As climbing gains popularity for its blend of mental and physical challenge, a new indoor bouldering gym in Holland aims to take the sport and its business model to new heights.
Shift Climbing, co-founded by longtime friends and business partners Jonathan Brandt and Jack Ogilvie, offers a unique way to get fit and a bold rethinking of access, equity, and innovation in the climbing industry.
The largest facility of its kind in West Michigan, Shift Climbing introduces a breakthrough solution to a common problem in indoor climbing: static walls that grow stale over time.
The 12,377-square-foot facility features a first-in-the-nation hydraulically tiltable climbing structure, developed with European wall manufacturer Dreamwall. At the heart of the gym is a freestanding boulder that tilts over 12 degrees in two directions, transforming the climbing landscape with every adjustment.
"Routesetters have always had to work around fixed terrain,” said Brandt, a USA Climbing level 5 routesetter. “With this movable structure, we can change the entire experience. Every tilt creates a fresh challenge.”
This, combined with the gym’s circuit system, lets climbers choose 80 to 100 routes across eight distinct climbing paths, with something for all skill levels, from beginners to elite athletes. The eighth circuit will rotate special challenges and guest-designed routes, tapping into an international network of routesetters.
![]()
Courtesy Shift ClimbingShift Climbing, co-founded by longtime friends and business partners Jonathan Brandt and Jack Ogilvie, offers a unique way to get fit and a bold rethinking of access, equity, and innovation in the climbing industry.
Reimagining the business model
But Shift isn’t just solving for physical fitness and creativity. It’s tackling industry-wide issues around affordability and workforce treatment.
Recognizing that gym memberships can be a barrier, Shift has introduced a need-based membership model called “Shift Sessions” that offers three discounted tiers of up to a 50% discount for membership based on an honor system.
Shift is also taking an employee-first approach. Most staff positions are full-time with competitive salaries, health and financial benefits. It also plans to have an Employee Stock Ownership Plan so that as the business performs in the long term, staff will have the opportunity to be a part of the company by becoming future co-owners.
“Our employees are the prize,” said Ogilvie, who previously led a company that shared 100% of its equity with staff. “We’re proving that a business can succeed while putting people first.”
The founders’ vision is shaped by years of climbing experience and a desire to do better by both climbers and workers.
Brandt has nearly two decades of experience in gym operations. Ogilvie’s expertise is building employee-centered workplaces. They want to create a workplace culture focused on respect, creativity, and shared ownership.
Beyond climbing, the gym will feature a café and espresso bar in partnership with MadCap Coffee, along with local food and drink options.
“In a region already home to a number of great gyms like Scrapyard Climbing Collective and Terra Firma, we’re not here to compete,” Brandt said. “We’re here to complement, to innovate, and to help more people discover the mental and physical joy of climbing.”
The Lakeshore caught up with the partners for a Q&A about their vision for bringing the largest bouldering gym of its kind to Holland and West Michigan.
The Lakeshore: What inspired you and your co-founder to bring Shift Climbing to Holland, and what makes this location ideal for your vision?
Jack Ogilvie: While I do have some out-of-town family, my true family is local and goes back over five decades here in Holland, so we love Holland. In terms of climbing, my wife and I have enjoyed climbing so much in all its shapes and sizes. Before kids, we'd go on six to eight really fun climbing trips per year, getting into some amazing areas like Red Rocks in Vegas, or the Sierras and Yosemite, or some of the great stuff on the East Coast like Stone Fort and Linville Gorge (as well as many other areas). Then, as we had kids and couldn’t really belay each other without asking someone to watch our kids, we shifted focus, still climbing but with less travel. During this same time, Jonathan Brandt (a decade-long friend and now business partner) and I had been talking about one day teaming up to open some indoor climbing experiences. Jonathan has had an incredible vision for a gym, and I have shared his passion for this for a long time. In the last 18 months, a number of things lined up, and the timing was right. With Holland being home, and with such an active population here in Ottawa County, we were excited to bring Shift to life here.
![]()
Courtesy Shift ClimbingShift Climbing, a new indoor bouldering gym in Holland aims to take the sport and its business model to new heights.
TL: Your business model prioritizes employee benefits and equity. Why is this approach so important to you, and how do you hope it will impact Shift Climbing’s culture and the industry as a whole?
