We Built the Walls. The Community Built Everything Else - Journal 008

When we first started planning Wall Walkers, we spent a lot of time thinking about climbing.

• The walls.
• The routes.
• The holds.
• The lighting.
• The music.
• The layout.

Everything that goes into creating a climbing gym.

What we didn't spend much time thinking about was community.

Not because it wasn't important.

Because we assumed that if we built a place we genuinely wanted to spend time in ourselves, the rest would hopefully follow.

Looking back, I think that's exactly what happened.

Who Is a Typical Wall Walkers Member?

When people ask who our typical member is, I still don't really have an answer.

Before opening, we did what every business does.

We created customer personas.

We imagined who would walk through the door.

• Young climbers.
• Experienced climbers.
• Students.
• Professionals.
• Families.

The reality has been far more interesting.

We've had people from every walk of life.

Teenagers climbing alongside retirees.

Complete beginners working problems with experienced climbers.

People who probably would have never crossed paths outside the gym, suddenly standing together trying to figure out the same sequence.

The Wall Doesn't Care

Climbing has a funny way of removing barriers between people.

The wall doesn't care what you do for a living.

It doesn't care how old you are.

It simply presents a challenge.

And suddenly, everyone is working on the same problem together.

Some days, I'll walk into the gym and it's quiet.

Those days are part of running any business.

Other days, the place is buzzing.

• Someone sends a climb and everyone nearby celebrates.
• A group gathers around a difficult problem, each person offering a different idea.
• Someone who arrived alone leaves having spent the evening climbing with people they met only hours earlier.

Those are the moments that make me stop and smile.

Because that's when I realise we're no longer just running a climbing gym.

We're providing a place where people genuinely enjoy spending time together.

A Place to Become Yourself

One member in particular has always stayed with me.

He started climbing with us not long after we opened.

At first, he was incredibly quiet.

Kept to himself.

You could tell he enjoyed climbing, but he rarely spoke to anyone.

Over the years, something changed.

• He became stronger.
• More confident.
• Started talking with other members.
• Sharing ideas.
• Becoming part of the gym rather than simply visiting it.

Watching that transformation was incredibly rewarding.

Not because we changed him.

Because we gave him a place where he felt comfortable becoming himself.

Communities Can't Be Manufactured

The more I reflect on the last few years, the more I've realised something.

Communities can't be manufactured.

You can't write them into a business plan.

You can't force them to happen.

You can only create an environment where people want to spend time, treat each other with respect and share a common interest.

Everything else belongs to the people.

That's something I've become increasingly conscious of as Wall Walkers has grown.

I never wanted the gym to revolve around me.

In fact, I wanted the opposite.

I wanted to create a place that continued to thrive whether I was standing behind the counter or not.

If the community only existed because I happened to be there, then I'd failed.

Create the Spark, Then Let People Build the Fire

The goal has always been to create the spark...

...and then let everyone else build the fire.

Looking around the gym today, I think that's exactly what's happening.

• Members help each other.
• They celebrate each other's successes.
• They introduce new people to climbing.
• They create friendships that have nothing to do with us.

That's when you realise the business has become something bigger than the business itself.

Our Proudest Achievement

Looking back, I don't think our biggest achievement is the walls.

Or the route setting.

Or the technology.

I'm proud of all those things.

But what I'm proudest of is that we built a place we genuinely wanted to spend time in ourselves.

In doing that, we accidentally built a place that other people came to love as well.

Everything that grew from there...

That belongs to the community.