Climb Bentonville: A Fitness Community for All

Join Betzy Boche, the general manager of Climb Bentonville, as she shares her passion for health and wellness and the vision for the gym. 

Get an insider's look at Climb Bentonville, a hub for fostering a love for climbing and fitness in Northwest Arkansas. Betsy highlights the facility's offerings, including day passes and a fresh lineup of yoga and fitness classes. Whether you're a seasoned climber or just curious, Betsy's enthusiasm and expertise offer a compelling invitation to explore Climb Bentonville.

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Transcript

Beth Bobbitt : 0:11

Welcome to A New American Town presented by Visit Bentonville. I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt, broadcasting from Haxton Road Studio, and today we're excited to speak with Betzy Boche, with Climb Bentonville. Betzy, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for having me. Yes, so you are the general manager. You've been with Climb Bentonville how many years now?

Betzy Boche: 0:32

So I opened up the gym back in 2019 and I was with them for about four and a half years making my way to Nashville, working around the organization, took a hiatus and went to Salt Lake City for two years. Oh wow, and I am back. So back for about two months now and excited to be back, okay well welcome back.

Beth Bobbitt : 0:50

So let's start by hearing kind of how you became interested in this line of work and your background from you know, from as far back as you want to go, what path led you to Bentonville and to the Climb Gyms.

Betzy Boche: 1:05

Yeah, absolutely so. I'm actually born and raised from Northwest Arkansas, from Berryville, small town about an hour and a half away from here, and I basically have been in the health and wellness industry for the past 10 years or so. Going to college at U of A, I worked at Planet Fitness and essentially worked as a front desk worker, found my way up in management, graduated with a business degree in marketing and Spanish emphasis and I went to work for Walmart for a year. Did the corporate life thing, sat in an office a year in I was like this is not it. So I went back to the health and wellness industry, with Planet Fitness specifically, and then I found Climb. Got to hear about it through a couple of friends that knew the owner that was opening up in Bentonville and I got connected and they ended up hiring me for the role.

Betzy Boche: 1:52

I wasn't a climber or anything at all before but a lover of movement, have opened up a few Planet Fitnesses before, so I knew how to open up a business and had that background and I think they took a chance on me and I ended up falling in love with the sport and just movement in general.

Beth Bobbitt : 2:06

So yeah, well, I love that, and you know it sounds like there were a few different locations in and around Nashville before here, so can you talk a little bit about the vision and why Bentonville?

Betzy Boche: 2:20

Yeah, so they actually have been open for over 20 plus years in Nashville. Lance Brock and Drew Sloss are the two primary initial founders and owners and they got interconnected with Dennis Nelms. So Dennis Nelms is also from the NWA region, really acquainted with Venture Subaru, the Nelms family, and he was looking to open up a gym in this area and they, I think, heard about it or they connected I think you'd have to ask Dennis himself but essentially they partnered up and decided to bring him onto the organization and expand to Northwest Arkansas as they were looking to grow. So at that time they opened up two facilities. A little bit back to back In 2018, they had just opened up Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and then decided to open a Bentonville as well. So that was a work in progress. I think with construction the timing kind of just aligned where it was about six months apart and they opened up officially in January of 2019. But Dennis Nelm is also co owner and is part of why the Climb Gyms made its way to Northwest Arkansas.

Beth Bobbitt : 3:22

Okay, I see. Well, it's certainly a great time and a great place because of the emphasis on recreation and being outdoors. And, you know, as the weather cools off a little bit, people are looking for ways to stay active indoors. And if they don't know about the offerings, can you just give us a little bit of an overview of what Climb Bentonville is all about?

Betzy Boche: 3:47

Yeah, absolutely. You can always find it on the website as well theclimbingymscom and select our specific location. But we do have day pass offerings. That gives you access to the facility all day. We also have a new yoga and fitness schedule rolling out for the month of December. So if you did buy a day pass and wanted to get a little yoga in or a fitness workout, you're welcome to come back and do that. So our first time visitors, it's a day pass rate of $21. Our youth passes are around $21 as well, and then the adult passes at 25.

