I'm starting a social club to solve the male loneliness epidemic

For one, bouldering is not great if you have a fear of heights or maybe some mobility issues due to a previous injury. It's then a massively painful and risky chore and not a pleasurable activity but requires you to be at 100% health physically and mentally in order to do anything beyond kiddy walls. Otherwise you can fall and injure yourself pretty badly. Granted, that's mostly on you, not the sport but still, it's not a universally approachable sport by everyone by any stretch. At least I never gotten to enjoy it no matter how much I forced myself to based on the hype of those around me and the internet.

> with no inherit social hierarchy

Not 100% true. This might be your conscious way of wanting to see things, but in reality, all sports especially in male groups are inherently competitive where a clear hierarchy gets formed which leads to either admiration or repulsion based on abilities and results, even if it's just subconsciously, but it is there and everyone is aware of it even if we choose to ignore it for the sake of equality and inclusion.

IMHO, team sports like football, handball, volleyball, tennis, ping-pong, various martial arts etc are far better for socializing because you actually have to partner with others and play against others, versus solitary like bouldering.

> I’d highly recommend going on your own as you will find opportunities to meet new people, and others will talk to you

I feel like this take is 100% based on regional social customs of where you live, and not on the sport. This might be my experience of the German speaking country I moved to but from the locals, nobody here ever starts making conversation to you randomly. People tend to go with their social group and not interact with strangers, while those who go alone tend to want to be left alone to practice and not get interrupted with small talk by other who are there to make friends.

Just like the gym, it's definitely not a way to make friends here, since people got here to work out, not have conversations with strangers.

Maybe I just have a weird outcast complex, but I stay away from clubs that make you get “sponsorship” by shmoozing with existing members first (country clubs, yacht clubs). That really triggers some repulsion in me for some reason.

Instead, I’ve found a few friends from shared experiences and hobbies like my local cycling club, book club, and every now and again, car meets. (Even, weirdly enough, parents of people I grew up with and connected with later on in life.)

Even when I play golf, I do it at a public club rather than a private one.

I’m staying with my parents this week and I visited the local bouldering gym alone on Wednesday and last night.

On Wednesday I met someone called Nelly, and hung out with them for the session.

Yesterday I bumped into Nelly with their friends Maddie and Kate and climbed with them.

I’m leaving on Sunday so I gave one of them my number and they messaged me to say it was great fun climbing together.

Now we might be climbing again this weekend.

Granted, I approached them, but all it took was asking Nelly, “How did you find that route?” and asking them for tips.

The bouldering gym is what you make it, just hang out and don’t assume people will reject you (which can be a difficult headspace to get out of, but exposure therapy will fix that, and the bouldering gym can be that exposure therapy)

Mixed groups on the other hand turn into a soap opera.

What is needed is a strong common interest that binds the group beyond these tendencies to stave off the soap opera entropy. The soap opera entropy will always increase with time though until the group dissolves.

It is still more stable though than the misogynist entropy.