Rising Stars: Meet Johnny Davis of Central Park, Durham NC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnny Davis

Johnny, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Do you know how to belay? – nope. Have you at least climbed before? – not much. This is the majority of the back and forth in 2016 when I apply to work at NC State’s climbing wall program. They must be desperate – I get the job.

Thank gosh for Josh, PD, Becca, Nick, Megan and the Outdoor Adventures team for… teaching me the ropes (lol). I’m quick to find that climbing is so much more than just a sport. The emotion, the community, the empowerment – wow. Now I’m hooked.

I’m spending all my time at the wall, and hardly studying. How can I tie this passion with my coursework at State? Tate, a longtime neighborhood pal, and I begin researching hangboards after sparking the idea at a TRC climbing sesh. We watch hours of ‘how it’s made’ YouTube videos on CNC’s and wood carving tutorials. Seems easy enough to carve up a block, why not? They want me to learn g-code for some of my automation classes anyway. Let’s try it!

I discover that State’s Entrepreneurship Garage, which occupies the basement of my dorm, has a ShopBot desktop CNC. With the help of Geoff and DC, I get all trained up and join the Garage to work on this idea. After MONTHS of creating expensive firewood and braking router bits, something worthwhile is made, and it’s pretty; like, really pretty. Should we sell this? Would climbers want this? How can we make it better? These are all questions Tate and I begin asking until, on May 23, 2017, a decision is made. Acorn is born.

Just as an acorn does, the project grows. We kick off sales at State’s faux rock wall on October 18, 2017. After receiving great feedback from friends and early customers, we mold our hangboard design into what becomes known as Midnight, our flagship board. Sales grow and it becomes evident demand would not allow us to stay in the basement of Innovation Hall. My friend Josh’s garage comes to the rescue! There, we purchase our own CNC capable of making six Midnights at once, and simultaneously begin development on a portable option – to which we eventually call the Fury Series. During this growth, Tate commits to Kentucky for tennis, so it made sense to part ways. I’m also eyeing my graduation in the spring of 2020, and I soon need to make the hard decision of going full time with Acorn, or pursuing an engineering career.

COVID could not make the decision easier. As gyms shut down, climbers become desperate for at-home workout equipment. I can’t make enough boards a day to keep up with demand. We pick up distributors in Europe and they ask for monthly quantities that would take me a year to make. I do what I can, and I get burned out. For a company I created around the concept of sustainability, this isn’t sustainable.

So I stop – I cut off all sales channels and sell the machine. I get a big job in Atlanta, and I move forward.

I pick up evening work managing a hole-in-the-wall gym in East Atlanta. I get to bike to my climbing family after my consulting job, everyone is always there. I’m happy, I feel at home. I’m comfortable now, but hungry. Hungry for adventure, for uncertainty, for risk – things that are hard to find at a 9-5. Things I felt during my rodeo with Acorn.

Then my gym boss plants an idea in my head. He’s looking to go more hands off. Maybe I could be part owner? Definitely not, too expensive. But what about a loan? Before we get too deep into it, he decides against the idea, and the opportunity comes to pass. But now I’m thinking – this would be so cool. To build a gym, and make it my own! Fun, weird, and homey all at the same time. The ideas run wild.

It’s evident the project would grow where the roots of Acorn were established, in North Carolina. So I pack up and give my ATL family a big hug farewell. I move to the Outer Banks for the summer of ‘22 to earn my hangliding ratings as I explore the gym idea further. It only takes me a few phone cutoffs and hangups from commercial real estate landlords for me to realize I have no idea what I’m doing.

My uncle, Jack, saves the day. Having worked with both small and large business concepts in commercial spaces – I bring him on as my broker and mentor for the idea as we model out a gym concept from both a layout and financial perspective. What a change! Jack guides me through a part of business I’ve never seen, learning the power and value in collective negotiation, cash flows, architecture – this is amazing!

As we explore the idea further, I move in with some pals in Chapel Hill and quickly get roped into the Great Outdoor Provision Co and Progression Climbing communities. There, I discover my love for outdoor bouldering alongside some of the most supportive (and strong!) friends I could imagine. The day trips to Moore’s and Love Valley not only reaffirm my love for climbing, but also guide new interest in conservation lead by an attachment to organizations like the Carolina Climbers Coalition and the American Alpine Club. As heavy as these boulders are, I learn the sport is quite fragile when competing against development and overuse. Here, I find a battle I want to fight.

I also use this time in Chapel Hill to bring awareness to the project. With a need for funding, we hone in the model and our search for the project’s future home. We begin conversations with architects, general contractors, landlords, and investors – and my gosh, so many ups and downs. After about a year and a half of this roller coaster ride and 16 potential properties later, we find Bryan and Drew, owners of the Durham Brazing and Welding Works building.

No columns, tall ceiling, incredibly thick slab, city center, landlord managed build-out, BEAUTIFUL brick with a deep history – It’s an easy yes from us. The team is fast, we finalize our financial needs and commitments – it’s go time. On February 29th, we sign the lease and announce to the world: The Boulder Garden is underway!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Classic budget and timeline challenges of course, but we’ve got an incredible team that is working so hard to make all the pieces come together. Honestly we’ve caught a number of lucky breaks, but also utilized some creativity to dodge many of our impending obstacles. The rodeo isn’t over, and won’t be for quite some time, but everyday is an adventure!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For a total of 10 summers, I’ve grown up going to, working, and directing at Camp Kanata in Wake Forest. I feel like putting camp first is important because it’s a space that really created ‘me’ and taught me so much on the value of relationships and self importance. When I wasn’t at camp, I was studying engineering at NC State – so whether I like it or not, I’ve been molded for problem solving. I’ve worked as an engineer for a few different companies in both NC and Atlanta, and I think they’ve been incredible stepping stones via challenges, friends, & connections that have lead me to where I am now. When I begin the gym project two and a half years ago, I pivoted my work to more fulfilling interests that still provided enough to live off, but now I had more time to focus on what’s important and have fun along the way. This started with moving to Nags Head in the Outer Banks and teaching hangliding. For what has now been a multi-summer dream, I get to wake up and jump into the ocean before teaching eager students how to leave the planet, then watch the most beautiful sunsets in the world. How amazing! The work also gives me the time I need to manage construction remotely and pop in every couple weeks for onsites in Durham. During the colder months, I’ve continued my work with youth at Durham Academy, where I have helped manage their afterschool programs (and now teach an afterschool climbing enrichment!) Over the past couple years, I’ve also picked up work here and there at Progression Climbing in Chapel Hill and Great Outdoor Provision, both amazing communities that have helped transform the gym idea and bettered me as a person.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Listening, 100%. I don’t have the best ideas, I don’t know everything, I can’t tell what other people’s needs truly are without asking. I try to listen far more than talk. I think that’s helped me a lot.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebouldergarden.com
• Instagram: @thebouldergarden