Brooklyn Boulders

Brooklyn Boulders is a company that designs, builds and operates community spaces and hybrid rock climbing facilities anchored by the premise that physical movement stimulates innovation and creativity with facilities located in New York City, Boston, and Chicago.

The first Brooklyn Boulders location is an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) rock climbing facility, the first ever in New York City. Located in the old Daily News garage on Third Avenue in Gowanus,[1] Brooklyn Boulders Brooklyn opened on September 9, 2009.

Brooklyn Boulders was founded in 2009 by Lance Pinn, Jeremy Balboni, and Stephen Spaeth, who wanted to create a dedicated rock climbing facility when there previously was none. Prior to opening, a Facebook group called “NYC Needs a Climbing Gym” was formed and over three hundred members joined overnight. By July 2009, the group reached over 1,000 members.[2] Construction began in March 2009, and Brooklyn Boulders hosted “t-nut parties” on weekends, where anyone was permitted to visit, lend a hand setting t-nuts into the walls in exchange for free day passes. Brooklyn Boulders is also home to the Adaptive Climbing Group, founded by amputee climber Kareemah Batts.[3]

Brooklyn Boulders is known for the graffiti adorning their walls, some of it by notable artist Cope2 and its "biggest architectural flourish: a replica of the Brooklyn Bridge suitable for climbing."[1] Called the "best workout in Brooklyn"[4] by Vogue, Brooklyn Boulders is also home to some of the world's best climbers, including Ashima Shiraishi[5] and Sasha DiGiulian.[6]

During Hurricane Sandy, Brooklyn Boulders was transformed into "an operating base for Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization,"[7] and remained open for 24 hours.

On July 31, 2013, Brooklyn Boulders' second location, Brooklyn Boulders Somerville, opened "a 40,000-square-foot climbing facility; a combination climbing gym and collaborative workspace in Somerville, Massachusetts."[8] Brooklyn Boulders Somerville hosted TEDxSomerville on March 30, 2015.[9]

Brooklyn Boulders opened its first location in the Midwest, Brooklyn Boulders Chicago, on December 13, 2014. Located in Chicago's West Loop, Brooklyn Boulders Chicago features "a 1,000-square-foot Active Collaborative Workspace", replete with standing desks, exercise-ball sitting desks and above-desk pull-up bars.[10]

Brooklyn Boulders opened its fourth facility in Long Island City, BKB Queensbridge, with a Grand Opening Event December 10, 2015. Bloomberg Business featured Brooklyn Boulders in September 2015, declaring that "Brooklyn Boulders is tapping climbing's popularity in the tech world to become a co-working haven for (very ripped) entrepreneurs."[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Tracy, Thomas (May 8, 2009). "Daily News garage to become rock-climbing gym". www.brooklynpaper.com. Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  2. ↑ "NYC Needs a Climbing Gym".
  3. ↑ DiNuzio, Jeff (August 18, 2014). "A Group Lifts Paraclimbers to Higher Goals". New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  4. ↑ Codhina, Alessandra (November 14, 2014). "Adventures in Urban Rock Climbing: The Best Workout in Brooklyn". Vogue. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ Robbins, Liz (January 29, 2012). "Where Humans Hang Around Like Bats".
  6. ↑ Osius, Alison. "The Sasha DiGiulian Profile". Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  7. ↑ Levin, Jesse (December 11, 2012). "Hurricane Sandy Counter Insurgency". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ Schwartz, Ariel (January 9, 2014). "At This Coworking Space In A Climbing Gym, You Can Do Pull-Ups At Your Standing Desk".
  9. ↑ Andrews, Elyse (March 17, 2014). "TEDxSomerville Returns to City on March 30". Somerville Beat.
  10. ↑ Elahi, Amina (October 3, 2014). "Brooklyn Boulders: An active, dusty, gritty workspace comes to Chicago". Chicago Tribune.
  11. ↑ Chayka, Kyle (September 2, 2015). "This Rock Climbing Gym Wants to Disrupt Your Work-Life Balance". Bloomberg.
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