No Mountains, No Problem: South Florida’s Most Uplifting Sport

On the last Friday of every month, climbers pack into Bolder Bloc long after typical gym hours for a midnight climb, an after-hours session that has become more than just a workout. For many, it’s a gathering point, making it a valuable space for South Florida’s scattered climbing population to come together.

The Midnight Climb draws in students, working professionals, and first-time climbers who fill the gym, shoulder to shoulder, as their friends climb on colorful plastic holds. Onlookers offered advice and words of encouragement. It’s here in rock climbing gyms, where a gap is filled for a community that thrives on the connections rock climbing offers.  

“I think what makes Bolder Bloc different is that the space is so small, it feels like a house party in here,” said Bolder Bloc marketing director Maryam Alotaibi, 28, when she talked to MediaLab@FAU about the inspiration behind Bolder Bloc’s conception. “A space like this forces you to interact with the people around you.”

Without mountains or outdoor climbing access, the sport in South Florida survives through the relationships formed in these climbing gyms. Isaac Wilson, 30, owner of a pressure-washing company, has been a member at Bolder Bloc for three years. He shared some insight on what makes the South Florida climbing scene so unique: “When I climb in other gyms like outside of Florida, people are rotating in and out of there a lot quicker, but down here people are having much longer sessions because it’s all they have,” said Wilson 

Because Florida lacks outdoor climbing, it leaves a gap for people to connect, not because they are out camping in the middle of the woods and climbing real rock, but because they go to the same climbing gym for hours on end, which turns gyms like Boulder Bloc and others into hangout hubs and workout spaces. 

“I was never into going to the gym or even playing sports; I have bad hand-eye coordination, so I started climbing just for the exercise,” said Rex Roche, 19. He’s studying music engineering at the University of Miami. He is one of the setters for Outdoor Adventures, a recreation space on the University of Miami's campus where they have a rock climbing wall.

Earlier in the month, the University of Miami’s rock climbing club held its annual Battle of the Boulders competition at Outdoor Adventures. Roche was a part of the team of setters who created 8 high-intensity routes for the Battle of the Boulders competition. These setters have the difficult task of curating the challenge routes for the competition. 

The three-day competition had narrowed to five elite men and women, each stepping out alone to face routes that looked more like geometric art than rock-climbing walls. With every muscle strained, student climbers tackled these complex problems on their own while a crowd of friends and fellow climbers watched intently, and each successful attempt triggered a thunderous roar from the gallery, turning an individual sport into something collective.

“Moments like these, when I’m competing and having a community that is grounded and surrounded in this, really just make me feel like myself and like I have a purpose,” said Sophia Blattenbauer, 19, winner of the women's advanced climber division at Battle of the Boulders, and a student at the University of Miami.

Rock climbing isn’t just about the exercise or winning competitions; it can also be a space for climbers to grow on a more personal level, not just a physical one. For climbers like Pierce Bogan, 23, who has been climbing at Bolder Bloc for the past three years, the consistency of climbing has been life-changing. What started as a hobby has turned into a source of structure, discipline, and community.

“I've like really learned to push the shit out of myself and push my boundaries and get really granular about things. I was a high school dropout, but I am now back in school getting my degree at BC, and I have hyperfocus. I wouldn't have had that without climbing,” said Bogan.

Climbing gyms in South Florida are more than just places to work out; they’ve become hubs where community takes hold. Events like Midnight Climb and Battle of the Boulders offer a window into a scene that has quietly but powerfully carved out its place in the region’s cultural landscape.

“It’s such an incredible community that we’ve built, not just in Miami but in the country, in the world,” said Roche. “If we ever lost this community, you would be losing one of the few spaces I know of on campus where you can just walk in and be accepted and talk to people.”