Betzy Boche: 4:17

We also have different options for you to buy, essentially like a five punch pass, so where you can come in for the day and then come back a different time. They do not expire. So it's a really great option for those individuals who are a little bit of an infrequent user and want to come back into the gym. And then we also have membership options. So if they're interested in essentially an individual month, it's $90 a month. We have student membership options as well, which is $70 a month in family options. That is, a tiered based pricing with a family of three.

Beth Bobbitt : 4:47

Yeah, yeah, awesome and it you alluded to this, but it's more than just climbing. I mean, you have equipment and you have classes, and besides yoga, do you have any other group classes right now?

Betzy Boche: 5:02

Yeah, we offer climbing classes. Fitness classes are going to be rolled out in December as well. So, really, instruction and I think you touch on this on it's not just a space for climbing, it's a community, honestly. Individuals go there to hang out, they do their homework at the gym, parents come in to drop off their kids. We have a youth team, um, that goes anywhere from rec all the way to competition level to where they're competing at, you know, at a regional, divisional and even national level. So there is is opportunity for really anyone to come in and just hang out and be around each other and support each other, um, really just move their bodies.

Betzy Boche: 5:37

You know, climbing is obviously the main, the main offering and the staple of like, you walk into that gym and you just see a beautiful sun wall in the gym and that's what you want to be doing in there and you want to be climbing. But we do offer yoga. We have a specific fitness studio as well that has weight room, essentially like treadmills, ellipticals, just the standard weight room that you would find in any other gym, which is really really nice for anyone who's wanting to get a workout in before or after work. We're actually opening up our hours at 6 am moving forward and starting in December as well, so we'll have those for member hours only 6 am to 9 am. So in that morning time they're able to come in and take a fitness class or yoga class to get started off their day and, of course, like come back and climb if they were wanting to as well.

Beth Bobbitt : 6:22

So yeah, the place for all. Yes, and you do space rentals, birthday parties, that kind of thing.

Betzy Boche: 6:28

Yeah, do group events A lot of. There's a lot of corporate businesses around here, you know. So we get a lot of individuals coming in and inquiring to do team connect. So essentially we cater. Team connects is for like, essentially a group coming in and wanting to team build and we cater the programming to essentially meet their needs and we have different activities outlined for them. And, yeah, individuals have a blast and so you know where we do offer birthday parties, where it's for kids. We also offer things such as team connects, where individuals can come in and do a team building exercise or group events too, if it's just like a boy Scouts group or a church or any any group of friends of 10 or more that we've actually hosted, even like a bachelorette and like you know, I'll find a few different events.

Betzy Boche: 7:14

So we're, we welcome anyone and so, yeah, different offerings to bring people into the community and expose them to movement and the love of climbing Amazing.

Beth Bobbitt : 7:23

And then you also have camp right. You'll roll out summer camp options soon, I assume.

Betzy Boche: 7:30

Yeah, so we roll those out on January of every year. You know parents like to plan ahead, make sure that their summers are ready to go, so those actually do fill out pretty quickly and we have about six to eight week offerings throughout the summer, depending on you know the needs and how our camps are doing, but they roll out in January. It's $350 for a week. If you have a sibling or a friend it's recommended, but we do have a sibling discount specifically to where, essentially, if you signed up, the sibling itself also gets a discount. So that's a nice little like nice to have whenever you have a family of you know two or more wanting to come in and do the similar activity. Yeah, yeah.

Beth Bobbitt : 8:10

And I bet you I bet you have a lot of regulars and people probably from out of town. What do you hear from visitors? What's the response about what climbing brings to their life?

