Sugar Cayne
I met Mikhail Martin of Brothers Of Climbing (BOCCrew) at Afropunk this year and had to get a quick interview with him! Brothers Of Climbing is rock climbing crew that helps people of color get more into the sport. Below is a brief description of how the BOC started:
In 2009, an old warehouse was transformed into one of the largest climbing gyms in the northeast—Brooklyn Boulders (BKB). Something amusing started happening about a year later. Rock climbing was spreading! BKB’s climbing community was becoming more diverse, culturally.
As our mixed network of friends grew, jokingly the terms BOC (Brothers of Climbing) and AOC (Asians of Climbing) were formed to identify ourselves. During our countless good times, you could hear “BOC!” and “AOC!” being yelled out followed
by laughter.In 2012, three climbing friends, Andrew Belletty, David Glace, and Mikhail Martin, decided it was time to share the contagious energy of BOC with the world. From this point, it was clear that this term was not only viewed as a particular culture marker, but one that appeals to all that love to climb, be silly and have fun without care of judgement. Brothers of Climbing Inc.
was born.~ Boccrew.com
This is really cool!
