There’s something special about a good spray wall. Whether it’s a commercial gym training wall, a collective of friends building one for the crew to hang out on, or just a private one in your garage; having access to a personalised climbing wall is a great way to train and focus on the gaps in your climbing, all while getting creative and exploring the possibilities of movement on the wall.
Whether you’re a seasoned spray enthusiast or brand new to the home climbing wall game, we thought it was about time to share some psyche and knowledge around how to construct and set your very own climbing wall, so for April we’re focusing on all things spray!
Currently all over the country there are undoubtedly countless garages, sheds, living rooms and backyards with private climbing walls populating the space. In celebration of the spray wall, we reached out to the crew operating what is undoubtedly one of the most epic of home walls in Australia, the Ganba Shed in Perth, WA.
As much as we are regularly inspired by beautiful commercial gym fit-outs and professional routesetting, there’s something primal about bangin’ tunes, a chalky spray wall and a psyched crew that speaks to us just the same.
The Ganba Crew regularly gets together and sessions on the wall with videos often being shared on their instagram of the gang’s creations leaving many of us with renewed psyche and just a hint of envy! Ok, a lot of envy. I’m sure many fellow home wall enthusiasts would agree it is one epic setup.
In order to learn more about what has lead to the creation of one of this awesome home wall setup, we reached out to Jeremy and the Ganba crew to learn more about their project in hopes that anyone seeking to get their own setup going could find some inspiration and knowledge!
Q: First things first, what is the Ganba Shed? When did it start?
The Ganba Shed is a home wall that’s grown a bit out of control! I bought a house in 2019, and I had been collecting holds years prior because I knew I’d eventually build a wall as soon as I had the chance. I think it was just over a week once moving in to the house that we built a small wall in the patio. It was pretty steep and dodgy, but that’s kind of the charm of home walls, right?
Q: For the spec geeks, can you give us the details of the Ganba wall? Length / width / height, angle etc?
It’s currently 7.2m wide, 3.5m high from the ground, and it sits at 46°. I believe that makes 5.04ms of climbing surface. For a couple years it was 3.6m wide, but a few months ago we extended it to double the width.
Q: What was the motivation for building the Ganba Shed?
Honestly, I just thought it was cool to have a climbing wall at home. Seeing the great times and memories it created for us in those early days, it made me want to buy more holds, get proper mats, make it bigger and better. Now after a couple years, seeing the growth of the wall itself and the community it’s created has been so rewarding. On top of that, the little cult brand that’s sprouted from it that has received so much love is also awesome. Being able to share the joy of climbing we feel here in the shed with everyone around the world is very motivating.
Q: What was the process like for constructing the wall?
It’s currently a hybrid of wood and steel. Although it may look like it’s connected to the shed, it’s actually entirely freestanding (and able to be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere if you can be bothered.) The shed isn’t really rated to hang heavy things off of, so there’s an entire subframe within the shed that the wall is fixed to. The first half was out of wood, and required a massive horizontal strut that ran alongside to keep the wall from bowing which got in the way from time to time. We would have built it more structurally sound if we knew that it would one day become bigger. When it came to extending it, we decided it’s time to fork out and get the thing properly built out of steel for structural integrity, which has allowed us to do away with the massive strut, so now it’s fully open! We also reinforced the original wooden section with steel whilst we were at it.
Q: The hold selection is rather impressive… How many different hold brands do you have on the wall?
A lot! It’s a bit of an eclectic collection if you look closely; a lot of original Perth and Australian brands, some old glassy Pushers... It’s mainly comprised of the two titans Flathold and Cheeta. I like to collect some shapes from brands all around the world though. There’s so many great companies and holds popping up all the time now, there’s not enough wall space or money to keep up!
Q: Is there a particular selection criteria for what holds get put on the wall? How do you choose the shapes that are “worthy”?
Absolutely. Firstly, very little jugs. The board is meant for training and is quite hard. Jugs take up valuable real estate on the wall. They’re next to useless as they’re too easy to make interesting moves off. You can just hold them like a monkey bar. It means there’s no warmups, but there’s a pull up bar and a hangboard in the patio for that!
Secondly, holds that have a large footprint on the wall need to be usable in a couple different ways, e.g. bumping up, hand heel matches, toe hook-ability. The size of the hold needs to be matched with functionality. The potential holdable area of the hold needs to justify having such a large footprint or sticking out so much. Or at the very least be aesthetic 🤣
I’ve tried to establish a fusion of the classic board climbing holds (small, low profile crimps and pinches) with the new school large, high profile fibreglass holds and volumes. I find it very enjoyable to climb both styles, and I think the combination results in the board being quite versatile, and makes for some pretty interesting moves!
Q: Do you have a specific / favourite method for setting the wall? How did you go about creating the layout of holds?
Back at the start, when there was more space than holds, it was completely random. As the hold collection grew and we had some volumes, it went:
- wooden volumes
- big holds
- small holds
- screw ons
Q: How often do you reset the wall? Is there ever a theme or goal in mind when setting it?
For a while it was roughly every 5 months. The set before the extension was up for almost a year. I like a speedy reset, especially with how much we climb it. I know a lot of other board enthusiasts (Tom O’Halloran, Dai Koyamada) insist that sets be up for around 3-5 years. When I do the math, that’s only like 20 sets during your lifetime, and even less when you’re in your peak climbing strong. That’s a scary thought I think, especially given that I love setting the board, playing with new shapes and holds, finding new interesting moves, etc. I’d like to think I can experience more than 20 or so sets before I die!
In terms of theme, just functionality really. I think this the 8th set or something, so I’ve learnt a lot about what makes the wall most useful in terms of hold location, orientation, placement, etc. Therefore, I have some specific rules I follow when I’m setting, but there’s still an element of randomness to it. Some basic rules I follow are:
- Big side-pulls on the edges pointing inwards.
- No "good" holds in the top quarter of the wall. Otherwise the last move is just good hold to good hold, it may as well not exist. Therefore the top quarter is always desperate slopers, mingin’ crimps, or fat pinches.
- Top quarter holds mainly face directly down to allow for finishes that go either way. I’ve found if something is very directional at that top, you keep doing the same last move (or maybe we’re just not creative enough...)
- Bottom quarter holds still need to be interesting and very directional. I’ve found when people set spray boards they grab the good holds and slam them in the middle/top immediately and the sit start/pull on section gets heavily neglected. Recently we’ve put some big fibreglass stuff down the bottom, and it’s lead to some really interesting, physical starts. Who doesn’t love a start crux?
Q: Is there a hold you haven’t got yet that is on your “Need To Have” list?
That list is constantly expanding. There’s plenty to be honest, anything that I think would make an interesting addition to the wall. Some of the stuff out there you can make some insane moves off of, even if it’s on a flat 46° wall. I’m always keeping my eye out for new shapes that it think will be cool!
Q: What is the G.O.A.T. hold of the wall?
I’d say there’s always a GOAT’ed hold of the set, more so than the wall itself. Every set there’s one hold that seems to get thrashed heaps, it’s usually something more positive that’s lead to some gymnastic-like movement, or near death experience. That being said, there’s this massive desperate white Blue-Pill sloper that seems to win a lot of people over if you’re into that sorta thing. It’s so bad; it’s good!
Thank you so much to Jeremy and the Ganba Crew for sharing their psyche and knowledge with us on their amazing home wall setup. Additional thank you to Jason Liew for the beautiful photography supplied. To find out more about The Ganba Crew, check out their socials.
If you'd like to know more information on how to get started with your very own home climbing wall, whether it be hardware, wall panels and construction or just what holds to choose, get in touch with us!