My climbing journey began in 2013 when my friend took me to Joe Rockhead's downtown Toronto. I got quite pumped on some 5.8s and bouldered until I couldn't hold on. The following days were a climber's right of passage - my forearms were so sore I could barely open a door. But I loved it ! I was hooked instantly. At the time, I was taking my undergrad in Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo. The school had a few passionate alumni that had volunteered their time to convert a squash court into a bouldering cave for students. This was my first training ground! No grades, just a mess of elaborate tape and some annually cleaned holds. I wonder if now-a-days I could send the coveted moustache-tape boulders...

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A few months passed and I decided to check out another place to climb - Grand River Rocks in Kitchener. Once I sampled the possibilities of a full sized climbing gym, there was no going back. But, I was in a co-op program, meaning almost every 4 months I was moving locations. Next up, I was living back at home in Muskoka while commuting for work into Barrie. Barrie used to have a climbing gym (I'm pretty sure I went there once for a birthday party as a kid), but it had since closed, and the new and beautiful Alt. Rock hadn't been conceived yet. So, I searched for options... it came down to Georgian College and their on-campus rock wall. I am so glad they had just got auto-belays! Then it was back to GRR for 4 months. After that, I had a placement at Sunnybrook hospital in the stroke rehabilitation research centre. I lived with some family in Mississauga, and True North Climbing (TNC) became my next climbing sanctuary. Here, I was blessed to meet my wife, Rebecca! Not long after, her friend took us outside climbing at Rattlesnake Point. From there, we learned to lead and went to Mount Nemo and Metcalfe Rock. Next we went with a group of friends to boulder at Halfway Log Dump (HWLD) in Tobermory. My passion for outdoor climbing was well underway!

 

Following my Kinesiology degree, I chose to pursue a career in chiropractic, which led me to the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC). But, the summer before I started, I was back living at home in Muskoka... no gyms around, and I had outgrown the climbing wall at Georgian College. Luckily, my parents had a semi-outdoor garage space and my dad happened to own a hardware store and lumber yard! So, I built my own training facility - the D-cave.

 

That summer, I worked my way through virtually all of the boulder problems at HWLD. Fortunately, this was before the crab boulder keeled over and the water rose to unprecedented levels. Then, when I started studying at CMCC, I was back climbing at TNC and began to frequent the Niagara Glen Nature Reserve. The Glen has continued to be my home base to present day. It is a magical place with a ton of bouldering! Over the years, when we can find the time, Rebecca and I love to travel, camp, and climb in other areas like: McKenzie Pond in NY, The Swamp & Lion's Head in ON, Red River Gorge in KY, Val-David in QC, Stone Fort in TN, Calabogie in ON, Dover Island in NS, Smuggler's Notch in VT, & Makynen in ON.

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As I finished up school and started my chiropractic career, I wanted to specialize in helping climbers with their injuries. I recognized the short-comings of traditional in-office-only treatment for things like pulley injuries - where a well laid out and executed rehab and conditioning program is most beneficial. At the same time, I realized there is a gap in services for adult coaching for climbers. There are plenty of youth coaches working out of virtually every climbing gym, but no opportunity for an everyday adult climber to get professional help in progressing their climbing. So, I started small, with coaching a couple friends. Things went great and more opportunities started popping up. Then, in early 2020, I sought out more education on climbing specific coaching and took the Performance Climbing Coach Seminar and C4HP's Principle's of Strength and Conditioning course. These were invaluable experiences and I can't wait to continue enhancing my coaching in the future.

 

I started this journey in 2019 and 2020/21 has made it... well, challenging... but clients are doing really well and I am excited to continue growing the Bouldering Breakdown platform! This website is a big step forward. I am hoping it can give you: a feel for what BB is all about, tips to help make you a stronger and healthier climber, and a home and community for all things climbing.

Let's Get Strong !