this community and launched the MyClimb App in 2014. The following quickly grew into an international community of climbers from diverse climbing backgrounds. Today, the MyClimb Community has logged over 1.5 million climbs in more than 3,500 gyms and 5,000 outdoor areas around the world.
A Community of Climbers
As the MyClimb Community grew, climbers reached out for advice on how to improve their performance and stay motivated. To answer the call, MyClimb created ‘Workouts’ and ‘Challenges’ in the MyClimb App. These features channel motivation into a structured training system and personalize goal setting. Users of all skill levels can also aim for ‘Gym Awards’ by, for instance, logging the most climbs at a given grade or in a certain discipline. With over 100 monthly and annual awards for climbers to earn, gyms can keep climbers engaged all year round.
“MyClimb has been a great asset to our gym. Our members love keeping track of their performance!” says Threshold Climbing, Fitness & Yoga in Oklahoma City.
While MyClimb emerged as a premier digital tool for the global climbing community, the climbing industry in the United States grew year after year and recorded the largest growth rate on record in 2018. New climbers sought consistent climbing partners for the crags outside and walls inside. In the spirit of connection, MyClimb created the ‘Climbing Partner Finder’ to unite climbers. New climbers and members alike can find belay buddies through this feature and gyms can increase membership retention by building an even stronger sense of community.
A Community of Gyms
For a climbing gym, industry growth presents both opportunities and challenges. To assist gym operators, MyClimb created a tailored Platform for managing route setting in under 10 minutes per day, organizing competitions and challenges and receiving feedback from climbers. Setters can track grade distribution, print route tags, receive feedback and upload beta tutorial videos.
“We use MyClimb to set up weekly sweepstakes and monthly competitions that encourage our customers to climb more. The app is a convenient way to integrate route setting management with your overall CRM strategy. More climbing means more engagement, which is more members and more fun for everybody!” says Rock Box Bouldering, based in Winston-Salem.
In 2020, climbing will debut at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Already, climbing athletes donned Olympic medals for the first time at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires last year. The age of climbing competitions is here. To save time and automate tedious tasks associated with climbing leagues, MyClimb will be releasing a new evolution this summer for competition hosts. With the ‘Climbing Leagues’ feature, organizers will be able to display league and competition leaderboards, calculate scores and customize formats, and participants can interact and invite friends to join a league. Stay tuned to the MyClimb website for updates in the coming months.
Whether you are traveling across the US in your truck or climbing limestone in France, you can connect with the supportive network of MyClimb. To learn more, visit www.MyClimbgym.com.
.
MyClimb is a world-leading climbing app for climbers and gyms. Since launching in 2014, over 3 million climbs have been logged in +100 countries, and +3,500 gyms have logged a climb. With MyClimb, gyms can run climbing leagues and competitions, manage routesetting, and build community through the find a partner and gym awards features. Climbers can log any climb or hangboard session―anywhere, right now―train with video workouts by professionals, and set goals and challenges. Download the mobile app here.
