Climbing to the top: A new fitness trend coming to an industrial site near you

The new craze is for indoor bouldering, and Australia’s quickest growing, and largest, social bouldering gym chain is rolling out new premises nationally.

Already in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, Australia’s appetite for the new sport, which has already taken Europe by storm, means that at least six new gyms are now either being planned or in development.

“We’re looking at high-growth areas like Macquarie Park in Sydney and the inner north in Melbourne,” said Phil Reichelt, chief executive of Tenant Leasing Group, who’s helping to find suitable sites for the new gyms.

“We’re looking mostly at old industrial estates that are being refurbished with micro-breweries, coffee roasters and cafes, and are being gentrified, as well as shopping centres. Bouldering has really taken off now in Australia. It’s so cool as it’s great for fitness but is also very social.”

Bouldering is similar to indoor rock climbing on walls studded with ridges, but the walls are appreciably lower for bouldering, generally from 2.5 metres to 4.5 metres high. As a result, climbers don’t use ropes – eliminating the need for a second person belaying the person on the wall – and instead fall onto thick mats, or crash pads, laid at the base.

That no-fuss approach has made it extremely attractive to many enthusiasts who also like the fact it’s a high-intensity exercise that uses almost every muscle in the body, and is also very social. Friendships form as climbers work out the best ways go up walls, jump or fall down and then regroup to try again.

“People love it as you’re the one in control of what you’re doing,” said Marty Bradstreet, the founder and managing director of BlocHaus Bouldering, which already has venues in Fyshwick, ACT, in Port Melbourne and in Sydney’s Marrickville. “You can do it alone and you yourself decide whether to keep going or climb or jump back down.

“We find lots of people make friends doing it as they talk about how they’re doing and how to tackle sections. I love rock climbing outdoors too but this is so convenient and such great fun.”

One of the big drivers of the popularity of the sport was its debut at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, as Sport Climbing, made up of lead climbing, speed climbing and bouldering. Already firmly established in Europe as a favourite pastime, especially in Germany, it’s now taking off here.

Bradstreet, originally working in construction as a glazier – the opposite of a sport in which falling is a big part – came up with the idea of the gyms after speaking to a former partner who hailed from Germany.

He’s now getting ready to open new BlocHaus premises in Sydney in either Macquarie Park or Artarmon, in Newcastle, in Melbourne in Fitzroy, Carlton or Collingwood, in Brisbane, in Adelaide and another in Canberra, in Mitchell.

The challenge, says Reichelt, lies in some of the special features needed for potential sites, with specs somewhere between industrial and high-clearance office, but also requiring zoning for recreational use. They also want to foster partnership hubs with micro-breweries, coffee roasters and other food and beverage service providers.

His services include site searches, compiling long lists, organising and attending inspections and negotiating lease terms. “The sites we need for bouldering tend to be 1500 to 2000 square metres with a minimum of five metres’ clearance, but the smaller ones can be 800 to 900 square metres,” Reichelt said.

“In Germany, they seem to have one on nearly every street corner, it’s just unbelievable. But it’s great fitness and experiential; it’s pretty cool.”

And the beauty of it is that, while most fans of the sport are aged between 18 and 40, everyone can have a go. “There’s something for everyone in bouldering,” Bradstreet said.

“You can have a session before or after work and it becomes part of people’s routines. It’s so social too, so we often see people going off for a beer afterwards with new friends they’ve made.”