Kai Lightner’s Plan to Make Climbing More Inclusive

Kai Lightner is well aware of the importance of finding your passion. He found his in rock climbing at the age of six, and has since become a star in the sport. During the pandemic, Lightner searched for a way to give back to young athletes, working with a network of professional climbers and diversity activists to bolster inclusivity and equal access in climbing. A Village, part of the Outside TV Dispatches series, shows how Lightner and his foundation, Climbing for Change, partnered with climbing legend Kevin Jorgeson’s 1Climb foundation and local government leaders to build a climbing wall and create a youth climbing program for underserved communities around College Park, Georgia. “The connections that Kai has throughout the climbing community is what really made this happen,” College Park Mayor Bianca Motley Broom says in the film. “Everyone came together to say that inclusivity matters.”

A Village is now streaming on demand at outsidetv.com and on the free Outside TV App, available on Apple, Android, Fire TV, and Roku devices.