Meet Joseph Unitt | Climber/owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joseph Unitt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joseph, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The idea for the business came from my desire to train for climbing. I have been climbing for over 30 plus years and in order to stay in shape an continue to grow I have to train specifically for the sport I love.

I have had many memberships to indoor climbing gyms in order to use their equipment and climbing walls to train in and stay in shape and also train for my outdoor projects. What I began to notice is that each gym had a few of the training tools I could use but not a lot of variety. It also became hard to focus as the bigger gyms grew and catered to everyone , training sessions were often interrupted and there were a lot of distractions which made it hard to focus.

The idea was to create a space where individuals who were motivated to train for climbing could be surrounded by like minded individuals and they could feed off the energy created to grow get stronger with all the distractions and interruptions in commercial gyms.

I wanted to build a space where everything you needed was available and also focus all aspects of training, from working out to recovery, nutrition, coaching and training. Help educate people to train properly and avoid injuries as much as possible.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
There is not much to say to my career. I worked as baker for many years before moving up the ladder to a management position.

Nothing to do with my current business, My passion as always been climbing and being outdoors, I love the outdoors and most anything that has to do with it. Rock climbing by its very nature puts you out into some of the more beautiful places outdoors. It is also very challenging which is something else I love to do is challenge myself.

In part opening this business was very challenging which might be another reason why I choose to open it. The name Flux came from the idea that everything in our life is in flux. We are constantly ebbing and flowing with changes in life and when in training there many different cycle go through. Whether your training for a hard project or rehabbing from an injury, just training to maintain shape working endurance or power or power endurance there is constant Flux in the cycle.

I don’t believe anything worth having is easy. Working hard is a given. That goes back where there is great risk there is great reward which i believe strongly in.

Some lessons I’ve learn is you are never too old to learn something new. Age is certainly not a determination of what you can accomplish nor should it be something to stop you from trying some thing new. I’m 56 years old and this is my first business to open, I was scared to death of failure but you just keep pushing forward get out of bed each morning with a positive attitude and start each day with a smile.

I’m super excited about the future potential of Flux Training Center and not for me but for all the individuals that will use the facility and achieve the goals and challenges that they have set for themselves. I’m excited to hear the stories of success that they have achieved as a result of what the gym has provided for them. And of course i hope to some of my own success stories to share as well.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well because I love the outdoors and climbing I would take my friend to Mt Woodson in Poway for a local bouldering session. I would also take him to beach to try out surfing and enjoy the waves and other water sports that the city offers.

Don’t really have a favorite place to eat out but mostly any Mexican there are so many good spots in the city as well as the Baja fish tacos.

I would then take him Balboa park and down to Midway to see the harbor and hang in the Gaslamp Quarters for some good eating.

Maybe go out later in the week to hit some more local bouldering areas, Santee, Mission Gorge, Culp Valley.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Friends and family as well as the climbing community in general. All the individuals who pioneered the sport and some of the older climbers who continue to send hard projects on the outdoors because of their dedication to training and staying fit.

They encourage me to continue to know its possible if you train properly and take of yourself as you grow older

Website: Fluxtrainingcenter.com

Instagram: @fluxtrainingcenter

Facebook: Fluxtrainingcenter

Image Credits
Ethan Unitt