If you had asked me two years ago, I would have said that rock climbing is an activity for ten-year-olds at a birthday party; now it’s become a worldwide, billion-dollar industry that everyone’s talking about.  

Whilst on my year abroad in Berlin, my friend suggested we go for a climb in Neukölln’s “Bouldergarten” one morning. Arriving there I had no idea what to expect, but it was very quickly apparent that there was a ‘climbing type’, who seemed to be most practised and acclimatised to tackling the strange configurations of blocks on a wall. Long hair, cool sleeve tattoos, three-quarter length baggy shorts (obviously with a chalk bag attached at the hip), an unhurried demeanour, and a general easy-going, welcoming attitude. Add in two English students to a mixture of maybe a hundred chalked-up climbers, and it was pretty clear we had entered a new world.  

Whilst the climbing crowd may seem fairly niche, and definitely rewards a very specific type of explosive athleticism, I find that the most remarkable aspect of the sport is that it blends the individual and the collaborative in a way no other I’ve ever come across can. Unlike your mainstream national sports, which often involve the intense competition of ecstatic highs and brutal lows, and the need for a winner and loser, climbers seem more than happy (at least in the recreational setting) to work together about the best means of attacking the set-up of the wall in which any, or all can succeed. Moreover, the whole concept of a climbing gym seems to foster this unmistakable ‘community’ feel, whether it be new arrivals talking over a coffee or beer, the lack of time slots, climbing time limits, or even the open lockers where bags and valuables are very trustingly left out in the open. Few other pursuits encapsulate the laid-back counterculture that Berlin is so renowned for. 

Yet, rock climbing’s sudden emergence into the public consciousness may be seen as a direct consequence of its move from being renowned for its counterculture and untraditional exercise style to a mainstream sport. Its inclusion at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games brought about unprecedented exposure and widespread social media publicity. Indeed, Great Britain’s Toby Roberts who claimed the ‘Sport Climbing’ gold medal at the mere age of 19 has surely played a significant role in the UK’s growing interest in climbing with visits to UK rock climbing walls. The Association of British Climbing Walls (ABC) reported that the average number of customer visits per wall has grown from 39,569 as of their report in 2019 to 62,510 in 2023—a 58% increase. This rapid surge in popularity for the sport in the UK has mirrored a similar boom in the US, with the number of climbing walls exploding rapidly, with a net 32 new climbing gyms opening per year on average between 2013 and 2022. Such a rapid rise in popularity has also attracted the attention of investors; the global climbing gym market was valued at $71.6 billion in 2023 and is expected to rise to $117.61 billion by 2031—a clear indication of a sport on the rise, with potential for even greater growth and influence. 

But why is this specific activity so popular? Beyond the community feel and dopamine kick that comes with completing a successful climb, perhaps the free movement that climbing inspires doesn’t discriminate based on age or gender as much as other more mainstream sports. Body control is far more universal than the ability to bench press 120 kilograms, for example. This comparison to the conformity of a commercial gym may be where climbing’s popularity has been so great. The desire for an activity that is new, urban, communal, and fun is perhaps where climbing has been able to fill a gap that your average gym cannot. Finally, being able to mentally work through a series of moves that get you from one point on the wall to the next also creates a me ntal challenge that requires considerations of body strength weighed against gravity. This openly nerdy aspect appeals to a different demographic than a mainstream sport like rugby! 

Climbing is currently undergoing a paradigm shift. The rise in popularity has meant that it is becoming ever more accessible for first-time climbers. Opening the sport up to a whole new group of society suggests that the ‘climbing type’ (that I saw so much of in Berlin) may be changing. There’s no reason why this won’t continue in the years to come, with indoor rock climbing becoming an increasingly normal option for exercise. Either way, if it continues on its current trajectory, climbing is here to stay.