How did your style of climbing evolve from competition climbing to bare foot soloing?
Being on a local climbing team I traveled to comps with everyone else. I really didn’t get serious about competitions till I was about 18ish. I always used comps to figure out my weaknesses and then I would train my ass off and get better at what I sucked at. As far as competition goes there is no better way to push yourself and get better. After all how do you know if you are a good climber or not if you haven’t seen someone stronger than you? For the most part, I’m just competing for fun and the social aspect of things. That doesn’t mean that I’m done with comps I just done being serious about them. I’ll leave that to the team kids.

How did you get into the climbing wall industry?
Before I even knew that there was such thing as a climbing gym I had built my own training wall to climb on when it rained. It started out as a piece of plywood with various shaped holes cut into it and spanned the ceiling above my bed. That wasn’t enough, so my parents sacrificed their two-car garage and I covered the walls in tiny pieces of wood, carved to perfection.

What happened to your first wall?
After leaving Georgia to live in Boulder my parents tore down my homemade gym. I tried to stick it out in Boulder, but the cost of living was beyond me and I returned back home after a year.

Why did you decide to build your own gym?
I knew I couldn’t keep up the travel lifestyle that I was living without having a trust fund parent. Hard work was my only option to pursue the sport I love.

How did you get your start?
Once I returned from Boulder, I was sick of traveling and saved some money to climb out West. Las Vegas was my destination of choice. It was in Vegas that I had decided to work with my family to build a gym. Once the paper work was done I got the call to come home and start building. I was 19 and by no means a businessman. I have learned a lot from the whole experience and wouldn’t change it for the world. Hard work is just a given when you own your own business.

What motivates you to climb hard and run a successful business?
I’m a driven person and once I put my mind to something I follow through despite the risks involved.

What are your biggest struggles with owning a gym and two houses at 28?
Coming from an Italian family we stick together. My parents put their house up for the first loan. They took a big risk, but with big risk come big pay...or so they say. The biggest struggle was knowing that I would have this ball and chain of a business that would destroy the free lifestyle I was living.

How do you find time to climb?
For the first two years of business I had no time to climb. I was battling nerve damage from a car wreck I was involved in, so it didn’t matter much. Now my gym is running smoothly and I have built a market for climbing where there was none before. Climbing is extremely important to me and I will always find time to get out, even if it kills me.