The Staff

Remi was born in SF and started her climbing journey at Mission Cliffs in the summer of 2011. A couple months later, despite her side-bangs (or because of her side-bangs?), she bagged a job at... the front desk! After an eight-year stint in LA helping open four of Touchstone’s SoCal gyms, she’s made her way back home to The Bay to run the biggest and best gym in the universe. Outside of work you can catch her at local drag shows, teaching pole, huddled over her crafting table like a gremlin, or taking an accidental nap in a sunbeam.

Haiden was born and raised in the lone star state but found his way to the west coast back in 2020. He began climbing shortly before the pandemic and are stoked to be back in... it and explore more outdoors! They’re a proud cat dad to Enzo Lorenzo Macchiato Eros, who actually holds the world record for cutest menace of all time. If the captivating beats of indie pop are blaring through the gym speakers, Haiden is definitely on the aux and always eager to talk music. Since he is simply a large cat disguised as a human, you can probably find Haiden sleeping in the sun at Lake Merritt, eating far too much food, or releasing his random splurges of gremlin energy (commonly known as zoomies) when not behind the desk.

Anything but a southern belle, Natalie grew up in Alabama with stops in Georgia and Oregon before landing in the Bay Area in 2017. She’s enjoyed so much the Bay has to offer, including the... food, friends, outdoors, and culture. She has just in the last year has begun to take advantage of the climbing as well, with her first gym experience at Ironworks When she’s not behind the desk at Pacific Pipe, you can find her cragging outside, cooking with her partner, mixing cocktails, snuggling her cats, and playing Dungeons & Dragons. She’s beginning to break into lead climbing and looking forward to a second (and third, and fourth) trip to Red Rocks.

Dom was born in Hayward, CA., and has lived in Oakland since birth. After graduating from Merritt College, he worked a number of jobs before deciding to take up his passion for climbing full-time and... joining the Pac Pipe team. When Dom isn’t climbing, you’ll find him at live music events or the CrossFit gym ✌️.

Michael grew up in and around Washington DC. The son of an avid climber, at about seven years old he was put on the Potomac River crags of Carderock and Great Falls. Wearing clunky mountaineering... boots, tied-in with a swami belt harness, and hip-belayed with a top rope anchored to a tree, he clearly remembers the great satisfaction of finally topping-out on his first ever project. But there are equally fond memories of the ritual post-crag assembly at the local dive bar. An elementary school outcast saw the potential of what community could look like; climbers, bikers, and sots all trading tales of heroism and defeat over cold beer and chili dogs. No matter who you were, it was possible to find your people.One fateful evening so many years later, Michael went to a Touchstone member open house at Pacific Pipe when it was still a vast empty space and a conceptual drawing. Then and there he decided that one day he’d work here. Now behind the desk, he loves nothing more than teaching newcomers, sharing in someone else’s satisfaction of a completed project, amusing coworkers with stupid stories and being witness to people finding their people.Stop by the desk and ask him for a stupid story or to discuss one of his many collections; squished pennies, early 80’s punk vinyl, photo books, the works of Edward Gorey or glass insulators. If he’s not there, Michael is likely walking his dogs, on an adventure with his wife and kid, seeing live music or zipping about on his motorcycle.

Ali was born in Iran before making his way through Austria, New York City, and finally ending up in Oakland. He began climbing through friends, first in 2015 but again (and for real this time)... in 2021 when he joined Pac Pipe when it first opened. In his free time, Ali loves to play ultimate frisbee competitively, cook, snowboard, discover new music, or just be up to no good.

Ada started climbing when they were four, took a break to play volleyball in college, and returned to climbing as a more “mellow” sport after an injury. Since then, their life and work has been... totally taken over by climbing; they’ve been a competition coach for seven years and a climbing guide for five. If you haven’t seen them climbing in the gym, it’s because they can usually be found climbing outside, masochistically shredding their skin and taking whips.

If you hear a laugh from across the gym, it’s probably Sierra. She may be small, but she is mighty. An Oakland Native, she is back in the Bay after moving around from Spain to... San Diego to here and there. As her name might imply, she’s an outdoorsy gal who learned to climb recently while working and living in Yosemite Valley. After dabbling in bouldering at Rocknasium in Davis, the history and community of Yosemite’s climbing is what got her hooked. In search of her own community, she applied and bagged a job as Support Staff at Pacific Pipe, then quickly moved on up to desk staff. Outside of the gym, Sierra enjoys being outside in any capacity, from slacklining in the park to reading in her backyard with her cat, Boots.