#SendTheBrew
Hard Lines x Boulders x Vol.Climbing
Let us tell you how three Welsh companies have teamed up on something new, and why it could be the future of indoor climbing.
#SendTheBrew
These coffee-coloured holds weren't printed, stickered or painted.
The Hard Lines artwork is built into the structure of the macro itself, made here in Wales by Vol.Climbing using a process that, to the best of our knowledge, no other manufacturer in the world currently offers.
These holds are part of a three-month pilot at Boulders Cardiff, launched at Boulder Bash in October 2026. It's testing a simple idea that we think could matter a lot for climbing gyms.
Why this matters
Running a climbing gym is hard. Energy bills, rent, staffing, insurance and constant equipment renewal all add up, and plenty of independent walls across the UK have felt the squeeze in recent years. Most gyms run on tight margins, and when money is short, fresh holds and big new features are often the first things to wait.
Large macros are among the most expensive pieces of kit on any wall. They're also the ones that make a setter's job exciting and make a route memorable. A good branded partnership can change that maths. A brand contributes, the gym gets new macros at a reduced cost (or even earns from hosting them), and that saving can be reinvested in the things climbers actually care about: more resets, better facilities, events and community sessions.
Put simply, climbing needs sustainable ways to fund itself. We think this could be one of them.
Built around the climbing
Branded macros only work if they make the wall better, so the model is built around a few simple principles.
Great routes first. Branded macros are set into normal resets by the gym's own setters, and they earn their place on the wall the same way any hold does: by making a good climb.
Partners chosen by the gym. Each gym decides who appears on its wall, which means local, independent businesses it already works with and believes in, like Hard Lines at Boulders.
A feature, not a takeover. Standout sets, designed to be something climbers want to get their hands on.
Value that flows back. Every partnership should help the gym invest in its climbers through new equipment, more resets, better facilities and community events.
Three Welsh businesses, one wall
This project was designed, made and installed entirely in Wales, by three independent businesses that already knew each other.
Boulders Cardiff is the host. An independent climbing centre built around inclusion, movement and a lifetime of adventure, Boulders is on a mission to get people of every age and ability to give climbing a go, and to build a community that keeps them coming back.
Hard Lines is the brand on the holds. If you’ve had a coffee at Boulders, you’ve already met them: Hard Lines has been the café’s coffee for years, and they’ve backed Boulders’ community events with raffle prizes time and again. It’s exactly the kind of partnership this model is built for: a local brand the gym already works with and believes in.
Vol.Climbing designed, manufactured and installed the macros, bringing the Hard Lines artwork into the holds themselves.
“It’s great to be working with two other local brands who align with our community focused vision and values.”
Ollie Noakes, Boulders
Run a gym, or own a brand?
Gyms: interested in getting new macros at a reduced cost, or turning your walls into a source of income? Let's talk.
Brands: want to support climbing in a way climbers will actually remember? Branded macros put your brand into the climb itself. Climbers grip it, study it and come back to it session after session, and they film their sends, carrying your brand into climbing content online. It's months of hands-on presence in a community that values the brands that back it. We're looking for partners who care about the sport.