On the second floor of Velocity Rockclimbing Gym, FIU medical student and climber Miguel Russo is attempting a complicated bouldering climb. He fails. He tries again. He fails again.
“Everyone always says the third time’s the charm,” Russo laughs as he makes his way up once more with new determination. “Maybe I’ll get it then.”
Located minutes away from the Miami International Airport, the Velocity Rockclimbing Gym boasts heights of up to 60 feet and a layout modeled after the Innsbruck, Austria Olympic climbing wall. It is one of only a handful of climbing gyms in Miami-Dade where the highest natural spot is 28 feet above sea level.
But it’s the close-knit community that members like Russo say makes the experience special.
“I love to climb, don’t get me wrong,” says Russo. “It’s really the connections I’ve made with the people that keeps me coming back.”
Like other climbing gyms, Velocity charges an initiation fee of $49 and the monthly fees are $79. The gym also offers free rentals and introductory classes.
“Especially now when equipment is so expensive, we’re trying to make it inclusive,” says Pinzon. “We believe that climbing should be accessible to everybody.”
Students are of particular interest.
“We try our best to include everybody, including staff, students from the University of Miami and people everywhere,” said Russo.
Daniel Duran, one of the lead climbers at Velocity, is originally from Ecuador and started rock climbing on some of the hemisphere’s highest peaks.
“I used to do boxing for a long time and I was in a finals match,” said Duran. “My opponent was way better than me, so I started getting really mad. I kicked him, which was not under the rules, and I got kicked out.”
Duran fell in love with rock climbing. His father was alpinist.
“My dad also used to climb so I had some holes in my room and my house,” said Duran. “Since that day it’s been every single day of my life that I’ve been climbing.”
Duran is responsible for route setting, which is the designing and building of climbing challenges on artificial walls using specialized holds.
“I used to come to the U.S. to do nationals and different competitions and also set, which is how I met a lot of new people,” said Duran. “I coached people and one of them was the owner of this place. I had coached him in a private class. About two years ago, he contacted me and said ‘I’m getting the project done.’ I helped get started with the business and the route setting.”
Rock climbing is also a good exercise, especially when it comes to the mental aspect of it.
“It’s not only a physical exercise, you’re also thinking a lot,” said Pinzon. “You do a little bit on the chest compartment when you’re climbing but you just supplement that. That’s why we got a gym here.”
Velocity offers three types of climbing that are commonly seen at the Summer Olympics: speed climbing, lead climbing and bouldering.
Speed climbing is just as it sounds: whoever gets to the top the fastest wins. In the men’s tournament, the record is held by USA’s Sam Watson with 4.74 seconds in the bronze medal match. In the women’s tournament, Poland’s Aleksandra Mirosław with 6.06 seconds in the seeding round.
“Our record here is 4.5 seconds,” says Pinzon.
Lead climbing is a competition to see which climber can climb the highest and requires people to wear a harness and a rope. Duran says “the place you fall, that’s the number of holes you got the highest, and that’s your score.”
Lastly, boulder climbing is when a climber, who doesn’t wear any harnesses, climbs a wall that is four meters, or 13 and a half feet, tall.
No matter the route new climbers choose, Russo and Pinzon offer the same advice.
“Have a nice time in it,” says Pinzon. “There’s going to be a lot of people so that’s pretty much the best thing there is. It’s the easiest way to make friends.”
Russo, who had already made two tries bouldering on the second floor, gave one last go.
Unfortunately, the third time wasn’t the charm. His hands slipped from the rock despite being so close. His feet hit the ground hard.
“It’s alright,” Russo smiled. “I just have to keep trying.”
