Chris Dean recently remembered a conversation he had with filmmaker Tom Shadyac, in which Shadyac asked him what the South Memphis community needed. Dean recounted going to a neighborhood meeting that was held at a church next to LeMoyne-Owen college and being handed a physical list of everything required to improve the area.
As the story goes, Dean in turn handed the list to Shadyac, who was determined to help the community.
“On the list was a recreational space, space for the youth, food, a place to exercise, and so many more,” said Dean.
He explained that while the list was exhaustive, it failed to include how much these necessities would cost the community.
But the two wanted to help, and while they didn’t know what exactly they were going to create, the end result came to fruition as Memphis Rox Climbing and Community Center, located at 879 East McLemore Avenue, and is now celebrating five years in the business.
According to the organization, Memphis Rox is the “first nonprofit climbing gym of its size, standing at 32,000 sq. ft. with yoga and meditation spaces, a fitness area, and system board.”
Shadyac explained that they are very much a “child of the St. Jude” model, with accessibility being at the heart of their purpose.
“We don’t want to turn anyone away for their inability to pay,” said Shadyac. “We keep our doors open and accessible to all people. We ask if you don’t have money – first it’s pay what you can afford – but if you have no money, we ask that maybe you volunteer in the neighborhood, you volunteer at your church, you do something positive as a sort of energetic exchange and a contribution to what we’re all trying to do.”
According to One Family Memphis’ 2021 annual report, the organization helped create 1,802 volunteer hours served and 518 volunteer impacts (which refers to anytime a volunteer completes a volunteer service). The report also stated that all volunteer hours totaled to a value of $44,203.06.
With accessibility being a major component of the work done at Memphis Rox, the organization still relies on some of the building blocks of rock climbing, such as collaborating and cooperating on the wall.
Dean, who grew up in South Memphis and now serves as creative director at Memphis Rox, explained that his first love was basketball, and that was what everyone in his community did, “from sun up to sun down.” However, he also noted a surplus of basketball courts and facilities, and thought young people needed exposure to more opportunities.
“We already know the numbers don’t work of how many people make it, right,” said Dean. “People get in fights on basketball courts, most of the fights I’ve gotten into have been on basketball courts.”
Dean went on to explain that the culture of sports and basketball incites the feeling of excitement more so when someone is injured, or in contact with another player. He explained that as a society, we are taught to celebrate the exact moment when “someone could have died.” A sport like climbing “turns all of that on its head.”
“Rock climbing is not about me versus you,” said Dean. “It’s about me versus me.”
While Memphis Rox may appear to be your standard rock climbing gym, Shadyac believes it’s simply a way to access a relationship.
“Anyone who comes in our doors, from the community, to grab a meal, to work out, or to climb, we listen to,” said Shadyac. “When we listened to the community we realized there were certain needs that weren’t being met.”
Aside from rock climbing activities, the campus also houses the Juice Almighty café, the Soulsville Community Closet, and an “educational food garden.” The organization also partners with Sister Supply for their Period Power program to “provide menstrual products to women in the community who are unable to afford that.”
“We want the whole city to embrace this culture of climbing and wellness and health and community,” said Dean. “There are young people in the community that don’t have access to all the rest of those things anywhere else, so you just come here and bring a little bit of yourself.”