5 Minutes With… Agus 'AJ' Guardiola
All The Elements community member, climber and co-founder of ClimbOut Festival AJ is building inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ communities in climbing. Here’s a 5 minute introduction to their work…
Image Credit - Chris Bulman
AJ, tell us in one sentence about you and what you’re passionate about?
I’m the managing director and co-founder of ClimbOut Festival, the UK’s first queer climbing festival. I'm really passionate about making the outdoors a more inclusive, welcoming space by breaking down barriers and increasing representation for LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented communities in climbing.
Beyond the festival, I’m committed to collaborating with climbing walls, brands, and outdoor organisations to champion inclusivity year-round. My hope is that our work helps reshape what the climbing community looks like, and who it feels accessible to.
Image Credit Roxanna Barry
Image Credit Rebecca Hard
Can you tell us a little bit more about ClimbOut Festival?
At ClimbOut Festival, we’re building a community where everyone feels they belong, no matter their gender identity, sexuality, or experience level. What started as a small grassroots gathering has grown into a vibrant annual event that celebrates diversity and connection through climbing and the outdoors. I’m especially proud of how we’ve created a supportive space for first-time climbers and those who may have felt excluded from traditional outdoor culture.
What does this involve?
ClimbOut is run by an incredible group of volunteer organisers who bring passion, creativity, and care to everything we do. Together, we handle everything from planning the festival and coordinating workshops to ensuring that every detail reflects our shared values of diversity, empowerment, and accessibility.
As a team, we work closely with volunteers, instructors, and community partners to make sure queer and underrepresented climbers feel safe, seen, and celebrated. This also means developing initiatives around affordability, accessibility, and visibility within the climbing world, such as offering gear loans, sliding-scale tickets, and inclusive climbing sessions.
It’s truly a collective effort, and I feel so proud to be part of a team that’s redefining what community looks like in the outdoors.
Image Credit Roxanna Barry
Why do you do it?
I do it because climbing has given me so much: confidence, connection, and a deep sense of belonging, and I want others to experience that too. For many queer and underrepresented people, the outdoors hasn’t always felt like a safe or welcoming space, and that needs to change. Working with my amazing co-organisers and the wider ClimbOut community reminds me how powerful it is when people feel they can show up exactly as themselves. Seeing someone try climbing for the first time, surrounded by support and joy, is incredibly moving. Ultimately, we do this work because community is everything.
Image Credit Roxanna Barry
“Be brave enough to carve out spaces where everyone belongs, in the outdoors, in your communities, and in your life. Inclusion isn’t optional; it’s transformative.”
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about the work you do?
I wish more people knew how much heart goes into creating ClimbOut, it’s pure joy and community, but also months of planning, dreaming, and emotional labour. The festival weekend is magical: a blur of laughter, connection, and belonging that fills me up completely. But when it’s over, the silence hits hard, the crash after so much closeness and purpose.
It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, but also the most demanding, because holding space for something this special is both beautiful and heavy.
Where do you feel most connected to the outdoors and/or nature and why?
I feel most connected to the outdoors when I’m on a cliff face, mid-climb, that moment when everything else falls away and it’s just me, the rock, and my breath.
There’s something grounding and honest about it; I can’t fake anything up there. I love how climbing invites both vulnerability and trust, in myself and in my partner.
It’s where I feel most present, most alive, and most in tune with the landscape. It reminds me why I do this work: because everyone deserves to feel that same sense of belonging in nature.
Image Credit Chris Bulman
What’s the best thing about being part of the ATE community?
The best thing about being part of the ATE community is the sense of shared purpose, being surrounded by people who genuinely care about making the outdoors more inclusive and accessible for everyone. It’s also so inspiring to hear about the incredible work other community leaders are doing, and the creative ways they’re breaking down barriers.
The ATE community has offered not just practical support and collaboration, but encouragement and understanding when things feel tough. It’s a reminder that we’re not doing this alone, we’re part of a wider movement that’s making the outdoors inclusive.
Where can people find out more about you and follow your work?
You can find ClimbOut online at www.climbout.org or via Instagram @climboutfest, and follow me on Instagram @agus.guardiola
