Bouldering Project
Climbing gym chain · 12+ locations · Seattle, Austin, Boston, Brooklyn, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix-Tempe, Salt Lake City, Washington DC
A family office's climbing-gym roll-up: FS Investors bought Brooklyn Boulders' distressed assets in 2022 and a Dallas gym in 2024, then installed an outside first-time CEO in 2025. Its newest Austin lease came from a smaller local gym that lost its own.
The Big Picture
Bouldering Project has grown to 12 gyms largely by acquiring distressed or displaced competitors — Brooklyn Boulders' Gowanus and Somerville locations in 2022, Oso Climbing Gyms in Dallas in 2024, and a lease taken from a smaller Austin gym the same year. Neither original founder has a confirmed current role, and a first-time outside CEO took over in 2025. The company answers to FS Investors, the family office running this consolidation.
The Dirty Details
Ownership
FS InvestorsFamily Office
FS Investors is a family office based in La Jolla, CA, founded in 2011, with a diversified portfolio spanning food, pet care, and healthcare, including Nothing Bundt Cakes, Small Door Veterinary, and Yummers. In climbing, it runs Bouldering Project as an active consolidation platform rather than a single investment, having acquired Brooklyn Boulders' distressed assets (2022) and Dallas's Oso Climbing Gyms (2024).
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Company data last updated July 2026
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