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New area rock climbing gym opens in Boardman
BOARDMAN
Paul Democko, owner of Transcend Bouldering Lounge, laughed when he realized he described the climbing venture as his “rock.”
“It’s been a steady thing. It’s what we do; how we free our minds,” Democko said.
The climbing discipline, which involves scaling artificial walls without ropes or harnesses, has exploded in cities across the globe in the past 10 years and will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo next summer.
Democko and the gym’s co-owners, Kevin and Chad Umbel, grew up in Canfield and started rock climbing in West Virginia in the early 2000s.
After collectively racking up more than 30 years of climbing, the trio decided to open a bouldering gym in their hometown.
“We wished there was a gym when we were growing up. ... We wanted to give that opportunity to the youth,” Democko said, noting climbing gyms in the area are sparse. There is one at Youngstown State University available only to students.
The bouldering lounge looks like a big warehouse, with 16-foot climbing walls on either side. Hand and foot holds of different shapes and colors dot the walls. Tags denote the start, finish and difficulty level of each “problem” or route to the top.
“We do offer climbs for people of all levels. You’ll follow just a single color route, with your hands and feet on one color. The easiest is V0, and the most difficult is V9. There’s something for everybody to climb for sure,” said Mark Warchol, assistant manager at Transcend.
While Democko extolled the mental benefits of bouldering, it’s also great exercise.
“Rock climbing is a true full- body workout, depending on what climbs you do. You’re going to be feeling muscles used that you have no practical purpose in daily life. ... You’re going to be burning a ton of calories while you’re on there, because you’re putting in a body weight-type-lifting workout and combining it with cardio,” said Warchol.
Visitors to Transcend should wear comfortable clothes and can rent climbing shoes and hand chalk at the gym. A day pass costs $16, but climbers can purchase discounted bulk classes as well as monthly or yearly passes.
In addition to providing exposure to this sport, the team at Transcend aims to create a community of climbers in Youngstown. At its core, climbing is a social activity, said Warchol.
“You would go out in a group of people with all your crash pads and put them under the boulder and take turns, figure out problems, camp and basically hang out all day,” Warchol said.
The team wants to evoke the feeling of being on a climbing trip.
The gym features a section with tables and chairs. It also has multiple garage doors that can open in the summer to create the illusion of an outdoor climb.
“We’re really trying to build a community spot where people can come and exercise, hang out, have a bite to eat. We’re hoping to involve local artists, local artisans, brewers,” Warchol said.
The group intends to mobilize its new community of Youngstown climbers to help make local outdoor rock climbing accessible.
“We want to clean up the Bear’s Den area [in Mill Creek MetroParks]. It’s a really awesome little area with some great boulders,” said Democko.
Transcend, which opened March 22, also plans to expand its offerings into yoga, fitness and other climbing disciplines.
To people fearful of the sport’s risks or unsure of their climbing skills, Warchol advised, “Don’t count yourself out. You have no idea what you’re capable of.”
“I’ve been climbing for nine years, and there’s always something to work on. It’s like playing an instrument. There’s always room to improve, always something to work on. You never know who you’re going to meet at the climbing gym,” said Warchol.