(upbeat music) - Welcome to another round of "This Is Utah".

I'm your host, Liz Adeola.

In this special edition, we are kicking things up a notch.

Climbing, pun intended.

Visit the favorite peaks and pins of local champions.

Round one, you'll meet Utah's very own "American Ninja Warrior" champ.

Round two, a former boxing champ who shows off his gym that's also helping teens fight for a better future.

And buckle up for round three, because we're taking off with a few motorheads, looking to break the land speed record out at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

- [Announcer] Support for "This Is Utah" comes from the Willard L. Eccles Foundation, the Lawrence T. and Janet T. Dee Foundation, the Utah Office of Tourism, the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, and the contributing members of PBS Utah.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - I'm here in Joe's Valley, and if the chalk on these boulders could talk, the stories of resiliency it would tell.

Stories from two groups of people that thought they'd never have anything in common.

- There was kind of this mystery of climber in town.

- [Man] We're in a coal mining community.

It's where friends, uncles, parents, everybody, you know, is connected to the coal mines.

- [Steven] Through the years since I've been here, a lot of these coal mines have been shut down.

You could see it gradually disappearing.

Jobs were going away, people were moving away, and it was becoming a little bit of a ghost town.

- [Liz] Then little by little, strange figures with chalk on their skin began to appear.

- I see guys walking up the mountain with mattresses is what I thought.

They like to refer to themselves as the dirtbags.

We're recovered in climbing chalk.

We're wearing these funny puffy coats that they'd never seen before, and they're just kind of looking at us like, what are these people doing here?

- [Liz] They were pushing the limit of a new recreational sport called bouldering.

- Climbing here was discovered by kayakers.

So the river comes out of the climbing area is kayaking.

Kayakers are outdoor people.

Outdoor people tend to start doing other sports, and kayakers come in the early spring, and they started noticing ice climbs.

Then ice climbers start coming out, and then ice climbers tend to be more rock climbers.

And then rock climbers follow suit.

- I started climbing in 1997, and that exact year, you know, I had some really cool climbers, some mentors of mine who took me down to Joe's Valley for my first climbing trip, and I just fell in love with the area.

Joe's Valley has been a climbing destination for over 20 years, but it's just now getting to the point where more and more people are learning about it.

(upbeat music) - [Steven] When you think of climbing, you think of big mountains, and people find the easiest route to the top of this big mountain, right?

In bouldering, it's kind of the same thing.

We're finding a route up the small boulder.

But in the boulder problem, we call them problems because it's kind of a problem.

You're trying to figure out how to do these hard moves.

You're trying to figure out if you can even physically climb it, or mentally climb it, or technically climb it.

- [Liz] And they figure it all out without the help of a harness or ropes, just pads.

- It's the wild west still out here, right?

So you come out here and there's the sense of like kind of scary desert solitude.

So it has this whole allure of it's so free and wild that it makes it, this climbing area gets you back into that animal instinct of life of free and wild, and you're just rock climbing.

So it kind of has this total aspect of freedom.

- The boulders here, like really good quality.

And it's hard to not have fun on these boulders.

So exciting to get to the top.

- But before she made it all the way up here, 15 year-old Miriam Borgstrom gave me a lesson in bouldering down here.

So you're putting your fingers like right?

- Yeah, inside.

- I don't know if it's going to hold and not just like pop out.

- Well, it's always hard to tell, but usually if you knock on it, if it like sounds hollow, then you know you probably shouldn't be like grabbing it.

But it doesn't.

And I know people have climbed this that you'll feel safe.

- I'm also seeing some spiderwebs as well, is it any concern about creatures coming out?

- That used to be a concern, but now I'm just like, whatever.

- [Steven] The sport of bouldering does sound really extremely dangerous, and it can be.

I mean, you're falling and landing on the ground, but typically everything's not very high, and you're doing it for the movement.

So people dance for the movement, and they're dancing in place and they look silly, right?

If you turn the music off when someone's dancing, you'd be like, what are they doing?

Climbing is similar.

There's no music to it, but there is a, you're feeling the movement.

You're there to, you learn these simple subtleties to things that make these movements doable.

But 10 minutes ago you were like, I can't even get off the ground.

And now here you are learning all these subtle tricks, and moving with the rock and climbing, and next thing you know it's effortless.

(upbeat music) - [Liz] Their adventures on the rocks have mirrored efforts to successfully blend new and old traditions here in Emery County.

- I'd tell you, half a dozen years ago, we kind of stayed away from each other.

- We would see vehicles that were from all over the United States and Canada.

And so we just stopped and talked to people, and asked them what they were doing, and they told us they were climbing.

