Basin Climbing and Fitness becomes first full-service rock climbing gym in Waco

By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer

After years of planning, delays and dedication, Baylor alumni finally accomplished their business aspiration that “was really needed”: the first full-service rock climbing gym in the Waco area, Basin Climbing and Fitness.

A grand opening ceremony was held on Sept. 20 to mark the official start of Basin Climbing and Fitness, located in Hewitt. Throughout the weekend, other events were held at the gym to celebrate the opening of the the new business.

Trinity Robb, CEO and co-founder, said there are a variety of climbing options available. According to Robb, the gym offers a different dynamic and is larger than what is at the McLane Student Life Center.

“People that have been climbing for years can come and be able to learn from one another,” Robb said. “Also, we have a different set of programming than what’s available currently on campus.”

Jessica Colley, general manager, co-founder and a Baylor graduate, said the goal is to provide an environment that all feel welcome to work out in.

“Climbing is a really community-based sport, and Waco really needed somewhere where people could come together and be in community — It’s something you can actually be active and do together,” Colley said. “Our biggest goal is to be able to provide that for as many people in the Waco area as possible.”

Colley hopes to see the membership base grow and start competitive and non-competitive youth climbing teams in addition to the adult eight-week climbing technique class beginning on Oct. 1. The plan is to also start personal training and some more programs in the fitness area, she said.

Robb said the idea to own and operate a climbing gym can be traced back to his undergrad days at Baylor. He studies outdoor recreation during his undergrad and climbed while in college. He said that all along people were murmuring about the need for a climbing gym in Waco.

“The early seeds probably started back in college,” Robb said. “Several years later, I helped start a bike and outdoor store called Outdoor Waco… before it became Bicycle World. During that time frame, [I was thinking,] ‘Why has nobody built a gym yet?’”

According to Robb, he had started looking at real estate for the climbing gym, and even looked at the Silos right before Chip and Joanna Gaines bought them. Ultimately, he said it just wasn’t the right time to start up a gym yet.

In 2019, Robb said he connected with a colleague to get the idea off the ground, but had to put it on hold because of COVID-19. During the pandemic, he met others who became partners in the creation of the gym.

“They were interested in starting a gym and had started moving forward and we heard of that,” Robb said. “It’s kind of the three of us [on] parallel paths at different times that all kind of came together to form what is now Basin.”

Robb said his favorite part about the opportunity to open up this business is that it is an activity that all families can enjoy.

“There’s not a lot of activities that a whole family can do together that’s challenging, that gets exercise [and] that in a lot of ways you’re on the same level. So [with] something like this, you are able to have the whole family involved,” Robb said.