Home

Greetings! Welcome to a website all about rock climbing.

My name is Brady Hawkins, and I am an okay rock climber. My journey in climbing started four years ago. I got into the sport after I quit running cross country in my junior year of high school. I needed something to do, and team sports weren’t my thing, so I decided to pursue vertical movement instead of horizontal. I quickly fell in love and spent many nights covered in chalk. I was always into climbing, even as a kid, scaling pretty much anything I could get a good hold on. Carrying that passion into adulthood, I’ve been a member of a few good gyms that surround me with some amazing people and allow me to get in some good physical exercise. Climbing isn’t just a sport; it’s a lifestyle, and it can work for almost anyone!

The type of climbing that I do is indoor bouldering, which is probably the safest and most accessible form of climbing you can find. I am currently a member of Armadillo Boulders in Texas, but most gyms have the basics in common. Climbing gyms have colorful routes graded on difficulty, mats to break your fall, and plenty of walls to climb on. In the next few pages, I will be giving you a rundown of some of the gear you might need when climbing and a guide for all the various holds you might encounter at your typical gym.

Rock climbing, as you can imagine, is very physically intensive. Climbers must learn to cultivate precise muscular control, rigid finger strength, steadfast longevity, and mastery of their body weight to develop in the gym. Climbing also teaches us to face fears, commit, and persist when the literal route may seem difficult. Many lessons learned in the gym can resonate throughout one’s life, and the added physical fitness never hurt anyone! At the end of the day, the goal of rock climbing should be to have fun and constructively challenge yourself. On belay, and belay on!