Hi, I'm Phil, I'll Be Your Instructor Today.
I started climbing back in 1994, after a long time doing motocross, bmx and even a couple of parachute jumps. A friend took me to my local climbing centre, there for the first time he showed me the ropes, i've been tied in ever since.
I took an opportunity back in 2005 to change my life's path and become an instructor at the Warehouse Climbing Centre, Gloucester, under the close eye of the legend, wye valley and big wall monster climber "Tony Penning", manager at the time. This brought me one step closer to the dream I had as a child, to teach in the outdoor industry and be an instructor. I learned how to do everything from birthday parties, beginners courses, taster sessions, lead courses and coaching.
Learning to run the centre, Route setting to health and safety checks, it was an amazing learning curve and really fun.
We had an amazing team and under Tony's guidance, developed great friendships and skills as instructors, indoors and out, plus a love for 'Traditional Climbing' at our local crags and climbing history as a whole.
Very quickly I gained my SPA (Single Pitch Award) I soon ran out of options at the Warehouse and needed a new challenge, which is never to hard to find in this industry. So I made my move.
Back in August 2008 there was news of a brand new centre, which at the time, was an empty building in need of a new identity that needed to be built and staffed. I came to the new team as a senior instructor and Human resources manager, with the aim of running future outdoor courses. It was a lot of long days and hard work to get the place open on time but we did and now it can now be identified as 'Boulders indoor climbing centre' in Cardiff and has been a great success for South Wales climbing since we opened in September 2008.
All the way through the construction faze from August 2008 to Mar 2010 I was building the centre, instructing all ages and abilities and hopefully influencing some of the ways things are done and will be for the future. "I helped establish the way the centre ran, developed the team approach and helped build the centre's excellent reputation". This was a great learning experience and a lot of fun, I have since been employed by boulders on a consultancy basis which is great, however my heart lies in the great outdoors and showing people everything that the world of climbing has to offer.
I set up 'pbclimbing.com' in apr 2010 and haven't looked back. I went on to completing my ML summer assessment which has broadened my experience and confidence plus given me a load more skills to practice. This has Lead to a number of Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions for a number of companies and a lot of fun.
I'm always trying new techniques and playing with new equipment, learning and improving my skills as an instructor. Presently getting ready to go for my MIA, Mountain instructors award, training.
I moved into Rope Access in 2015, which has been a great learning curve of skills and equipment. Its been great learning something new and its pretty much all year round, unlike instructing. I spent the full 3years as a L1, gaining the experience people are looking for and getting to know the industry. Its been amazing learning from a wealth of knowledge the L3's hold. I then did my L2 in 2018, continued strong and have since worked on some of the uk's top locations, including "The Shard" the highest building in the UK, Tower Bridge and other iconic structures. I'm now a re-valed L3 but still loads to learn and work in the wind industry.
My company is based on the belief that my customer's needs are of the utmost importance and in climbing, its all about the experience, one which I hope to be teaching for a long time to come.
I took an opportunity back in 2005 to change my life's path and become an instructor at the Warehouse Climbing Centre, Gloucester, under the close eye of the legend, wye valley and big wall monster climber "Tony Penning", manager at the time. This brought me one step closer to the dream I had as a child, to teach in the outdoor industry and be an instructor. I learned how to do everything from birthday parties, beginners courses, taster sessions, lead courses and coaching.
Learning to run the centre, Route setting to health and safety checks, it was an amazing learning curve and really fun.
We had an amazing team and under Tony's guidance, developed great friendships and skills as instructors, indoors and out, plus a love for 'Traditional Climbing' at our local crags and climbing history as a whole.
Very quickly I gained my SPA (Single Pitch Award) I soon ran out of options at the Warehouse and needed a new challenge, which is never to hard to find in this industry. So I made my move.
Back in August 2008 there was news of a brand new centre, which at the time, was an empty building in need of a new identity that needed to be built and staffed. I came to the new team as a senior instructor and Human resources manager, with the aim of running future outdoor courses. It was a lot of long days and hard work to get the place open on time but we did and now it can now be identified as 'Boulders indoor climbing centre' in Cardiff and has been a great success for South Wales climbing since we opened in September 2008.
All the way through the construction faze from August 2008 to Mar 2010 I was building the centre, instructing all ages and abilities and hopefully influencing some of the ways things are done and will be for the future. "I helped establish the way the centre ran, developed the team approach and helped build the centre's excellent reputation". This was a great learning experience and a lot of fun, I have since been employed by boulders on a consultancy basis which is great, however my heart lies in the great outdoors and showing people everything that the world of climbing has to offer.
I set up 'pbclimbing.com' in apr 2010 and haven't looked back. I went on to completing my ML summer assessment which has broadened my experience and confidence plus given me a load more skills to practice. This has Lead to a number of Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions for a number of companies and a lot of fun.
I'm always trying new techniques and playing with new equipment, learning and improving my skills as an instructor. Presently getting ready to go for my MIA, Mountain instructors award, training.
I moved into Rope Access in 2015, which has been a great learning curve of skills and equipment. Its been great learning something new and its pretty much all year round, unlike instructing. I spent the full 3years as a L1, gaining the experience people are looking for and getting to know the industry. Its been amazing learning from a wealth of knowledge the L3's hold. I then did my L2 in 2018, continued strong and have since worked on some of the uk's top locations, including "The Shard" the highest building in the UK, Tower Bridge and other iconic structures. I'm now a re-valed L3 but still loads to learn and work in the wind industry.
My company is based on the belief that my customer's needs are of the utmost importance and in climbing, its all about the experience, one which I hope to be teaching for a long time to come.