Bloc 11 has just opened its first gym in Johannesburg, tucked away at the top of Fourways Mall. The gym can be found in CF05 and is most accessible from parking entrance 7H. The gym is everything we expected from Bloc, a relaxed atmosphere with incredible holds and setting throughout the gym. It’s not every day you get to walk into a brand-new gym and have the chance to climb everything inside for the first time. It was refreshing as well as exhilarating.
Image credits: Keenan Meyer
If you have been climbing for a long time you might agree that Bloc 11 feels remarkably different- in a good way. The gym feels like it was designed for, and with, the existing climbing community in mind. Providing a much-needed space where climbers can have fun discovering new movements and push themselves to greater heights. This is not to suggest that Bloc 11 is unwelcoming to new or beginner climbers, but rather that the setting demands more from climbers at all levels. Whether you were climbing ones or sixes, you were being challenged and having fun on the problems. This compounded with the more casual atmosphere yet professional setting, marks this distinction into something that feels new for the Johannesburg scene.
Meet the team
After opening two successful gyms in Cape Town, many of the community members began asking – when are you opening a gym in Joburg? This was the main reason that spurred the Bloc 11 team to start thinking about this as a real option. With the size and popularity of climbing growing in Johannesburg, the team saw this as the perfect option to expand their gyms presence whilst simultaneously proving the means to grow the climbing community even more. Starting constructions in May of this year, the team worked tirelessly to get the gym opening-ready and the wait was certainly worth it. If you climbed at the opening, like me, you probably don’t have much skin left. But yet, the allure to climb just one more problem pushed you through.
The Johannesburg gym brings with it a whole new team, with some familiar faces. Josh Greaves is the official Bloc 11 General Manager and Tyron du Plooy is the Assistant Gym Manager.
Pricing & Operational Hours
Day pass: R160
Student / U18/ pensioner day pass: R100
Student / U18/ pensioner day pass + shoes = R130
Debit order monthly: R550
Student / U18 / pensioner debit order monthly: R420
Month pass (pay as you go): R650
Month pass student / U18 / pensioner (pay as you go): R520
The gym is open 9am-10pm Monday-Friday, and is open 9am-7pm on Weekends.
We wish Bloc 11 all the best for their Johannesburg adventure, and we cannot wait to see what this space will do for the community! Pushing us all to do better and be better. If you would like to keep up to date with the gym’s latest news and events, you can join the WhatsApp community group below.
