Climbing Technology and Rock Spot are growing together in the name of passion for climbing.
Today, the 20th of June 2015, we are celebrating the second anniversary of the Rock Spot climbing gym in Pero, Lombardy, along with the collaboration with Climbing Technology.
Mirko Masè, partner and founder, tells us how “the collaboration with Climbing Technology began even earlier than just two years ago, with the opening of the first Rock Spot on the 21st of November 2009 in the south eastern area of Milan. We hooked up immediately with Climbing Technology because both of us could see interesting aspects of this collaboration”.
With the same belief, as it was for the first gym, and so also for the second “Spot”, all the quickdraws, harnesses, belay devices and ropes available in the gyms are from Climbing Technology. The concept of the two Rock Spot gyms is clear: to raise awareness and bring people closer to climbing and to offer an indoor wall for climbers who cannot climb outside because of the cold or bad weather.
In this context, Climbing Technology has the opportunity not only to showcase their products but also to have them tested and get valuable feedback about the use and the wear and tear.
“We act as a tester – explains Mirko – there are a very large amount of climbers concentrated in this space who can test the products directly on the wall in a practical way, they can touch the products in a completely different way than when purchasing a product in a shop. This was, and is the collaboration that we are pursuing with Climbing Technology. The company from Cisano, with the founder Carlo Paglioli, have been very receptive to listening to our feedback because the aim is to always research and constantly improve. As production continues a bigger gap in the market is being created and also in the minds of the climbers. From our side, we can give some interesting tips with regards to the usage, for size and scope, this is a gym with the capacity to accelerate the consumption of the products that normally a user wouldn’t do in a lifetime.
It takes a long time to wear out our products, sometimes it is taken for granted and it is forgotten just how many people use the equipment every day.
“The trend is definitely growing, we are realizing it through the number of members and the turnouts, we are talking about 200 – 250 people a day, it is true that our policies have facilitated this surge; just consider the fact that our entrance fee has not changed since 2009. In addition we do not limit ourselves to only indoor climbing, at the end of all our courses we take the guys outside, on the rock, where climbing was born, and also on these occasions all the equipment is completely sponsored by CT. We like to think that everybody can approach this sport regardless of his or her economic situation. Anyone who wants to try or sign up to one of our courses has all the equipment available including shoes, harness, chalk and quickdraws. All this of course is powered by a passion for climbing. Passion that guides us in every decision we make. Basically the realization of the gym is a philosophy of life made into something real, a way of seeing life and sharing it”.
The passion is definitely one of the main threads that binds Climbing Technology to Rock Spot. It is surely no coincidence that the collaboration has lasted for six years and is set to continue for a long time. On one side, there is a company with an important expertise concerning the design and manufacture of climbing equipment, with a capacity to produce technically excellent products and with an experience that offers reliability to the users; and on the other side a climbing gym that has all the intentions to grow and take on new projects and challenges. “There is no shortage of ideas for the future, in fact, there are always too many. What you see here in Pero is part of a larger and more futuristic project. I cannot reveal everything, however I can let you into a little secret, we would like to develop something for children, something that has never been done before, but everything still needs to be assessed so for now I will say no more”.
Thanks Mirko for your time, it is always interesting to meet people, like us, who share a passion for a sport that is captivating in all its disciplines, indoor and outdoor, with a rope or on a boulder, the important thing is to have fun and always do sport, rigorously, in a safe manner.