Owners/Operators

Sebastiaan and Laura are the owners and operators of Gravity Lab. This dynamic duo holds the GL vision and creates an amazing space for climbers of all backgrounds in our community. Sebastiaan is a longtime Colorado resident, but was actually born on a small island in the Caribbean. He also grew up speaking fluent Dutch and lived in Holland before immigrating to the U.S. when he turned 18. Laura grew up in New Hampshire and began climbing at 15, later working as a climbing guide in Crested Butte and earning her AMGA SPI certification. Sebastiaan and Laura met in Crested Butte and have shared a rope and partnership ever since. When they aren’t at the gym or climbing around Durango, they can be found chasing their son, Ryker, around.

Head Routsetter AMGA CWI

Charlie began his climbing career by accident… when he realized he had free-soloed “The Nose” on El Capitan in sneakers, mistaking it for the well-marked hiking trail. Charlie helps manage the Gravity Lab team and coaches a number of youth and college-level groups. He also sets some of the gym’s most brutal boulder problems. His favorite piece of gear is a blue tricam, and his goal is to someday own a self-sustaining alpaca farm. A fun fact about Charlie is that he sometimes wears two left shoes to climb harder projects.

Assistant Manager

Rowan found her love of climbing in the flatlands of the midwest by scrambling up old water towers and boulders there. She moved to Durango after guiding mountaineering courses for Outward Bound in Leadville. She loves cruiser multi-pitch trad climbs, as well as a good desert hand crack. She coaches the youngest Gravity Lab kids’ group and holds Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA - SPI) certifications. If she’s not at the crag, you can find her chasing her rescue dog, Oatmeal, or searching for the next best backpacking snack. Ask her about her invention, Kilterboard Twister!

Brian is a human of many talents. He found his love of climbing years ago, and combines it with his passion for yoga to help others experience the outdoors in meaningful ways. He hopes to bring his innovative “Squirrel Yoga” to a studio near you soon. He helps manage the Gravity Lab team and will often be the one leading your clinics or private lessons at the gym. Brian is on the quest for the “coolest pair of leggings” in the world, and has made it his life mission to find THE perfect one. If you have any leads, please let him know. He believes finding the perfect leggings and cragging in costumes is the key to climbing at your highest level.

“Hola a todos!” “Ellohay allyay!” Toby is fluent in 3 languages (English, Spanish, and Pig Latin). While growing up in Arizona, he discovered a special talent for professional cup stacking and currently holds the national speed record for it. When he isn’t bouldering or teaching technical climbing skills to our Rec teams, he can be found walking around the desert with a heavy backpack. He is known to break out into traditional Russian-inspired folk dance at any moment, and has the deepest pistol squat abilities of anyone on Gravity Lab staff.

Eli learned to climb in an old Midwest gym called New Heights, a converted scuba-diving certification building. No joke. Ask him how hard it is to climb while wearing a snorkel and flippers… When he isn’t climbing or looking at cool rocks, he can be found skiing or seeking out adventures in the nearby mountains. Eli has written a book about how to cook while keeping chalk out of your food, and has recently taken up the project of removing all bolts in town. He believes climbing should be a totally clean process, and hopes to one day see the end of sport climbing altogether (free the rocks!). He helps coach a number of our Gravity Lab youth teams, and is always happy to offer advice about underwater climbing routes.

Matt grew up in the south and began competing in climbing competitions from a young age. His skills have only progressed from there, and these days he hones his skills of one-finger pull ups and aims to return to the purity of “real bouldering” by climbing barefoot. His pup, Tuli, can be found modeling in local storefronts or hanging out with him during lengthy Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. Matt helps coach our competition teams and sets difficult new routes in the gym whenever he gets a chance. Little known fact about him… he actually dyes his hair red. He insists coloring it to match our desert sandstone rock will help him climb harder, and we think it does.

I've always climbed things, even as a baby my parents had a difficult time keeping me on the ground. When I moved to Durango from Dolores, I discovered that other people were also into climbing rocks and that there were even special shoes for it! Who knew?! I love climbing because it is a big logic puzzle. You're trying to problem-solve with your entire body. El Diente de Oro is my favorite climb, and I love me a good superfluous heel hook. Fun fact about me… I am a third generation twin. You might see my sweet pup, Lola, spending time in the gym with me, so be sure to say hi!

Ashley comes to the Gravity Lab team after a successful career in mountain-bike-powered mining operations. She traveled across most of the Rockies on her bike with little more than a pickaxe and miner’s headlamp to gather precious materials and ore for silversmithing jewelry. Ashley is almost always smiling and you’ll find it impossible to be sad around her. When she isn’t coaching our youth teams she spends her spare time planning events at Fort Lewis through their Outdoor Program. Her favorite animal is a sea turtle, and she is spearheading recent efforts to reintroduce the native La Plata Spotted Flipper sea turtle back into our local rivers.

Lindsay joined the Gravity Lab team last year and is currently working hard to convert all local gym climbers into ice climbers. She has competed in ice climbing competitions across the globe, and can be found perfecting her new crocheting technique in between training sessions at the gym. She has been called in by designers during New York Fashion week to patch the most impossible repairs, so she can probably patch your ripped climbing pants if you get on her waitlist! Lindsay is a fantastic coach, and has inspired many generations of tiny humans to try out ice climbing (after their hands grew big enough to hold the ice tools).

Scout is one of the founding members of the GL team. He is a heeler-mix rescue pup that you’ll see wandering around the gym asking for snacks almost every day. Scout loves kids, has numerous safe-canine and therapy dog certifications, and is a great listener. He enjoys long walks in the mountains and napping on crash pads when he isn’t hard at work observing your Kilter Board sessions. Scout is currently working on cloning himself, so don’t mind the bits of black dog fur you may encounter in the gym, those will turn into puppies soon.

Hailing from the Northeast, Luke worked for the secret service before moving on to helping coach our Gravity Lab youth teams. Don’t try to ask him about his past career, he can neither confirm nor deny any involvement in covert climbing-based missions. Luke adores music, and spends his rest time producing sounds and editing podcasts. He was well known for working on some of the top hits of the 1970s. He is always looking for new music recommendations, send him your favorites!

Michael was born in England and has a strong British accent, but has since learned to speak in an American tone so as not to distract from his teaching at the gym. He coaches our youth teams in the gym and can also be found instructing kids up at Purgatory. Michael has an impressive number of American Mountain Guide Association, wilderness first aid, and avalanche certifications, and responds well to positive encouragement. A simple “good boy” goes a long way with him.

The youngest member of our staff, Mateo, has been coaching kids older than him for over two years now. He retired early from a career as a child star on Disney Channel’s Suite Life of Zach and Cody to move into his van full-time. You’ll often spot him walking down main street on his hands after coaching the Gravity Lab Rec teams. Mateo is known for setting brutally dynamic boulders in the gym and was voted “Most Likely to Campus Your Project as a Warmup”. If you do happen to break his intended beta on a boulder he set, he may take out key holds to make it harder… be warned.

Mady is a fabulous skier and believes sliding around on snow in any format (whether skiing, boarding, skijoring, luging, or sledding) is one of the most joyful things out there. She can be found crafting giant snow-monster sculptures in local Durango backyards or building extreme booter jumps across La Plata Canyon. Some fun facts about Mady… she is also a sought after artist and can speak Spanish!