- [Liz Voiceover] Those conversations gave Doug and Cammie Stilson the idea to cash in on the crowds, with a coffee shop they opened up right in their living room.

- Awesome.

Thank you.

- Yeah, you're very welcome.

(indistinct) On the world map, we've got 70 countries that have a pin in it from where people are coming from.

Kind of mind blowing to think that our little neck of the woods is a big draw.

- It's impossible to contain it, you know, such a beautiful, amazing place.

- They're starting to see that there is a tourist market.

For rural Utah, this tourism is not going to be the fix-all, but it's going to be one of the spokes in the wheel that's going to help us move forward.

- [Liz] One of those spokes is the Joe's Valley Festival that draws hundreds of climbers to the area.

("The Star-Spangled Banner") - [Isaac Voiceover] It's fun for our two kind of extreme worlds to kind of blend together and co-exist.

- We never wanted to keep it a climbing festival, that's why climbing is not in our name.

Why not to just be the Joe's Valley Festival for everyone.

- [Liz] Here, locals have a chance to show climbers what they're all about.

(upbeat music) (crowd cheering) - They've never even touched a cow, more than likely get on a cow.

And it's going to buck when it comes out of the chute.

(indistinct) - [Man] Little Colt, he wants to ride a sheep.

- He was the expert.

He's going after your job.

- He can have it.

(laughs) - They will run right out, and then run away, and then I have to get one and put him back in there.

- That's kind of how we start them out around here, is riding sheep.

(upbeat music) I think it's just a different adrenaline rush.

They get it from, you know, climbing their boulders and stuff, and we get it riding animals that don't want us to ride them.

(upbeat music) - Boulderers come out in flip flops and shorts, and they rock it.

They absolutely rock it.

(upbeat music) (crowd cheering) It's absolutely just the top of the festival, for me.

- [Liz] And a homecoming of sorts, especially for Utah bouldering pioneers, like Isaac Caldiero.

- I created an awesome guidebook, is bestseller, sold all over the world, and kind of brought more attention to Joe's Valley, 'cause it's, I mean, it's always been a special place to me.

- [Liz] The Utah native and first "American Ninja Warrior" champion now focuses on mentoring the next generation of climbers.

- It reminds me of when I was a kid, and needing that kind of coaching and inspiration.

And I never even knew any of this existed.

I just drive right by, just hyper-focus like, get me to the rocks, get me to the rocks.

And you know, you hear about the locals, you bump into them very briefly, like in the gas stations or the grocery stores, but you never have this kind of interaction with these people.

And there's this whole history behind, there's this whole culture that exists here, and it's beautiful.

I think it's amazing.

- [Liz] One of the final frontiers of bouldering that's now breathing new life into Emery County's economy.

- I said, I think it's so cool that two totally, like, opposite cultures and extremes can coexist, and blend together, and learn from each other, and teach and benefit each other.

And I feel like this is what a town like Orangeville and Castle Dale needed.

You know what I mean, they need this, they need us, and we need them.

So it's like a symbiotic relationship.

- These are very intelligent, highly educated people.

And all you have to do, we're starting to see this a lot, is sit down and visit with them for a little bit to find out, wow, these guys are incredible.

- Yeah, it's strange that, you know, a world destination you grew up so close to you don't realize is a world destination until you bring all your friends that you met from all over the world here to show them your home crag, and they just realize, wow, like this is, and you're kind of just like, I didn't think it was that awesome, but now you're like, wait a minute, this is actually a really amazing climbing area for everyone.

It's kind of like I'm like the luckiest dirtbag that's ever existed.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - When I run, I feel motivated.

Gives me a mental advantage.

And the sensation it brings is a lot of confidence to myself.

(upbeat music) When I'm running up to that Capitol, in my mind saying, Gianni, I can do this.

My mind is keeping me strong saying, Gianni, you can do this, you can do whatever you dream about, you could do.

You just got to do it.

(upbeat music) I love the feeling of waking up in the mornings running 'cause I'm alone.

In this sport, you're going to be alone.

You're going to be in tough situations where it's just you by yourself.

This teaches you power through it.

(upbeat music) And without this hard work and dedication, I don't know where I would be at.

I grew up protecting my mother, and that's what gave me my grit.

I was the only boy in my family so I had seen myself as a protector and a provider, and this is the way that I provide, is the way I protect.

I don't know, I was really young when I stood up to my mom's boyfriend.

Ever since then, I've just been very secure with myself.

I know how much I could take, and how much I could give, you know.

(upbeat music) - Gianni, he was 12 when he first came.

