The Workshop Bouldering Club
Des Moines, Iowa
Specs: The Workshop Bouldering Club is expected to open mid-September in Des Moines, Iowa, with owner Joshua Durst at the helm. According to The Workshop’s website, the gym is “a small, private bouldering club that equips Iowa climbers with a serious place to train.” Durst said the concept for the gym was inspired by his climbing experience at older gyms, co-ops and his homewall. “I’ve always climbed at non-commercial facilities,” he added. He moved to Iowa about a year ago and was looking for a “more underground place, a bit more focused on training, and dedicated.” So, he thought, why not open a gym of his own? He put the idea of opening a climbing gym aside for a bit, noting the commitment and expenses it can take to open a facility. Then, in the last year, a space was listed on Facebook Marketplace, which he felt was a good price for the amount of square footage, while also being a cool space. “I decided, well, let’s actually run the numbers and see if I can afford something like this,” Durst said, “and it seemed to work out, so I went for it.”
The Workshop was constructed in an old factory that had been converted into artist studios and small business spaces. “The building itself has a good community, and it has that nice industrial warehouse feel, kind of old school,” Durst said. The 900-square-foot space features around 700 square feet of climbing wall surface, split between a vertical and 25-degree set wall, 40- and 50-degree spray walls, and a 2016 Moon Board. The gym also features hangboards, campus boards and training equipment, in addition to a hangout spot with a Gamecube, Xbox360 and old climbing films.
Gym members will receive 24/7 access to the facility, which Durst hopes will help foster a sense of community, making the gym feel more like a third space. “I think [24/7 access] leads to having a better community where people really feel like the gym is an important part of their lives and they’re willing to help take care of it and keep it nice,” Durst explained. He has a goal for the gym to have about 30 members, to prevent overcrowding while still sustaining the gym’s operations, with enough funds to buy holds and the like. “If there is a big issue with space, then we might have to enforce some kind of member cap. But I don’t really want to do that just because it feels a bit exclusionary,” he stated.
Durst said he plans to use some unique holds in the spray-wall-focused space, incorporating holds of different materials, shapes and sizes. For example, the walls will feature Synrock holds made of ceramic composite, Real Stone Holds made of granite, a variety of wooden holds and polyurethane shapes, Durst detailed. Some holds will migrate from his homewall to the gym, including some old Escape and Nicros holds, and he wants to use imitation-rock textures, especially those produced by Pusher and Decoy. The gym will primarily be reset by Durst, with the help of some other folks with routesetting experience, and he hopes to allow volunteers from the community at The Workshop to help with the resets as well.
Walls: Owner/Contractor…