Business looks up for Vertical Limits owner
From youth work and outdoor education through to running his own building firm, a varied work history has proved beneficial in learning the ropes for Vertical Limits owner James Scoltock.
‘‘It all intermingles - I just like to see people being challenged,’’ he said.
Scoltock has a long association with outdoor education, stretching back to his time as a student at Waimea College.
After a stint in the United States working high rope and rock-climbing activities at a summer camp in New York, he returned to New Zealand in 2000 and set about completing a certificate in youth and children’s work.
From there he worked locally with various youth programmes before taking up a building apprenticeship.
Fast forward to 2016, and after running his own building and property development company, Scoltock found himself looking for a new challenge.
‘‘I got bored,’’ he said.
With the previous owner Vertical Limits wanting out, he took over the the climbing wall business six months ago with an aim to making wholesale changes with the way it was run.
These included reducing the 10am-10pm opening hours and removing the donation-based payment structure in place.
‘‘I saw it as a real asset to the community and I thought it would be really sad if it went away,’’ he said.
‘‘[The old owner] said ‘you run it for three months and see what you think’, so me and a whole lot of local people who love the place and had been heavily involved with it put in a lot of effort to make it happen.’’
At $12 for children and $16 for adults - extra for gear hire - Scoltock said Vertical Limits was still the second-cheapest climbing wall facility in the country.
A kids club started up in term three last year, with six kids quickly turning into 28 in a matter of weeks.
These days, Vertical Limits operates with four key staff, with other volunteers who help out.
Scoltock said the biggest reward was seeing meeting the challenge of the climbing walls and surprising themselves.
‘‘A kid came in yesterday and she was [just] off the ground and in tears – one hour later she comes and gets me and goes ‘I want to show you what I’m doing’ – it was really cool.’’
Based on these kinds of experiences, Scoltock said he had resisted the urge to target the tourist market, instead opting to foster an atmosphere orientated towards families and a growing regular clientele.
‘‘If they can take more ownership of it, it’s going to be better and then the extras that come along will just feel welcome and want to join in.
‘‘Some parents come in and go this is brilliant, they actually have to work together, with all the belaying, instead of beating the snot out of each other.’’