Brad Weaver
Role: Climbing Hold Representative & Routesetting Specialist
Email: bweaver@threadclimbing.com
Origin: Illinois
Power Animal: Rabbit
Vice: Coffee
Brad joins Thread with over a decade of high level comp experience both as a top competitor and routesetter. His climbing and routesetting journey started in 2004 in the cornfields of the Midwest – a prime location for developing skills on the wall. In his hometown of Bloomington, IL in old grain silos converted into climbing walls, he discovered a passion for indoor climbing.
He soon discovered outdoor climbing and furthered his passion for movement by learning how to use a T-wrench, which drove him to pursue a career in routesetting. Brad was able to finish his college degree through online programming while simultaneously traveling the U.S. to climb at some of the nation’s best crags. He eventually landed in Atlanta, GA where he was rewarded with the exciting lifestyle and profession of routesetting, for the newly built Stone Summit gyms.
After a few years and as the gym business expanded to new locations, he became Director of Routesetting with the objective to push the boundaries and standards of traditional climbing programs. During his time at Stone Summit, Brad was responsible for managing 66,000 square feet of climbing terrain across three facilities and for developing and managing a scalable route setting program for a growing company. Brad has developed commercial routesetter education programs, putting in place gym operational practices that facilitate efficient growth and teamwork, especially for beginner and intermediate level Routesetters.
During his time working at Stone Summit, he also continued to climb outdoors extensively, competed regularly in National events, and honed his competition routesetting skills. An avid climber, he’s also recorded notable V14 and 5.14d ascents in the U.S. and in Europe and won the 2014 USAC Sport Open National Championship.
After setting extensively at National Championship and World Cup events across the disciplines, he gained USAC Level 5 and IFSC Chief Routesetter certifications. He has run countless in-house events and continues to work at other gyms for USAC Championship and independent competitions. Brad has worked at each National Championship competition in the past decade, adult and youth, bouldering and lead, and is widely regarded as one of the most prominent routesetters in North America. Most recently, Brad was part of the Lead routesetting team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Some things that inspire Brad.
Brad is psyched on shapes, textures, German Shepherds, contrast, characters, icons, clean slates, growth, the improbable, climbing mechanics, routine, change, understanding the level, nature, architecture, sports, food, travel, etc. This is some of what motivates him.