He was having trouble with his peers, trouble with, you know, kids trying to get him to join gangs, do drugs, drinking.

And he grew up without a dad.

He didn't have a male figure.

So when I connected with him, we instantly, you know, had a relationship, and I would tell him how to work out, how to train, what to do with the heat.

And he really appreciated that.

And I can tell just his happiness, he was getting more comfortable.

Pretty soon, I'd see him training other kids.

(upbeat music) - Gianni taught me how to wrap my hands.

He's the one who taught me how to do my combos, and move my legs.

He taught me how to turn when I need to.

He taught me practically everything.

(upbeat music) Boxing isn't just a physical, crazy, hurtful type of thing.

It kind of helps us, helps us build ourselves up.

And while we're letting all this pain out, we're getting all this love back in.

Last year, I went through a lot of personal things.

I got bullied a lot.

I had a problem with cutting.

I even tried killing myself.

And after that, I really cut off all my friends, all my family.

I didn't talk to anyone.

So I just came and Mario started training me.

Boxing really does help me.

I usually don't think nothing.

I try to just cut the world off.

I'll put my earphones in, full blast, and just do my thing.

It's kind of like you're in your own little moment alone for at least once during the day.

(upbeat music) It helps calm down my anxiety, because I just feel like it all builds up throughout the day until I come to the gym.

And when I do come back, once I hit the bag, it just all like goes away.

(upbeat music) (indistinct) - Alex is like a diamond in the rough.

She's got a lot of potential, and her spirit, the strength of her personality, her self-esteem went from about a two to a 10.

Need some water?

The boxing was a platform for her to discover herself.

So she set all these other goals that she wants to accomplish in life.

She's running out of gas, so we're going have to leave it, a couple of minutes again.

(upbeat music) I was raised here in Salt Lake City, and I grew up probably two blocks down from here.

My dad, he was a boxer.

He was a pro boxer.

I eventually turned pro.

My mom didn't like going to my fights.

She went to one and I could hear her clear across the other side of the room, banging chairs.

And so she didn't like going to them.

But my dad was a civil rights leader back in the 60s, the Chicano Movement.

He did a lot of boycotting stores that were not paying farm workers fair.

He started the Central City Community Action Program back in the late 60s, early 70s.

I remember going down with him to work, and I'd see, you know, all the inner city kids, you know, he would talk to them, and try and get them in a program.

And that sparked me, and I didn't realize this till probably five years ago.

I was trying to figure out where did I get this passion from?

Then I started recalling, you know, what my dad did.

- Mario, he's played a big part in my life.

He's played probably one of the biggest parts, up there with my mom, probably.

Even my mom gets mad at him sometimes 'cause he pushes me so much.

But you know what?

I wouldn't be where I am today if he didn't push me.

- Step back, right?

- [Alexandria Voiceover] Mario, he really does help me get through a lot.

When any of my family isn't there for me, I can call Mario, and Mario will be there for me.

- One thing I discovered about boxing is it's therapeutic.

I play coach, therapist, counselor, hygiene specialist, a friend, a taxi.

There's all these roles that I fill, and that's where my payday comes in, is when I can help a youth and I can see that smile on their face saying, thank you, I really appreciate it.

(upbeat music) This is a community effort, like Rome wasn't built overnight, State Street Boxing Gym wasn't built overnight.

Even though we've been around 12 years, this is our new home right here.

These kids are like my kids, so when I come down here, I could spend 12 hours a day.

And it's not like I even go to work, it's like I get this opportunity to come and work with these kids and meet these kids and, you know, find out their dreams, and help them continue that dream.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - From a gearhead's garage to the Bonneville Salt Flats, home of the world's fastest speedway.

Every summer, people take streamliners, roadsters, motorcycles, and more that they build in places like this to shoot the salt and try to set a world record.

(car engine revving) (car engine revving) (car engine revving) (car engine revving) - You're just out there to chase a record, and see how fast you can pump that record out.

(car engine revving) - [Liz] The need for speed at the Salt Flats was fueled by World War II veterans, who came home and souped up their roadsters, searching for a bigger thrill and a faster hot rod.

- I have family members that were in World War II, so I'm kind of attached to that history.

And when I get in a roadster and drive as fast as I can, I feel attached to the people that have done it before.

(car engine revving) - [Liz] Racing on the salt began in 1914.

Teddy Tetzlaff raised a 300 horsepower Blitzen Benz, clocking in at 142.8 miles per hour.

That was the first of many land speed records set here on the Salt Flats.

In the 1930s, local legend Ab Jenkins set multiple endurance records on the salt.

