Rockin’ Out at Rocktober!

Tacos, ice cream & pink unicorns, oh my!

Mesa Rim and REI worked creatively together to make this year’s Halloween about more than just your usual tricks and treats.

Republished with permission from koibooth.

A short highlight film capturing all of the excitement and silliness from Rocktober.

Sticking to your workout routine takes dedication and sometimes a little encouragement. On top of that, it’s easy to find reasons not to go. Maybe you’re tired after a long day or maybe it’s a holiday and you’d rather be around friends and family. 

But what if you were a member at a gym that knew how you felt? What if you belonged to a gym whose enthusiastic staff valued your commitment so deeply that they worked hard to create much more than a place to work out. But rather, they created a community. A second home. 

So that even when thoughts of “maybe I’m too tired to workout today” cross your mind, you can’t help but want to go. Because it’s more than a workout routine among strangers. It’s a camaraderie among familiar faces.   

That’s what we have found at Mesa Rim and if you were to ask any of their other members, we bet they would tell you the same. Their innovative and passionate team has thoughtfully established a well rounded and inviting, work hard, play hard environment. From a dynamic facility that is changing up every few weeks to keep things fresh to multiple events happening every month, it’s no wonder this place is so loved by San Diego locals. 

Mesa Rim inspires a safe, non competitive community that helps members to grow and cheer each other on. Here you can see members watching and supporting the climber ahead successfully (Halloween costume and all!) lead climb his way up the wall.
Mesa Rim inspires a safe, non competitive community that helps members to grow and cheer each other on. Here you can see members watching and supporting the climber ahead successfully (Halloween costume and all!) lead climb his way up the wall.

Speaking of amazing events, Rocktober was no exception. 

Mesa Rim Mission Valley partnered with REI to throw a Halloween extravaganza and it was a fantastic way to celebrate the spooky affair. There was everything from a costume contest to games, to booths giving out more information on how to get more involved in the community. 

As the event revved up, nestled all around the gym’s 55 foot high rock climbing walls you could find members of all ages dressed up in a variety of costumes. Many were even homemade – from a bouldering crash pad to a bag of dried mangos to a pink unicorn. It’s safe to say that when it comes to costume contests, these folks have it figured out. 

Members dressed to impress for Rocktober's costume contest!
Members dressed to impress for Rocktober’s costume contest!

What was even more incredible was that at any given time, you could look around and find members still working out and participating in the event games in their costumes!! We’re talking climbing, bouldering, lifting weights, crate stacking and even doing various acro stunts. We were so intrigued by the acro stunts and the crate stacking. We’ve never tried either but find them to be so inspiring. They appear to take not only an immense amount of focus and strength, but a strong form of collaboration between each person involved. Throw in a couple of people with Halloween costumes on and it just gets even better. 

 Mesa Rim and REI did an excellent job making sure that members could enjoy the party while still completing their workout for the day. Because Halloween or not, you can't give up on your practice.
Mesa Rim and REI did an excellent job making sure that members could enjoy the party while still completing their workout for the day. Because Halloween or not, you can’t give up on your practice.
It's all fun and games! Mesa Rim members and staff work together for the crate stacking challenge. The winner received a swag bag from REI filled with goodies.
It’s all fun and games! Mesa Rim members and staff work together for the crate stacking challenge. The winner received a swag bag from REI filled with goodies.

So what inspired everyone to still workout even during the party? 

We mentioned above about sometimes needing a little encouragement to get to going on your workout…and great food can be great encouragement. Dos Tierras Tacos made the night with their deliciously satisfying tacos complete with fresh homemade corn tortillas. From the moment they started serving tacos until the moment they ran out there was a line. And it was totally worth it. If you missed out or didn’t get one, we highly recommend checking them out. They’re local, they have extraordinary customer service and they know how to make a great taco. 

The Dos Tierra's team moving quickly to make sure everyone got their fill of delicious tacos.
The Dos Tierra’s team moving quickly to make sure everyone got their fill of delicious tacos.

And if great tacos weren’t enough to get people going, there was a selection of craft brews from Pure Project and refreshing cider from Bivouac Ciderworks for anyone 21+. 

Bivouac Ciderworks provided the perfect refreshment to go along with the tacos.
Bivouac Ciderworks provided the perfect refreshment to go along with the tacos.

Free tacos and beer? C’mon, can it get any better?! 

Oh wait…it can. And it did. 

First, let us first just take a small pause and give another HUGE shoutout to REI to Mesa Rim because they thought of everything. Because just when you thought it was awesome – it turned into incredible, as dessert came through with none other than Ben & Jerry’s. On a cart. Mobile. With two of the nicest employees to scoop ice cream of your choice for you right there on the spot. We’d thought we’d seen it all. But this…this was absolutely – 100%, the cherry on top.

Ben and Jerry's was serving four delicious flavors - Cherry Garcia. Phish Food, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Berry Berry Extraordinary.
Ben and Jerry’s was serving four delicious flavors – Cherry Garcia. Phish Food, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Berry Berry Extraordinary.

Okay, okay, so it was not all just tacos and ice cream.

Afterall, what would an event be without some great swag? REI pulled out all of the stops with their hat pressing station. They must’ve had hundreds of plain baseball hats and one of a kind patches out for you to choose from. They would press it right there and members would walk away with a custom hat and a very generous coupon to any REI store.   

REI provided great Halloween swag for Mesa Rim members to take home.
REI provided great Halloween swag for Mesa Rim members to take home.

And course, we can’t leave out our photo booth. Yes, we love our props but nothing could beat having guests come through all dressed up in their Halloween best. There were many giggles all night long and watching people light up when they take photos is really why we do what we do. We love seeing our guests happy we and we feel so grateful when we get invited to be a part of events as rad as Rocktober. 

Members just loved hopping in front of our koibooth to capture the great costumes they'd put together!
Members just loved hopping in front of our koibooth to capture the great costumes they’d put together!

To the hardworking and creative collaborators from Mesa Rim and REI who made it a Halloween to remember, thank you again for inviting us to join in on the fun.

Rocktober Vendors:

Mesa Rim Mission Valley

REI

Allied Climbers of San Diego

American Alpine Club

Hike For Beer San Diego

Brown Girls Climb

Dos Tierras Tacos

Ben & Jerry’s

Pure Project 

Bivouac Ciderworks

Latino Outdoors

koibooth

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