Gary has been climbing throughout the West Coast for almost 40 years. On a trip to England in 1987, he got the idea of building an indoor climbing gym. While there, Rall heard about a community center that had a climbing wall where people kept in shape during the winter months. He thought of Portland’s rainy weather and decided to build the Portland Rock Gym. It turned out to be the second gym in the country, and the first to use modular holds. His wife, Julie, actually came up with the phrase “rock gym” as they named the business.
Brendan's Bio Coming Soon.
Ben Started climbing six years ago at Edgeworks Climbing in Tacoma, Washington. He quickly fell head-over-heels in love with climbing and spent more time at the gym then he did at home. He loves climbing not only for the physical workout it provides but also how every climb is a different puzzle that you need to figure out. After two years of climbing he got a job coaching at Edgeworks. He has been working with youth for 14 years, everything from day care to youth pastor to coaching, and having the chance to combine his love for climbing with his love for working with youth has been a dream come true.
Griffin started climbing 2003 in his home town of Cincinnati Ohio. He soon after started to compete in American Bouldering Series and the American Sport Climbing Series where he quickly began winning regional, divisional and national titles. In 2013 He moved to Portland Oregon and shortly after began setting for Portland Rock Gym.
Tony is a veteran in the setting world, and comes to the PRG setting crew with a wealth of experience and prior knowledge, from setting routes for competitions all over the U.S., to founding and running his own hold company, Crater Holds, to setting, coaching, and head-setting at various gyms across the U.S. Tony has been in the business so long, he even used to coach PRG's current head-setter Griffin on the climbing team when he first started out! Tony has been setting up a storm at PRG since he came on full-time in 2018, but has previously set on and off for the gym since 2012.
Christina’s practice began in college when a dorm mate invited her to yoga at the rec center on campus. She fell in love immediately and surrendered to an eternal life of conscious practice and learning. Never before had she been asked to breathe this way, to listen this way, to move and stretch this way, to be this way. Yoga quickly became more than the balance she needed to get herself through the stressful times; yoga became Christina’s spiritual fire and connection to an evolution of movement.
With a background of 16 years of professional and pre-professional ballet training, Lexi has studied movement intensively. After finding a consistent yoga practice at the age of 16, she discovered the movements of asana to heal the body, as well as the ability to calm the mind through meditation and pranayama. Lexi became certified in 2013 with a goal to share the life changing lessons which yoga had taught her. Studying with her fellow yogis has been incredibly rewarding and continues to show the value of practicing gratitude every day. Through guiding flows, she hopes to open the mind through encouraging playfulness, curiosity, and self acceptance.
While searching for something to help calm the mind and relieve stress Natasha walked into her first Yoga class in 2013, little did she know that her life had changed from that day forward. She completed her 200YTT through Yoga Maze’ with Rocky Heron where she studied the workings of the body, proper alignment, philosophy and one of her favorites; meditation. Natasha’s teaching stems from her heart, providing a fun and comfortable space to move and strengthen the body while shaping the mind. She hopes to inspire her students to be the best they can be and be happy with showing up as they are the way that her teachers have done for her. Natasha loves to surround herself with kind-hearted people, explore the beauty of nature whether it be with her dog Timber at the park, in the mountains ploughing through snow or getting caught in the rain. Never leaving her house without a book or her journal she believes that writing down dreams and desires turns them into a reality.
Brenda fell in love with working out after attending a morning group fitness class with a friend a year and a half ago. Like most, she struggled to get into a groove with any workout class, and would certainly never have called herself a morning person. While the workouts were tough and the early mornings were even tougher, soon she learned to love the sweat and was motivated by her new fitness friends. She took this new found energy and passion for health and fitness and turned it into fun and motivating group fitness classes for PRG!
Originally from the Midwest, Camille found yoga several years ago to stay active as a lifelong "picked last for basketball in gym class" kind of girl. It quickly transformed from being just a physical practice to a source of healing, stress relief and community that she has a passion for sharing with others. Camille strives to be a loyal listener, friend and healer both on and off the mat, leaving each student feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and cared for by the end of class. She believes prioritizing stillness, deep stretch and meditation to complement more rigorous activity is the key to living a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
Cara grew up in Central Oregon. She moved to Portland at an early age to pursue her formal dance training at Oregon Ballet Theater, and continued her training at Pacific NW Ballet in Seattle. As a dancer in her teens she discovered Pilates while rehabilitating from a knee injury. She found the full body/mind movement system to be truly beneficial in recovering from injuries but also in enhancing strength and coordination in everyday life. Cara believes Pilates is a great foundation for movement of any kind. She loves bringing awareness to each individual’s body alignment in relationship to everyday movement patterns. Helping people find a connection to their core, while building strength and flexibility throughout the body, makes her happy. She also strives to make each class or lesson fun and approachable, and knows that ANYONE can benefit and heal through Pilates. Cara is PEAK Pilates certified in mat and apparatus equipment. She is also certified in MAMALATES, a mom and baby pre and post partum based program, developed here in Portland by Wendy Foster. Cara teaches Pilates mat/equipment, barre, and movement classes at studios throughout the Portland area. She enjoys dancing, music, yoga, traveling, hiking, swimming, laughing and relaxing in the beautiful NW with her family and friends. “Keep the body moving while having fun” is Cara’s motto!
