Backstory
Tyler and I met in November of 2017 at Rockville, our local climbing gym. I had been climbing longer but he climbed so much harder. I wasn’t exactly chatty. We became friends and eventually began a belaytionship at the gym. We were brought together by our determination to climb through some of our toughest moments. He saw me at my absolute worst when I couldn’t complete a climb. We started sport climbing together. We started going on climbing trips. Almost 2 years later, I sat at the gym and started to wonder why we climbed at all. Tyler said, “I don’t know why I do this. I hate climbing.” It made me laugh because I felt the same frustration.
We started using “I hate climbing” as our mantra. We focused on climbs that required terrifying moves or techniques. Eventually, our mantra turned into “I hate climbing but need to embrace the suck to send it.” This is how our slogan “Embrace the Suck!” came to be. Who knew something so self-deprecating and frustrating would become our biggest motivation? The idea for “I Hate Climbing” is a love story — A love of hating something that makes us better.
Product
We are using I Hate Climbing as a platform to express our frustration with a personal growth/goal-oriented sport. It is terrifying, exciting, painful, wonderful, and every confusing emotion I think of when I’m climbing. It’s the fall before the send, the frustration before the relief, and the satisfaction after the doubt.
Using eco-friendly products like hemp, up-cycled fibers/plastics, and sustainable cotton blends, we provide you with a product we fully believe in because we have FELT it!
Starting small, we hope you join us on this journey to expand a brand that athletes like you can get behind. We look forward to having you join our community and urge you to remember to EMBRACE THE SUCK!
Love,
Maria Rosario Del Rio “Ro”
Founder | CEO
