Meet Ravi Singh | PhD Student and Engineer

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

Hi Ravi, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The salient factor that led to the expansion of Climbing in Color was the need of the community. People have identified the gap in the outdoor community with regards to diversity and were looking for a way to bridge that gap. We saw the same issue and created Climbing in Color, based out of Tucson, AZ. We want to increase diversity in rock climbing by telling the stories of people of color (POC) and by reducing the barriers for new POC climbers. And the community stepped up and joined us to help promote our cause. Time and time again, talented and passionate individuals have come to us and joined our leadership team. Organizations have opened their doors and donated their time to help us facilitate events. And countless people have come to our events in search of community. We strive to continue growing and fulfilling the needs of our community

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We started off as just an Instagram page trying to showcase POC climbers and inspire other POC individuals to start rock climbing. We then started holding local POC events to help create community in Tucson. Getting to this point was tough, because Amber and I had never started anything like this before. But having someone else to work on an idea with was exhilarating and allowed us to push through the lack of experience to start these events and refine them over time. We were also able to connect with other groups doing a similar thing in different parts of the country and their feedback was invaluable. That is why we try to pass that same knowledge forward to new groups popping up all around the country. We are most excited about become a non-profit this year, which opens a lot of doors for receiving funding and being able to develop scholarships and lead outdoor events for our community.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Hands down, we would take them up Mount Lemmon to climb. And what better way to start off a day of climbing then with some breakfast at the base of the mountain at Le Buzz. This mountain is jam packed with amazing rock climbing that can be experienced all year around! During the summer, the rocks at the summit are stunning. And if it isn’t too cold, Windy Point is always a good choice. A personal favorite after getting down the mountain in the evening is Ha Long Bay since everyone is usually starving and the food hits the spot

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The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to the other co-founder of Climbing in Color, Amber Wong. Without her, our organization would not be what it is today. Also, shout out to our whole leadership team! Tiffany Tom, Judah Mendez, Adrian Montano, Paula Silva, and Mohammad! Their time and dedication have been invaluable.

Website: Climbingincolor.org

Instagram: Climbingincolor

Facebook: climbingincolor

Image Credits
Matt Martinez, Zackari Miller, Roop Singh, Adrian Montano, Kendall Murie