Our Story
Even though indoor climbing is a relatively young sport, it does have a rich history in North America. Andreas grew up in a climbing gym and has spent all his working life employed in the indoor climbing scene! His dad owned one of the first indoor climbing gyms on the Canadian scene, and that was his playground and industry learning for over ten years! Little did he know then that indoor climbing would become his life's passion!
As an adult, Andreas went on to route-set with great success in various climbing centres across Canada. He has route-set for all manner of local/provincial and national climbing competitions and most recently spent over ten years from grassroots-up as a setter, head setter, and then setter-coordinator at a very popular chain of Vancouver-based bouldering gyms.
Andreas is a climber. He can often be found sending projects in Squamish and other hot climbing spots. Climbing outdoors fuels Dre’s incessant desire to present indoor climbers with the most diverse, interesting, and aesthetic problems possible! It also acts as the catalyst for many of the awesome hold and volume designs offered by Solution!
Although Solution Climbing became a reality on February 20, 2020, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the exploration, research /development, creation and testing started happening way back in 2011. At that time, volumes were just being introduced at world cups and starting to be seen in gyms as a new route-setting resource! Volumes allowed setters to quickly and easily alter the angles of walls and challenge climbers in a new way without completely redesigning the climbing structure. Andreas designed and tested many different volumes off and on for years, but finding the perfect texture eluded him!
In 2019 much work was put into product testing and development to create something that could be offered to the public and compete with other leading brands. With so many new gyms coming into fruition, the Solution team wanted to provide an ultimate ‘solution’... clean and simple shapes that would offer any setter a chance at creating excellent movement.
Based on many years of combined experience in the climbing and woodworking industries, Solution can create high-quality wood volumes from concept to production.
“When designing a volume, I strive for the uniqueness and functionality of the shape. I imagine it on a wall. I think about the movement and the subtleties that it can play in the functionality of a boulder. I think of the setters and climbers and the endless possibilities they can bring to the playing field. It’s ultimately all about versatile and safe function for the setters and pure joy for the climbers!”. Andreas
William “Will” Lerch grew up in a family of climbers. Whether he was climbing, or just hanging out at the gym, he loved spending time in the community. He started woodworking in high school and continued his studies at Georgian College. Shortly after graduating he moved to BC to pursuit the fine craft of Joinery. He worked in a local high-end shop for a year before going back to school at BCIT to expand his knowledge of theory. After school, Will decided that working in a new shop would further his growth. Taking advantage of his passion for traveling, he moved to Vancouver Island and spent the next few years at a well-established cabinetry shop. After half a decade of fine-tuning his techniques, he wanted to come back to his roots of creation and design. The opportunity to work side by side with his brother, Andreas, was the perfect step forward. They are excited to bring clean and elegant climbing shapes to the market.