Joe Kinder

If you’re looking for a little motivation, look no further than constantly psyched Joe Kinder. Since he began rock climbing at age 15, Joe’s love for the sport has not dwindled. It is this kind of motivation that has kept the native New Englander on the top of his game for the last ten years. While attending university at Maine’s College of Art, Joe’s unstoppable energy helped him establish hard lines up to V13 and 5.14d. After graduating Joe decided to apply himself fulltime to climbing and moved out west to pursue his passion. Realizing that consistency in climbing means inconsistent living, Joe has moved all across the US including Boulder, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City. When these cities or living on the road don’t cut it, this savvy traveler heads abroad to prime climbing destinations like Spain, France, and Switzerland.  

Joe’s energy continues even when he unties. “Is he always that psyched?” is a common query to Kinder’s constant glow at any cliff. Through clinics, slideshows, and promotional events, Joe loves bringing his passion for the world of climbing to outsiders in an animated way. His involvement with tons of media outlets, and more recently a focus on filming and editing climbing videos, keep Kinder busy on his rest days. With such an unmistakable vibe, it’s easy to keep an eye out for one of climbing’s key-players.

Chris Warner

Chris Warner is the founder of and director of Earth Treks, Inc, which operates three full service climbing centers specializing in rock and ice climbing instruction and international mountaineering expeditions. An American Mountain Guides Association certified Alpine Guide, Chris has been teaching climbing since 1983. In addition to helping thousands learn the basics of the sport, he has guided throughout the United States, the Alps, Africa, the Andes of Peru, Ecuador and Argentina, and the Himalayas of Nepal and Tibet (including Everest).

Climbing internationally since 1987, Chris has summited at least one hundred times on peaks over 19,000 feet. He has been the leader of several private expeditions to the Himalaya and Karakorum.

Tales of his climbs have been published in Climbing, National Geographic Adventure, Sports Focus, Sports Illustrated, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, The American Alpine Journal, Mounteverest.net, and dozens of other publications and websites. Profiles of Chris and Earth Treks have appeared Bloomberg Business News, National Geographic TV and the Baltimore and Washington news programs on numerous television programs including ABC, The History Channel, OLN-TV,  and CNBC.

Based on Earth Treks' success, in 1999 Chris was chosen by The Baltimore Business Journal as one of the Top Forty Under Forty business leaders in the region. In 2005, he was named one of "Twenty Five Business Leaders We Admire" by SmartCEO magazine. Along the way, Earth Treks has won awards from Inc Magazine and many community groups and praise from politicians, industry peers and educators.

Hiroki Ishikawa

Born in 1975, a Kanagawa local (the prefecture west of Tokyo), Hiroki has been participating in trailrunning races held in different countries all over the world. Drawing from his own race experience, he devotes himself to spreading the sport by organizing races, giving lectures and clinic-tours, and getting more people in Japan excited about trailrunning as a way to re-discover the beauty of nature that Japan possesses.

In 2007, he entered in the 100-mile (160 km) race series, the Rocky Mountain Slam, well known as the severest of all in the United States. Hiroki finished all of the four races, with a total time of 87 hours, securing the title of series champion, the 'Grand Slam' of Trailrunning. He currently works with Gregory's R&D department, using his knowledge of the sport to help with the development of the Active Trail series of packs.