Pretty soon, the Bonneville Salt Flats became an international destination for gearheads.

Jenkins sold the idea of the raceway to British racers, John Cobb and Malcolm Campbell.

They used the venue to set flat out land speed records.

We're talking speeds near 400 miles per hour.

- [Man] The last place for Mormon Meteor III, a famous two and a half ton racing car, with it's 850 horse engine.

And for Ab Jenkins, 68 year old dean of American racing drivers, it's the end of a long colorful career for the former mayor of Salt Lake City, holder of many safety awards, as he goes for one last dash on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

He's off to break 40 American and world's records over the vast Salt Flats where he first started racing 20 years ago.

(upbeat music) (car engine revving) Just short of the 200 mile mark.

With 24 new records under his belt, the engine suddenly overheats.

Blinded by smoke and fumes, Jenkins has to call it quits.

Old Mormon Meteor, a smoking Meteor at that, has had its last speed mark, and Jenkins, the old master racer, winds up a fabulous career behind the wheel.

Said Ab, "I've outworn the car."

(upbeat music) - [Liz] That's more than a hundred years of racing here on the salt.

Just one glimpse of this mesmerizing sea of crystals, and you'll understand why it's one of the most unique landscapes in North America.

- The Bonneville Salt Flats are an amazing resource, about a 30,000 acre salt playa that are the remnants of the ancient Lake Bonneville.

- A lake that covered good portion of the state of Utah, about 20,000 years ago at the height of the last glacial maximum, when we were in our last ice age.

As that lake dried up over 10,000 years, it left behind this little lens of salt, all the solutes that were in the water of the lake concentrated in this one area.

So the Salt Flats, we believe, are sort of the last snapshot of what was in that lake water as it dried up.

- Those Salt Flats, every year undergo a dynamic cycle of flooding where precipitation melts the surface salt.

And then the summer, as it gets hot and dry, it evaporates into a hard crystallized Salt Flat.

- The Salt Flats have a very unique seasonality to the landscape and how it changes through time, and goes through these annual flooding, and evaporation, and desiccation cycles.

It's a very dynamic landscape, and the surface environment changes really dramatically as the amount of water that's here changes.

This water is totally saturated with sodium chloride, the ingredients to make halite or salt.

It's the same kind of mineralogy crystal structure as the salt that we sprinkle on our French fries.

- [Kevin] Everything about the Bonneville Salt Flats is impressive, intense, and unique.

- [Liz] Just imagine that view from the vantage point of a driver, barreling down a path of what appears to be infinite salt.

- In the first mile, you're so busy, you don't see the first mile, because you're focused on what the car has to do.

You only look out the windshield long enough to make sure you're still between these two mile marker boards that are a little over a hundred feet apart.

They're orange, and they're six foot squares, and you only make sure that you're between them.

(car engine revving) See, the Bonneville Salt Flats is the only place on the planet you can actually see the curvature of the earth.

So you only get to see visually about three and a half miles.

And when you're running 300 miles an hour, those six foot tall mile marker boards actually come up over the horizon like flashcards 'cause you're traveling that fast.

- That time from when you leave the starting line to where you go through the last timing trap, there's no telling what can happen.

- The day before we got on the 200 mile an hour club, I spun a little bit over 200.

(wind whooshing) At that point, I was about ready to call it.

My mom's crying on the one side, you know, my dad's upset, I'm upset, I'm heartbroken.

The car was banged up.

Everyone around me came, donated time, parts.

We put the car back together, passed tech, went the next day and broke our speed.

We went 208.

(wind whooshing) - 208.15.

(crowd cheering) (indistinct) (crowd cheering) - As a hot rodder, it's almost a sin if you don't go to Bonneville.

I mean, people that live in Utah, and haven't been out there, it's crazy.

- You get out there early in the morning when people are getting ready to do their record runs.

There's no other feeling like it.

It is just like, ah, this is where I should be.

- Everyone wants to know how fast their car would go.

There's no money, there's no sponsorship.

You go and drive because you love to build things that go fast.

(car engine revving) - And all of a sudden, I have the urge to take the PBS Utah vehicle for a quick spin.

But I also have the urge to stay employed.

That's okay, because you and I can relive all of the stories we just watched by heading to the "This Is Utah" Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages.

Watch the videos, hit the like button, and share.

Until next time, I'm Liz Adeola, and "This Is Utah".

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Support for "This Is Utah" comes from the Willard L. Eccles Foundation, the Lawrence T. and Janet T. Dee Foundation, the Utah Office of Tourism, the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, and the contributing members of PBS Utah.

Thank you.

(upbeat music)