{"id":12146,"date":"2023-10-02T18:22:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T22:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mappyhour.org\/blog\/?p=12146"},"modified":"2024-03-12T13:41:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T17:41:52","slug":"maker-series-josh-helke-founder-of-organic-climbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mappyhour.org\/blog\/2023\/10\/maker-series-josh-helke-founder-of-organic-climbing\/","title":{"rendered":"Maker Series: Josh Helke, founder of Organic Climbing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The September installment of the Mappy Hour Maker Series<\/a>, presented by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. we’re featuring Josh Heike, the founder and president of Organic Climbing. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past 15 years, Organic’s bright and sturdy bouldering pads and chalk bags have taken over the climbing world, becoming a staple at local crags. We sat down with Josh to chat about starting and growing Organic Climbing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why did you choose the name Organic for the brand? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bouldering is the most organic form of climbing, climbing condensed to its simplest form <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s your personal connection to climbing? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I started climbing at age 4, have established over 500 bouldering first ascents across the USA and over 200 roped routes. I have been climbing 40 years now and still climb regularly with my kiddos (8 and 10) so climbing has come full circle in my life. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Can you tell me about your decision to move to State College? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My wife is a geology professor at Penn State. It\u2019s one of the top Geo Science departments in the country so it’s a great place to be for her. The climbing in PA is bountiful and it really reminded us of where we had lived in Laramie Wyoming during Organics inception. State College is a cool college town surrounded by tons of public land, mountains to explore and lots of untouched rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central PA has the largest amount of public land on the East Coast it\u2019s simply amazing and a very special place to live if you are into the outdoors. It also surprisingly had a very strong history in the textile trades in Philipsburg a small town just outside State College so we put our solar powered workshop there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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