Yuji Hirayama is a legendary Japanese climber and pioneer who helped redefine modern climbing standards. Rising to prominence in the 1990s, he became known for his exceptional finger strength, disciplined training approach, and groundbreaking ascents in sport climbing and bouldering. Beyond performance, Hirayama has influenced routesetting, training culture, and the evolution of climbing both in Asia and internationally.

Cai Luyuan is the founder of CAIHOLDS, an IFSC Level 3 route setter, and former Head Coach of the Chinese National Climbing Team. With deep experience across elite coaching and route setting, he brings a performance-driven perspective to hold design and movement, contributing to the progression of both competitive climbing and gym standards worldwide.

Urban Climb is Australia's leading group of indoor climbing centres. Climbing has been a defining thread in David's life for over 20 years, stealing time from his university studies and career in management consulting to climbing throughout Australia and overseas, to now supporting the most ambitious team in Australian climbing. His mission is simple: to foster and grow climbing community.

Garnet Moore is the Executive Director of the Climbing Wall Association, bringing nearly two decades of experience across the climbing industry. He has worked closely with gyms, manufacturers, and industry partners worldwide, supporting growth, collaboration, and best practices, with a focus on advancing standards and strengthening pathways toward global and Asian alignment.

Jérôme Meyer is a 3 time bouldering World Cup winner and European Champion.
He is the founder of Circle Climbing, that aims at creating a market place for climbing routes, Circle is also a founding partner of the Titan World League, a world wide inclusive and permanent challenge. Before as Sport director at World climbing, he played a key role in adding the sport to the Olympic Games.

Jez Tapping helps climbing gyms, federations, and investors transform climbing facilities into high-performing businesses by aligning coaching, operations, governance, and commercial strategy to drive sustainable growth. He formerly led a 27-site climbing portfolio at Everyone Active and now works globally as a consultant and fractional executive, serving as Chief Commercial Officer at ClimbHQ.

Kelly Soohoo is the founder of ClimbCo Group, a China-based manufacturer producing climbing holds, flooring, and gym equipment for brands and facilities worldwide. Working across product development, factory operations, and gym builds, he brings practical insight into how manufacturing, pricing, and quality shape the industry, alongside key perspectives on air quality, design ethics, and intellectual property.

Kevin Chen, based in China, is a shaper and marketing lead at AGHOLDS and ATOM HOLDS MARKET. He crafts climbing holds, drives creative ideas, and bridges climbing communities across the globe, connecting athletes, gyms, and brands while pushing the evolution of climbing culture worldwide.

Max is a British routesetter with over 13 years experience setting in both commercial and competition environments. Drawing on his competition background, he pushes boundaries, encouraging climbers to think outside the box and develop their problem solving skills.

Niu Gang is the founder of AGHOLDS and ATOM HOLDS MARKET, and the founder of ROCKPLUS Climbing Gym in China. With a background spanning manufacturing, distribution and gym operations, he has played a key role in developing China’s indoor climbing ecosystem. His work connects product innovation with real world application, supporting the growth of both climbing facilities and the broader market.

Consultant Orthopaedic Specialist known for minimally invasive procedures without general anaesthesia in ambulatory settings. He completed an AOA-accredited fellowship and holds qualifications in medical education, surgical anatomy, and musculoskeletal ultrasound. He teaches internationally, serves as faculty in Australia and the USA, and consults for the UK-based Medical Protection Society.

Stephen Skinner is a Performance Coach with over 20 years’ experience supporting climbers from grassroots to international level, including para-athletes. He is in his fifth year supporting the GB Climbing programme and serves as Head of Coach Development for NICAS (National Indoor Climbing Award Schemes). He designs inclusive youth coaching programmes and has trained and mentored 1,000+ coaches internationally.

Taqi Zulkifli has been climbing for 16 years and setting routes for 10. Passionate about fostering the climbing community, he aims to inspire and educate through his routesetting, crafting challenges that help climbers develop skills, creativity, and a deeper appreciation for the sport.

Tom is Interim Managing Director of NICAS (ABC Training Trust), with 25+ years in coaching, setting, operations, and partnerships. Formerly Operations Director at Parthian Climbing, he led the largest NICAS programme globally. He now works with hundreds of centres, and NICAS Partners, to improve delivery, accreditation, and coach development, focusing on scalable quality assurance and retention.

Patrice Verosil is the Director of Boulder Planet Southeast Asia, leading operations across Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. She has grown the brand into a multi-country platform spanning gyms, events, community development, and route setting education. She is the driving force behind SEA Boulder League, a cross-border competition circuit elevating Southeast Asia’s climbing pathways for emerging athletes.

Patrick Andrey is a business developer at Camp5 Climbing Gym, Managing Director of SMA, and also represents Walltopia in the Asia Pacific region. With over four decades in the climbing industry, he has worked as an athlete, route developer, coach, instructor, designer, and wall builder. After moving to Kuala Lumpur in 2000 to establish BLOCX, he co-founded Camp5 in 2005, developing a gym franchise tailored to the Asian market.

Volker Schöffl, is a German sports medicine doctor with focus on climbing medicine. He is the team doctor to the German Climbing Team, the German Skimountainering Team and author of “One move too many” and „Climbing Medicine“.
Volker climbs since 40 years and did more than 100 first ascents, mostly in Laos, Thailand, South East Asia and the Frankenjura, Germany. He is a pioneer to Rock climbing in Thailand since 1990.