The story of VirginGrip began in 2016
At that time, founders Jarda Ježek and Tomáš Riese decided to start to produce uniquely designed climbing holds of excellent quality in the northern Bohemian town of Tisá.
It was about quality
Originally, they planned to produce the holds from commonly available polyurethane materials, but such materials did not meet the founders’ standards of longevity for climbing holds. One meeting with the German manufacturer Ebalta sparked the long-term development of the best material, and the collaboration continues to this day. A year later, they received the European certification for their products.
A major milestone in 2018
Jarda and Tomáš could not be deterred from developing the VirginGrip project, not by the difficult beginnings, nor the late nights, nor the constant need to learn new things.
Halls & Walls 2018
In November 2018, Tomáš decided to show their genuine climbing holds to the world, and the company participated in the international Halls & Walls trade fair for the first time. Thanks to Jarda’s original design, VirginGrip established relationships with foreign distributors not only from Europe but also from overseas that continue to this day. The same year, the company added wooden climbing structures to its product range, no longer limited to climbing holds only.
Innovative company award
VirginGrip won 1st place in the Ústí nad Labem Region’s 2019 Innovation Company competition.
allHOLDS
In March, VirginGrip, together with the German manufacturing company Ebalta, founded the European Association of Independent Polyurethane Holds Producers, allHOLDS. Today, this association of 6 members from 3 countries has jointly launched the 3rd generation of polyurethane, 40% of which comes from renewable sources.