The New Way to Spell Klimbing

The New Way to Spell Klimbing by Anthony Lapomardo

Klimbing in Arizona is now spelled with a "K" thanks to the inspiration of Nick Tortajada, an Arizona based climber whose designs blossomed into a new clothing line.

We all know about Prana, Patagonia, and Sickle, but there is always room for the new kid on the block.  Clothing brands can start up and disappear within weeks leaving consumers to find the tattered remains of quickly forgotten startups on the sale rack in the depths of their local climbing gym. But, Klime Clothing is motivated to make an impact.  The crew at Klime is looking to achieve something great...

Like any good fledgling company, Klime began in a small room belonging to creator Nick Tortajada. The company has since seen consistently steady growth which has allowed them as Nick puts it, "to move into a slightly bigger room." 

So where does Klime really come from? There were numerous inspirations for the name Nick said, "one being that Webster's denotes it as the phonetically proper way to spell "climbing". A self taught designer Nick openly admits he has trouble drawing stick figures however, he found alternative ways to create his designs and expand his clothing line.  The images found on Klime Clothing are graphics or photographs that have been digitally manipulated to create striking new designs.  The inspiration is drawn from a mix of urban and organic elements.  The Klime team is not very large; in fact Nick literally has a hand in creating every shirt that has come off the press from the inception of the design to the final printing.

Although it may be cliché, as the truth sometimes is, Klime was created in order to help the community and fuel the growth of climbing as a sport. But, it was the community who initially helped Nick.  During the initial stages of the brand, when Nick was looking for someone to bounce ideas off of it was the climbing community who offered him their ideas.  "The initial support was huge; we were getting incredible feedback from everyone, it really helped to have the community there." 

 So how does an emerging clothing line promote their new look? For Klime, it involved a beat up motor home and the slow trudge across California on an 18 day road trip.  "We are looking to bring something different to the table.  We hope that we can shirt up the climber that sent their first 5'9 outside, an idea that we can all relate to much better than that climber nabbing that new V14."

Look for Nick's latest designs in your gear shop or if you're in Arizona stop by the Phoenix Rock Gym for the latest gear and ask Nick how his face and shirts managed to become a hot seller on a Japanese website in his first few months of startup.