New documentary aims to inspire greater diversity in climbing and other adventure sports

Born to first-generation immigrants from Eritrea,Tadros Eyobgrew up in Calgary but later moved to Vancouver, where he says he fell in love with the outdoors and the spectacular climbing opportunities British Columbia offers.

But he says he also quickly noticed how few other people of colour there were in the climbing and bouldering community, despite Vancouver's multiculturalnature.

"Sometimes itfeels like I am the only person of colour in the room," Eyob, 27,told CBC's North by Northwest host Margaret Gallagher.

"It's when you see otherswho look like you doing great stuffthatyou feel truly inspired to try thingsout."

For Eyob, that inspiration came from the 2020 documentary filmBlack Ice, whichfollows the journey of a group aspiringclimbers intothe mountains of Montana.

"Seeing so many Black people in thefilm going out ice climbing for the first time movedme to tears," he said.

Now, Eyob has a short documentary of his own, which he hopes will help changethe narrative around diversity in adventure sports and encourage people from diverse backgrounds to try things like bouldering.

Kid Rock, which ispremiering at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival on Nov. 15,follows Eyob's journey as he scales massive boulders without ropes or harnesses.

"The message of the film is simple:climbing is cool. It's fun to be out in nature and everybody should be able to do it," he said.

Directed by Eyoband his friendLeroy Hirkala-Maarhuis, the film is shot entirely using Mini DVhandheld camcorders for a nostalgic feel.

"They're like family videos but that footage always warms my heart and wewanted to maintain that feeling," Eyob said.

Eyob says he also volunteersat Balancing Act, aprogram that provides free outdoor climbing workshops for groups "whohave been historically marginalized from the sport."

Benjamin Fenton, the founder of Balancing Act, who also features in Kid Rock, says the initiative aims to make climbing more accessiblefor 2SLGBTQA+ andBIPOC people.

Kid Rockis being screenedas part of theArcteryx Climbing Show at the Rio Theatre on Nov. 15. It will also be available for online viewing from Nov. 14 until Dec. 10 at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival'sofficial website.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check outBeing Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.