FL Rock Climbing Gym Celebrates 30th Anniversary

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Vertical Ventures climbing gym is celebrating a major milestone in June — 30 years of operating in the Tampa Bay area, as well as the 10th anniversary of its St. Petersburg location.

A 10-year anniversary party is planned at the St. Petersburg gym at 116 18th Street S., the business’ only remaining location, on June 8.

The full-day celebration offers discounted admission and classes, 10-visit punch passes for $100, giveaways, and a members-only party from 6 to 9 p.m.

“It’s a nice chance for people who have never heard of us or tried us before to come into a really welcoming atmosphere and see if something they want to get into,” Kelly “KJ” Jackson, owner and managing partner, told Patch.

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A display of photos from Vertical Ventures over the past three decades will also showcase the gym’s history over the years.

The original gym opened in Tampa in the mid-1990s.

“It’s really hard to find a space for a climbing gym in Florida, just because of the height,” Jackson said, adding, “That’s pretty much why in 1996 it was such a revolutionary idea. It was really ahead of its time from the beginning. It just started with adventurous people, whether they were into adventure or the outdoors or they were adrenaline junkies and got hooked.”

The business expanded into St. Petersburg in 2015. It’s now the only location that remains after the Tampa gym closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jackson has been involved with Vertical Ventures since 2008 after graduating with a degree in poetry. Her brother was a climber at the original Tampa location.

“And I was just looking for a job,” she said. “So, I got a temporary job at the rock climbing gym and that grew into a management position and, in 2021, a co-ownership position. It was unexpected for sure.”

At the start, Vertical Ventures was home to “a small, tightknit, word-of-mouth community,” Jackson said.

Then, in the mid- to late 2000s, the sport of indoor climbing boomed across the country.

“It shifted from this niche group of misfits and grungy outsiders to a mainstream sport,” she said. “Now, it’s just a way for people to stay in shape rather than going to a conventional gym, and they also find real friendship and community that they don’t find in a conventional gym.”

The tallest climbing wall in the gym is 40 feet with the smallest being the bouldering area at 12 feet high. The main wall, where most people climb, is 25 feet.

Most gymgoers spend between two and four hours at a time at Vertical Ventures.

“Because they have to rest between climbs a lot, they spend time getting to know each other and it becomes special for them,” Jackson said.

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