Hi, I’m Tong. I’ve been climbing for around four years now. My Chinese feminist friends from @vachina2021 introduced me to bouldering back in 2021, and I quickly fell in love with both the sport and the sense of community it brings. We introduced many of our friends to bouldering, and through those sessions, we’ve supported one another and discovered new potential in our own bodies.
Climbing became a vital part of my life — a way to stay present and connect with my body, while surviving the political depression of an unjust and broken world, and the deep isolation of being a migrant in the UK. After a year, I started working part-time as a climbing instructor, and I now work full-time at a climbing gym, doing everything from customer service, making coffee, and cleaning, to coaching climbers.
I’m due to be assessed as a Foundation Coach for climbing this month, and I’ve completed my Climbing Wall Instructor training through ClimbOut’s leadership programme. I also run social climbing sessions for women and non-binary folks, and I support the @refugeesrock project in Liverpool, which offers monthly free climbing opportunities to refugees. Last year, I organised two ESEA/POC Climb for Migrants events in London to raise funds for Solidarity Detainee Support @sds_noborders_noprisons.
I’m an active member and organiser with ESEA Outdoor UK @eseaoutdooruk. Spending time outdoors (and sometimes indoors) with other ESEA folks helps me feel more at home in the spaces I enjoy. It’s made the outdoors far more accessible for me — whether it’s through shared lifts, shared culture, or shared experiences of racism and marginalisation, we build community and adventure together.
I’m passionate about bringing people together and witnessing their growth through climbing and outdoor activities. As a queer, feminist, and neurodivergent person, I see community organising not just as gathering people, but as growing roots — nurturing connection, shared learning, and care. I’m drawn to the outdoors as a space for healing and resistance, where we can build something more inclusive, more accessible, and deeply human.