We recently had the chance to connect with Jeremiah Meizis and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Jeremiah, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I’m not sure there is a such thing as a normal day. We like to joke that nobody could case our house because it’s so unpredictable where I’ll be. I think the most normal days are when I’m acting as the manager of my business. Talking with guides while getting kids ready for school and responding to texts. On the other hand I might just be waking up on a glacier while preparing food as guests pack their bags for a big day of climbing or putting my own gear in my backpack for a day trip near home. Never a predictable day.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jeremiah Meizis and I am the owner of The Colorado Climbing Company. We’re a climbing guide service based out of Colorado Springs. There is no shortage of climbing guides in a state like ours but what we do differently is we are doing our best to cover everything climbing has to offer. A lot of guides get stuck in one spot or doing the same trips over and over. We offer our services in locations all over the state. We’re not contracting with other people, frequently they’ll want to work for us because it allows their clients to take advantage of new experiences in new areas. Unlike a lot of companies we also work with youth and adults. Our youth programs and partnerships have grown to be a significant part of our business and we’re happy to meet the same people as they grow older and become stronger and more proficient climbers. Currently we’re working on what we’re always trying to do which is obtain additional permits to offer more climbing locations and opportunities. We also are working to provide a backcountry lodging area where we can hold more regular opportunities for guests and lighten their load so they don’t have to carry a full pack to enjoy some alpine terrain.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I think climbing is such a unique human experience. The planning, anxiety, struggle, focus, success, for anyone who really gets into the sport it changes who you are. I think growing up in the Midwest with working class parents trying to go to college and overcome their early adult challenges it kind of seemed like everything was very serious and if you veered from the path everyone else was on your life would be ruined. You have to get a job, get married, pay a mortgage, etc. I started college thinking I was going to be an engineer, a well paying, reliable job. I decided to go to law school because I am actually only sort of good at math and engineering was a lot more math than I really wanted. Law school was another well paying, professional career. Something resembling normalcy. I wish I would of found climbing earlier because when you’ve got thousands of feet of air below your feet, glaciers calving off, or ice cliffs crashing down your credit score seems a lot less concerning. Social convention is not a requirement, it’s a pressure to adhere to things that other people think are important. Being freed of the concern about not meeting the expectations of modern life is really freeing. It draws your focus to the variety of other things that are special about the experience of life instead of the mundane insults of paperwork and drudgery of repetition. I do have a mortgage and a family but I think I’m not trying to impress anyone with my credentials or status. My life experience is my own and really most important to me and the people I care about.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Stop doing whatever you think it is everyone else wants you to do. Try as many things as you can. Spend time doing what you like. Just to do it, even if it doesn’t pay you. Take more chances! Unless the consequences will be death then it’s really not something to be afraid of. There is so much more out there than you realize.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
We can be independent. There are a lot of guides who, for good reasons, want to strike out on their own and take people on big trips. Our land management system doesn’t work like that. If you ever have a guide who says they’re independent they are doing one of three things:
-guiding without a permit or insurance, illegally.
-guest guiding as an employee or contractor for another company that does cover their permits and insurance.
-they actually did the work and got the competitive permits and insurance and run their own business.
It’s hard because the industry is born on the shoulders of people who are excited about their jobs and just enjoy being outside but because of that employers have made a habit of paying them poorly, treating them worse, and once they’ve been burned out they toss them and cycle in new people. The margins for running a guiding operation are pretty small but even so I’ve tried to express a different sentiment to the people I work with. We have to work together. No guide can really do a lot without the help of somebody with permits, insurance, equipment, marketing, etc. The reverse is true, no company can be profitable if they don’t have reliable, competent, dedicated people to actually meet the customers and provide a good experience. A business relationship is like any other. You have to be honest about what you want out of it.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Absolutely, I wish I would of found this sport a lot sooner. I’m jealous of my kids who I’ve introduced to skiing and climbing. If they enjoy it they will be so much better and have such a longer time doing it. If not I hope they can find something that brings them the same joy as climbing has for me and really run with it.
I think that’s an important thing that I’m trying to explain to my kids. I’m a human being with my own perspectives. I can give them the benefit of my past experiences but they have to listen to their own feelings and decide for themselves. Don’t just do it because you think it will please somebody else, even your parents.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.coclimbing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradoclimbingcompany/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://x.com/CO_Climbing
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coloradoclimbingcompany/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-colorado-climbing-company-colorado-springs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRj6MH52-GFePEvTD8FsmSw
