In this episode of the Climbing Gym Growth Podcast, I chat with Andrew Hou from Uplift Climbing in Shoreline, Washington.

We dive into what it really takes to build a community first climbing gym in a competitive market. Andrew shares how he spent years preparing for ownership, why Uplift doubled down on overhanging terrain, how they differentiate themselves from other Seattle gyms, and why focusing on health over growth is core to their mission.

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Show Notes:

00:00 – Introduction

00:10 – Intro class & free week membership experiment

00:20 – Referral strategy that drives long-term growth

00:30 – Working on vs. working in the business

00:37 – Newsletters & building relational marketing

00:43 – Differentiation in a saturated market

00:54 – Andrew’s advice for new gym owners

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