MEET: Richard de Marchena – Rock Climber 

Rock Climber and big-time sportsman Richard de Marchena tells us about his career and his passions.

My name is Richard De Marchena, I was born on February 25, 1975 in Santo Domingo. 

I AM A SPORTSMAN FROM HEAD TO TOE! I practice rock climbing, inline skating, mountain biking (MTB), kayaking and I am a martial arts lover.  I started aikido a little while ago.

The sport that I like the most and runs through my veins is rock climbing, it is my passion, my lifestyle and now it has officially become part of my work with my shop, ARM Climbing.

I have been interested in sports since I was very young,  I practiced karate for several years until I was a teenager, my parents took me to “World on Wheels” to skating, and then I moved on to skateboarding.

All my life I’ve been riding a bike from BMX to MTB, scooter (skateboard), and bodyboards. Nobody in my family is a sportsman, except my brother Patrick who was my inspiration for a long time (BMX, skateboard, and scooter).

I have been climbing for a few years, exactly since December 21st, 1999, that makes almost thirteen years today. I remember when my old friend and mountaineer, Irving Jorge, took me to the staircase #3 of Parque Mirador… THANK YOU!

There are many differences between artificial wall climbing and natural rock climbing.

In the artificial one, you have a very controlled environment, the grips are clearly identified, there is music or people talking (I don’t like it very much) and the grips are more friendly with your hands. I like natural rock more, although the rockodromos are very good to practice no matter weather conditions and routines. 

Natural rock it’s different and I love it. You are directly in contact with nature, the concentration must be mandatory, you must take into account many factors.

Climbing is an important sport that hasn’t been discovered that much in our country yet, we continue to grow little by little thanks to the efforts of the current community of climbers, the support of some people and companies in particular. It still has a lot to grow, we need more people who can believe in this sport and see how much it helps us as individuals both physically and mentally.

We are not crazy climbers, most of us are sportsmen with a very exaggerated level of control in all senses and we must know our potential to get to the next level and have knowledge about the elements involved in the sport, even more, the safety equipment we use to avoid serious injuries.

ARM Climbing is a small company dedicated to selling rock climbing equipment, mountaineering and outdoor activities. It offers courses and workshops in the vertical area.  We design, build and give maintenance to climbing walls, zip lines and activities for camps.

It is a company formed by my partner, Antonio Morales and myself. The project began in 2004, with ideas, wishes, some informal projects and workshops, registration of the name, but after establishing a long friendship, learning and practice, both individually and together, we realized that it was not just a whim, but something real, we took the leap and formalized the company at the end of 2011.

I like climbing for many different reasons; it is very demanding, fun, changing and never monotonous, it is a challenge after another, it is physical, it is mental, it makes you think a lot about gaining weight, you meet interesting people and places, it has an adrenaline trigger in some modalities, I could keep going. It makes me feel sensations like no other sport, it makes me disconnect from anything, problem or situation, it challenging me to be better and better, even if you repeat the same route is never the same, it makes me want to keep in shape, it makes me be more organized with the treatment of my teams.

My favorite climbers active in the country are Cookie, Luis, and Gustavo because they are not afraid to work hard and, Enrique because of his technique. On a global level, Chris Sharma of course, Tommy Caldwell, Patxi Usobiaga, Fred Nicole, among others.

I invite everyone who is interested in this spectacular sport to come to us through armclimbing.com and try it safely or go to the gyms that have walls and do it, it is very exciting, safe, and fun.

Images: External Sources