Former youth national champion and a fixture on the USA Climbing youth and open competition scene since she was thirteen, Maya Madere has long been captivated by seemingly opposing faces of rock climbing: the focused intensity and adrenaline of competition, and the intimate learning and limitless possibility of the outdoors.

While competition climbing isn’t her sole focus anymore, it is the foundation of her career. She attributes her playful attitude and people-orientation to thirteen years spent in climbing’s competition community. When she started out as a 13 year old in Austin, Texas, she skewed more introverted and driven. “A lot of the perception of rock climbing is that it’s an individual pursuit, that you do far off in the mountains. But my path through climbing has been totally driven by those around me.” The ecosystem created by family, friends, fellow-competitors, coaches, route setters, and mentor figures generated a current that has carried her happily into life today as a professional athlete, with a computer science degree she hopes to never have to rely on.

Constructive competition and a drive to improve keep her focused, but it’s the joy of movement and the strength of community that bring her back to both crag and comp wall year after year. Her ultimate goal is to “have as much fun as possible at all times” and to prove that that is not incompatible with crushing.

 Kai Lightner’s resume is as mind-stretching as his plus seven ape index. Since walking into a climbing gym in North Carolina at the age of 6, he has amassed 12 national titles, 6 Pan-American titles, and 5 World Youth Medals, in bouldering and lead climbing, including winning the Youth World Championships in 2014, the first American to achieve this in almost two decades. At 15, he climbed 5.14d (9a) outside, and became the Open/Adult Lead Climbing National Champion in his first year in the category. Transcending the Icarus fate of many child prodigy competition athletes, a decade later, at the age of 24, he climbed three 5.14ds in the same week.

To get there, Lightner had to face his toughest crux - making peace with a body that was an outlier in the climbing world - taller, bulkier, and Black in a sport where that was rare among his contemporaries, present or past. Burdened by the pressures of external expectations, Lightner stepped away from competition and turned his focus to reshaping the industry. In 2020, he founded Climbing for Change, a nonprofit dedicated to breaking down barriers in the sport—tackling issues like access, representation, and industry bias. He has also become a vocal advocate for addressing the pervasive culture of disordered eating in climbing, pushing for greater awareness and systemic change.

When he returned to the sport, Lightner reemerged rejuvenated—equal parts humble and intense, driven not just to push his own limits but to help shape a better future for climbing. In 2024, he proved to himself that he could still perform at the highest level, making the first ascent of Death of Villains (5.15a).

After 18 years as a professional athlete, Lightner has come to understand that “Fighting your body is a battle you’ll never win.” As a young black kid in climbing, Lightner had no one who resembled his physical appearance or his life experience to look to. Now, through Climbing for Change, he’s creating blueprints of opportunity for thousands, drawing on his own success and his strong relationships, to make space for more people at the crag, the gym, and in the outdoors.

7:00 AM: Check-In at Arc'teryx Downtown Boulder Brand Store 

7:30 AM: Depart from the store for the crag

8:00 AM: Clinics Begin

3:00 PM: Clinics Wrap

4:00 PM: Post Clinic Connect at Arc'teryx Downtown Boulder Brand Store