Emily has been in love with movement ever since she was a child, which is what led her on a path of ballet and contemporary modern dance. Through dance she created a deep understanding of the body and its capabilities of expression as well as its limits. After years of dancing professionally she experienced multiple injuries that put her dancing career on hold. She fortunately found strength and healing when she dove into a daily yoga practice. Her passion for yoga led her to receive her 200 hour Yoga Teaching Certification with Padma Karma Yoga in Kovalam Beach, India.
Hannah has been practicing yoga since 2012. In an effort to stay active despite multiple injuries, she began attending yoga classes at her gym. There was something about the rhythm that she loved – the incredible dynamic between breath and movement – and soon enough she was hooked.
Katie began dabbling in yoga practice back in 2010. Her first yoga classes happened early in the morning at her local restaurant/dive bar (Eugenios, RIP). The owner, Eugene Gray, would guide whomever was willing to show up in an early morning session. In 2014, after some encouragement from her teacher, Katie’s interest peaked and she began studying Ashtanga vinyasa seriously and fell in love with the practice. Katie studied under Michele Loew for over 2 years and has completed both her 200 and 2 - 500 hour trainings. In addition to her yoga studies she has spent over 400 hours training handstands and refining the art of balancing on her hands. Working with pros in the yoga and the circus arts to develop her skill over the last year, she loves to share her love of handbalancing within her yoga practice and outside of it.
Morgan has always been athletic soul. From playing tag outside with friends in elementary school, to playing basketball in middle and high school on a varsity team. Always on the search for a great total body workout she has taught and been a part of multiple types of workout classes, including Aqua Aerobics, boot camps, and adapted physical activity programs. Morgan grew up in Southern California where the sun was always shining, and outdoor activities were abundant. From hiking the Hills of LA, to bike riding along the Pacific Coast Highway, she is always for yearning to find where adventure and physical activity meet. In her free time she plays Dodgeball in an adult recreation league, enjoys hiking the various trails of the PNW, and has recently discovered a love for bouldering! Morgan graduated with her Bachelors in Kinesiology, and plans to go to Graduate School to obtain a degree in Physical Therapy to continue her goal, and passion of helping people get healthy, fit, and happy!
Nicole has been practicing yoga since 2007. She came to yoga after years of competitive sports play, digestive disorders, and bouts of depression left her worn out and longing deeper connection within herself and the outside world. The practice changed her life in meaningful ways, bringing more joy and improved health. In 2016/2017 she completed teacher training at Bloom Yoga Studio in Chicago and spent time in her native Puerto Rico engaging with the yoga community there while teaching Adaptive/Chair Yoga at the VA Hospital in San Juan. Her love for yoga stems from a passion for intuitive movement and creative self-expression, as well as the desire to always continue learning and growing as a human being. She appreciates how yoga, through mind-body awareness, allows us to connect with and express our truest-self, enhancing quality of life and positioning us to be better, more loving and compassionate individuals. Her classes are influenced by classical Hatha and Vinyasa Flow Yoga. She likes helping students find their own flow and pose expression, focusing on what proper alignment feels like, while building strength and cultivating balance from the ground up in each pose. She brings a sense of lightheartedness to every class while challenging her students to explore the unknown.
Join Our Team
Head Route Setter
Position: Head Route Setter
Job Description: This is a full-time, career position with benefits. As the Head Route Setter, you would work closely with the Facilities Manager as well as the Owner to provide members with at least 140 roped routes and over 300 boulder problems every 10 weeks. Most of your time would be spent working with the route setting crew and on route setting responsibilities, but, as part of the management team, you are also a part of the over all success of the business. You will have to work well with the rest of management and with our team of part-time staff. Lastly you should exhibit other skills and traits that will add to the team. Your ability to teach a lead class or coach our comp team on occasion, will help strengthen your application.
Current Facility: Portland Rock Gym – Portland, Oregon. Total 25,000 sq. ft. of wall, 15,000 sq ft of roped climbing up to 40 ft high and 10,000 sq ft of bouldering up to 18 ft high.
Portland Rock Gym will be expanding into new locations in upcoming years as we rebound from COVID-19.
Job Responsibilities:
- Provide evocative and entertaining routes for a large membership base, bringing a large repertoire of movement simulating a myriad of climbing types and styles.
- Manage a setting crew in a professional and safe manner.
- Working with the Facilities Manager in all aspects of wall maintenance.
- Work with the Owner in placing hold orders.
- Take the lead in setting and running all competitions in terms of setting and running of events.
- Work with the comp team head coach to help arrange routes and training scenarios that will benefit the team’s improvement.
- Work with the marketing team to promote the gym through quality setting.
Requirements:
- Prior commercial route setting experience of at least 2 years and at least 2 years of management experience.
- Ability to fore run 5.13 and V9
- USAC level 2 required or more
- “Work at Heights” safety program with Petzl/CWA would be a good bonus.
Compensation:
- Head route setter is a full time position with salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.
- 2-weeks paid vacation and 1-week paid sick leave
- Exceptional medical insurance for individual and spouse/family
- 401K retirement plan
- With our future expansions, there are opportunities for growth.
How to apply: email us at operations@portlandrockgym.com
General Inquiries
To join our front desk, customer service and sales team, please email info@portlandrockgym.com.
To join our setting crew, please email operations@portlandrockgym.com
To join our facilities crew, please email facilities@portlandrockgym.com
To become one of our yoga or group fitness instructors, please email yoga@portlandrockgym.com
PORTLAND