Lucas Kovalcik and Tim Walsh – avid climbers and entrepreneurial minded – decided to open their first indoor rock gym, called The Gravity Vault, in 2004. Natives of Bergen County, NJ, they knew there was a need for a state-of-the-art climbing gym in the county and wanted to share their passion for the sport. Opening the first Gravity Vault was only the first step in creating a franchise. They knew how fast the sport was growing and wanted to have a solid foundation with at least two operating gyms before they franchised. Their gyms have been featured in Fitness Magazine, the New York Times, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Bergen Record, 201 Magazine, Rockland Today Magazine and Urban Climber Magazine to name just a few publications. Gravity Vault also has been featured on Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC and many more. In addition to many rock-climbing awards, Kovalcik and Walsh were named co-2013 New Jersey State Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. For more information on The Gravity Vault, visit http://www.gravityvault.com/franchise/.