As a small, family-owned business, we love supporting the other small businesses in the Australian climbing scene. As part of this effort, we are rolling out a series of Q & As with some of the amazing local producers that we work with. In this instalment, we chat with David from Koga, the ninja warrior grand finalist who has created and perfected his own chalk for peak performance.
Tell us about Koga and what sets it apart from similar brands?
From the beginning, Koga was never set out to just be a product based business. I wanted to create something more where I could contribute and support everything from events to gyms and most importantly our customers. I personally didn't stop trying different formulas until everyone was blown away by the quality and use
What gave you the idea to start Koga?
The original idea for Koga took shape in late 2018 when I discovered a lack of options of suspension training accessories for Ninja Warrior and Rock Climbing. Within a year of selling training gear, I started experimenting with chalk based products as I wanted to provide a quality product our customers can trust to use alongside our other equipment.
What was the development process like for Koga
The development process initially started for our Liquid Chalk, which took around 8 months until we were confident with the final product. Urban Climb’s support at the beginning was vital as their team helped undergo all the testing for all the variations and formulas we tried. After many many attempts, we finally discovered the winning formula which proved to stay on your hands the longest whilst providing the most grip! After selling liquid chalk for about a year and a half, we decided to 100% focus on chalk based products. That's when we repeated the whole process again of testing and formulating for all our other chalk products.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing local producers of climbing products?
I believe the biggest challenge at the moment is the cost of raw materials. The last thing we want to do as local businesses is raise prices.
What do you do when you’re not working on Koga?
When I am not working on Koga, I am either helping my partner with her business where she runs a circus/aerial studio. Or watching documentaries and constantly trying to learn new things.
What would you like to see happen with Koga in the future?
In the future, I would like to see Koga become one of the household name for chalk products and be readily available through more gyms and resellers around Australia. It would be great to see Koga sponsoring and supporting even more events around Australia.
Looking for more great reads? Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest climbing tech, crag recommendations and upcoming events.
