My birthday was last week. I was asked for a few gift ideas. I’ve begun work on building my garage climbing wall. Like a good type A person, I began researching climbing hold manufacturers. Of course, I need the very best holds.

One other key fact here: my wife, Megan, and I watched the movie Food Inc. just a few nights ago. Let’s just say it made me think a little more about the kinds of food we buy and where we buy from. (If you’ve seen it, you’ll soon see the relationship between the movie and climbing holds.)

In my research, I stumbled upon the website for a company called Proxy Production, based in Salt Lake City. Proxy makes climbing holds, oddly enough, for other brands. For good reason, they don’t list who their clients are. (Yeah, clients would be pissed if the cat got out of the bag.)

But here’s the thing: the thought never crossed my mind that small climbing hold manufacturers outsource the production of their beloved holds. I never thought there was an OEM market for holds. As it turns out, I’m the one who’s pissed.

Let’s just say I’ve got a lot more work to do when it comes to picking where my next box of climbing holds comes from.

Photo Credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Klettergriff_aus_Naturstein_400.JPG