May 16, 2025

Getting the Most Out of a College Market – Brian Doscher

48 minutes

Brian is the General Manager and Co-Owner of Bluestem Boulders in Ames, Iowa. It's a fairly new gym, having opened last November. The climbing walls and flooring at the gym are by Onsite, and the CRM software is by GymDesk. But what's noteworthy for today's conversation is that Bluestem is only two miles from the campus of Iowa State University, so students from the university form a large customer base for the gym.

There are many other climbing gyms around the country near colleges, where students already frequent the gym. And there are also gyms near a college that are trying to figure out how to break into the university market, asking: “How do we get more of those college students to come into our gym? How do you draw the college demographic into a gym? How can a gym work with a nearby college? What kind of programs seem to resonate most with college students?” There are no magic answers to these questions, but there is plenty to talk about when it comes to better serving a college population, and that’s the subject John gets into today with Brian.

General Topics Covered

College Demographics and Gym Proximity

Marketing to College Students

Programming for College Students

System Boards and College Appeal

Gym Operations and Observations

Show Notes

Bluestem Boulders

Find Bluestem Boulders on Instagram: @bluestemboulders

More background on the opening of Bluestem Boulders: Bouldering Gym Opens Two Miles From Iowa State University

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And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!