Betzy Boche: 8:20

The highlighting theme is back to what I mentioned earlier is community and how this is a welcoming space and a welcoming environment where it challenges you not only in the body but also the mind. Climbing is a sport where essentially it's just you and yourself. It's a battle against you and yourself, climbing up the wall and really like how much effort you want to give and also the mindfulness that it brings to you. It's a very meditative sport where essentially you're just thinking about the next move and thinking about how to get there and just it's so rewarding to climb and it's move and thinking about how to get there and just it's so rewarding to climb and it's the goal is not even to get to the top, right, it's to like, be engaged and be one with with the wall, if you will.

Betzy Boche: 8:58

I know that sounds a little potentially out there for some folks, but it is. It is one of those sports where not only you're connecting mind, body and soul, but you're also connecting with others. I often find that you know a new visitors coming in and they see a random other visitor and then they just like start to talking and all of a sudden they're climbing together and you meet a friend. And in this day and age, it's where you know we're attached to our phone screens or not even going to a coffee shop and not interacting with another person Like this is a space where you can actually connect and make a friend, and that's very rare now in day and age, and so I think that's why this space is so special, that's why the climbing community is so special. Um, it's a space for people to really like connect with each other and support each other in their journeys yeah, yeah, our family loves it, but you can feel that when, when you walk inside, people love being there.

Beth Bobbitt : 9:50

Any call to actions Are you looking for instructors or hiring anyone right now?

Betzy Boche: 9:55

Yeah, we're hiring some yoga instructors and fitness instructors. I know you asked about that earlier. We are releasing a whole new schedule in December. Our programming essentially will have offerings for evenings, weekends and in the mornings. So looking out to kind of revamp our programming schedule and, like I mentioned, having some climbing classes. So if you're new to climbing and you're hearing this, that will be on the schedule. We will essentially have some intro to bouldering classes as well as like intro to ropes and offering different technique classes for the more of those more like intermediate to advanced climbers that essentially want to sharpen their skills and providing specific instruction for them. So our programming itself be on the lookout. December 2nd is, along with the member hours is whenever. We're rolling that out.

Beth Bobbitt : 10:40

Awesome, well, shifting gears a bit. We always ask this question. To wrap up, If you could have a dream day in Bentonville, knowing that you know you grew up here, what would you do? What would you see, eat you know? What would your day look like from morning to evening?

Betzy Boche: 10:58

Yeah, that's a great question. And moving away from the area and coming back, I would think that my answer would change, but honestly it doesn't. I have my go-to spots and so I have my like like little favorite coffee shop down the road, which is airship um, so getting a cup of coffee with my family and um essentially drinking that cup of coffee and then going and hitting a trail like Kohler, and walking down that trail um really like Crystal Bridges areas, too, is like one of my favorite spots, and I mean state of the art, yeah, and the museum in Arkansas is just unheard of right. So I think it's like taking advantage of that when we can specifically like forest lights, I think is something that happens in the fall, so it's always a fan favorite of mine. And then Preacher's Sun is probably my favorite restaurant here.

Beth Bobbitt : 11:43

Um, if I was treating myself anyway, it's a little of the pricey range, but super delicious and always love their food Amazing. Yeah Well, this has been a blast. Thanks, betsy, for coming on and sharing your insights. We are really lucky to have this amenity. Climb Bentonville here. Tell us where we can learn more.

Betzy Boche: 12:07

Mention the website one more time for us, yeah, theclimbgymscom. Also. Feel free to check out our Instagram at climbbentonvillecom. Also feel free to check out our Instagram at Climb Bentonville. com. We will be really seeing quite a few information about future events and any promotions and initiatives, and opting into our newsletters is a great way to stay informed as well. So we have newsletters that go out monthly and on a regular basis of any deals or just promotions and event happenings in the gym, as well as highlighting community members and staff, because that's what makes the gym special, right? So that's a great also way to stay informed is keeping in touch with our newsletters.

Beth Bobbitt : 12:36

Yeah, well, thanks Betsy. So we hope you check out Climb Bentonville on 14th Street and don't forget, visit Bentonville is here to help you navigate things to do, where to eat and stay and what's going on in Our New American Town. Give us a follow on social media, sign up for our newsletter and check out the website at visitbittenvillecom. Thanks so much for listening.