JO: It is a huge honor when people trust you with their employment. Work can be hard, and sometimes it can take more out of you than it gives back. We are trying to reverse that. We want work to give you energy, we want you to love what you're doing and what you are a part of, and we want you to leave each day feeling like you are a part of something truly special. We're trying really hard to get the basics right (benefits, salary). We also plan to share profits with our team, and I have a history of this from a company I started 15 years ago. We shared 100% of the equity with the employees, and I saw the impact it had. I feel like that's what I'm supposed to do: help create business environments where we can honor the most important piece of the equation, our employees, and build everything outward from there. This is a big priority at Shift. We are just getting started, and we, as owners, have a lot to do to prove that we can live up to this, but we are certainly up for this challenge and will hold ourselves to a very high standard.
TL: The climbing industry continues to evolve, with innovations like your adjustable/tiltable climbing structure and high-level guest routesetters. How do you see Shift Climbing pushing the boundaries of what a climbing gym can offer?
JB: Innovation is another one of our core values and perhaps the one closest to our hearts. I had a theory that one day, gym designers will realize that we’re creating fixed environments in a rapidly evolving industry. When newly built, a gym’s design may seem amazing, new, and perhaps different. The thing is, we change everything around it – our climbs, our programs, our experiences – but we haven’t solved for our inability to change our environments or the canvasses which we, as routesetters, paint. The tiltable boulder, the world’s first of its kind, changes all of that.
The future of climbing gyms involves dynamic structures, allowing us to change traditionally fixed terrain to meet the needs of our community, routesetters, and experiences as they evolve.
JO: With regard to routesetting, we have an amazing core in-house team of talent based in West Michigan. Given that Jonathan is one of several L5 (the highest level that exists) routesetters in the U.S, we have access to the best route setting talent in the industry. We’ve chosen to invest in bringing this talent into Shift on a monthly basis to give our in-house routesetters access to elite career development while also helping West Michigan climbers gain access to climbing styles not normally found locally. The response from our community has been a high level of excitement for the existing climbs on our walls, and we’re very excited to continue to offer this to our members. We really think this is a “best of both” — having amazing local talent getting poured into by the best in the industry while bringing fresh stuff from outside our geography into our gym in Holland on a regular basis.
TL: What fuels your love of climbing, and how did you first get into the sport?
JO: I was introduced to it via a friend. He took me to a gym and said, when you can climb a 5.10 (a medium-difficulty rope climb) I'll take you to the Sierras (mountains in California). I eventually did, we went, and I really never looked back. It's been a special part of my life since. I've made many friends climbing, I've introduced many other friends to climbing, and it's just been this constant over the last 17-18 years of my life. What it looks like for me has changed as I've aged some and have three kids now, but my love for it has not changed. It is the perfect combination of mental problem-solving, physical movement, and incredible friendships.
JB: I started climbing in 2005 and began working in the industry shortly afterward. I’ve worked for multiple gyms around the country, from local, single gyms to nationwide chains, and have been involved in opening several facilities. All this experience has taught me a great deal about what does and doesn’t work in the biz but, more importantly, it’s shown me all the things that aren’t being done the best way they could be. I’m stoked to finally have the ability to try all these things out for the first time at Shift.
Climbing is truly unique in how it brings people together from all walks of life, backgrounds, and experiences to hang, problem solve, pursue health/fitness goals, and collaborate … not just on occasion, but for hours every single week. Shift provides a product and experience that fosters this connectivity. We believe that if we can grow together, we can live together.
TL: Climbing has grown in popularity in recent years, even making its debut in the Olympics. What do you think is driving this interest, and what demographics are most drawn to indoor climbing?
JO: Climbing has so much to offer. For it to grow, it just has to be presented in a way that makes it accessible. The Olympics has created some awareness, but the growth in climbing is driven much more by gyms and climbing communities that are creating welcoming environments. Many gyms are doing this, and it's cool to see how many new climbers are being developed. We love that vision for the climbing industry, one where the commercial gym setting can foster an amazing and supportive community of incredible climbing, and we're excited to be a part of that movement.
For more information, visit
www.shiftclimbing.com or follow @ShiftClimbing on Instagram.