When in Salt Lake City, Shingo Ohkawa can be found working at the climbing equipment shop, IME (International Mountain Equipment). There, he finds himself in an interesting and sometimes, conflicting spot when it comes to the materialism side of the climbing culture. “In this town, or towns like Boulder, Colorado, or other places, it’s become sort of a subculture,” Shingo says. “You’re kind of identified in your tribe by what you wear and what you’re seen with. That’s sort of weird ‘cause climbing, before it got popular, used to be something that only fringe people did.” This “clique” side of climbing is a far cry from what Shingo is familiar with.

Dig the full article on Shingo Ohkawa published by Utah Stories!