“Someone said, ‘Black people don’t climb'”

Mikhail Martin, co-founder of Brothers in Climbing, bouldering in New York. (MikhailMartin.com Photo)

When Mikhail Martin was growing up in Queens, New York, he says there was a feeling that black people didn’t venture into the outdoors, and they certainly didn’t go rock climbing. Curious, he once Googled “Are there black climbers?” He was met with responses such as “Black people don’t climb.”

Along with other black climbers at Brooklyn Boulders, Martin has created Brothers of Climbing, a growing – and inspiring – community of black climbers. Their story is told in this new film from REI.