A Crux on the Corporate Career Path

Matthew PearsonMatthew Pearson, BA ’97, and Steve Hands, BA ’93, took a leap of faith when they jumped off the corporate ladder and mounted the climbing wall. The two men made the decision to leave their stable careers to take on a business venture when they decided to construct Crux Climbing and Bouldering Gym in 2001.

“We weren’t actively seeking to own a gym,” admits Hands. “But we saw the building and knew it was a one-of-a-kind, offering a rock solid infrastructure for us to build on.”

Their friendship was rooted in climbing over a decade ago, so the pair’s growth from friendship to business partnership came quite naturally. But, the transition from office place to construction site was a different story, as the two mean had to trade in their suits, ties, and PCs for coveralls and tool belts.

 “It was tough, but Matt and I are both in good shape so the physical transition wasn’t too difficult,” says Hands. “We just put our heads down and handled it like any business project by setting timelines.” They went from eight to 13-hour workdays. Of the 148 days the two men worked, they only took three days off — Christmas, New Year’s, and an afternoon when their electrician had to kick them out of the building so he could complete his job.

The Crux now stands out from the competition as one of the tallest indoor climbing gyms in North America. It provides climbing enthusiasts with 12,000 square feet of climbing space and 3,000 square feet of bouldering terrain.

 Pearson and Hands aren’t quite satisfied with Crux being a leading recreational facility though. They see it becoming the premier training facility in Western Canada for high angle rescue and rigging for the oil industry. “We purposely left high beams and girders in place during construction so we could offer a realistic environment to train for rigging rescue since it looks like an oil rig inside.”

 With the doors to the Crux now open, and business in full swing, the two look forward to taking some time off to spend with their family and friends. It’s been all work and no play for many months, which has meant they’ve ironically had to neglect the other love of their lives — climbing. “One thing we really need to do is get away on a good climbing trip,” says Hands

 By Sally Jade Powis