Big Island Bouldering
Plymouth, Minnesota
Specs: On January 12th this year, Big Island Bouldering opened in Plymouth, Minnesota, a suburb located west of Minneapolis. According to Chris Massoll, President and Co-Owner of Big Island, the bouldering gym was not named after Hawaii or the famous Fontainebleau boulder, but rather a local island with a rich history of recreation. Lake Minnetonka is home to Big Island, where a summer amusement park drew families from the Twin Cities region in the early 1900s. The island then hosted a game farm for the Lake Minnetonka Game Refuge from 1915 to 1919, before operating as a recreational veteran’s camp from 1921 to 2003, initially intended for World War I veterans. Now, Massoll describes the island as a park open to anyone with access to a boat. “The reason why we went with Big Island was because we wanted a name that resonated with Minnesota,” said Massoll.
In early 2024, a group of five families, including the Massolls, had been climbing at different gyms in the Twin Cities—Minneapolis and Saint Paul—and “came to the same conclusion that we all really enjoyed the sport and everything that it brings from the physical, social and mental challenge aspects of bouldering,” Massoll said. The group of families felt that part of the region’s market was being underserved, specifically the west side of the Twin Cities area. “When you look at a map, pretty much all the gyms are downtown in the Minneapolis area,” Massoll stated. “There are some more suburban ones, but none are on the west side. And that’s where we live.” So, the group of five families felt there was an opportunity to create “a really cool place that would provide similar services to other gyms in terms of bouldering and fitness, and then also some specific differentiation,” Massoll continued.
According to Massoll, it took the team “some time to find the right shell,” noting they were surprised by how many landlords were looking for more traditional businesses to host in their spaces. The team had their requirements as well for the building’s square footage, height, and tenant improvement factors related to demolition and reconstruction. They also wanted to find a space on the west side of the Minneapolis area that would still be easily accessible to a large population. After finding their spot, construction began on September 1st, 2024, and Massoll said “it was a full out sprint for those four-and-a-half months to get open.”
The 20,000-square-foot space features 7,000 square feet of bouldering surface split between boulders reaching 16 feet, a Kilter Board and a Tension Board. Big Island also has a youth area, equipped with a slide, and a dedicated event room. Additionally, there is a fitness area with fitness racks, cardio equipment, free weights and cable machines. Massoll noted 17,000 square feet of the space is dedicated to climbing and fitness, while 3,000 is dedicated to a coworking space that he compares to what one might find at a WeWork space. The coworking space has a kitchenette, conference room, various tables and private offices, one of which is being used by a climber-focused physical therapist who runs the clinic out of the gym. And to expand access to the facility, Big Island offers “a HERO discount to military, first responders and teachers,” per the gym’s website, which Massoll said is intended to “give them financial incentive or reward for everything they’ve done for us.”
Walls: EP Climbing
Flooring: Revival
CRM Software: Approach
Website: www.bigislandbouldering.com
Instagram: @BigIslandBouldering
In Their Words: “I met people at the CWA summit in 2024 who were on the journey of creating their own gyms. And I was surprised by how many people were on a multi-year journey of trying to find the right location for them, at least the people I spoke to. It didn’t seem like funding was the issue. It was more about trying to find the perfect location. And there’s no doubt that location’s important, but there’s also a lot of value in just getting it done and getting started and getting the gym running. So, sometimes you have to make do with the best that you’ve got and not wait for perfect…If funding’s not the issue and you’re looking for the perfect location, I would argue that there’s always going to be a better location. So, you kind of need to find the one that works and get it done.” – Chris Massoll, President and Co-Owner of Big Island Bouldering
