A new business in downtown St. Pete is driving its patrons up the walls.

Vertical Ventures is a rock climbing gym that offers 10,000 square feet of climbing with more than 80 different climbing lines. Mayor Rick Kriseman scaled the wall Saturday to cut the ceremonious red ribbon.

“I think this is right in line with who we want to be as a community,” Kriseman said. “We want to be a place that’s vibrant, that has energy, that’s healthful.”

The first Vertical Ventures opened its doors in Tampa in 1996. The new facility represents a $2 million investment into the community. Co-Owner Chris Brown grew up in Pinellas County and said it only made sense to open the new gym across the bridge.

“St Pete is just a beautiful city,” said Brown said. “It’s unique in the sense that it has such a great residential zone focused around an amazing urban core and that really sets up perfectly to be a fitness hub in the town.”

Rock Climber Stephen Thomson has gone vertical for five years. It shows, as he swings and pops from rubber rocks on the man-made boulders. Rock climbing is more than getting a full-body work out, he said.

“They have an access to something that’s different that’s gonna stimulate them both physically and mentally,” Thomson said. “I think the other element about climbing is that it brings people together.”

Fellow climber Anthony Carter said there is not much that can compare.

“It’s so much fun and it’s like an adventure,” he said. “An adventure that you only have to drive to a few miles to get to.”

Vertical Ventures
welcomes climbers of all ages and expertise levels. The St. Petersburg Location is located at 116 18th Street South.