Climbing to Confidence, On and Off the Wall
Meet Halley, rock climber, coach, entrepreneur
In sticking with our theme over the last few weeks, we are going to meet another courageous woman who combines adventure with healthcare. Halley is an avid and highly skilled rock climber. She is also a physical therapist who has recently expanded into coaching. She has combined her passions for climbing and well-being into an entrepreneurship adventure that helps other climbing enthusiasts reach their health and well-being potentials.
I find her story another incredible example of the BOTH/ AND mindset. Rather than looking at life as a series of binary decisions, of this or that, of either/ or choices, why not consider things from a holistic both/ and approach? Adventure and medicine. Well-being and entrepreneurship. Play and hardwork. There is so much power in asking questions such as, “How can I?” and “Why not?” to achieve synergistic combinations.
In regards to our careers, our health, and our adventures, amazing results can be achieved when we combine limitless imagination with focused determination. Halley’s journey showcases the power of grit in attaining our dreams.
Welcome, Halley! Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi, I’m Halley Stocks. I am 39 years old and I was born and raised in Eureka, CA, the northwest tip of the state that many people don’t even know exists! At 18, I moved to the Bay Area for college and graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2008. In 2011, I moved to SLC, UT for grad school and earned my doctorate in Physical Therapy. In 2014, I moved to CO for my first PT job and I’ve been there ever since.
In 2023, my husband and I also bought a small home in Beattyville, KY, the heart of the Red River Gorge, and have spent about 4 months there the past two years during hunting and climbing season, which has been an absolute blessing and joy.
I am currently pregnant with my first child, a baby boy due this fall and couldn’t be more thrilled but also learning to adapt to the many mental and physical challenges that pregnancy brings, shifting my mindset and routines and preparing for a very different future.
You are trained as a physical therapist. What inspired you to start this journey into coaching?
After years of practicing physical therapy in a traditional outpatient model, I was tired of feeling like it wasn’t enough. So many of my patients came to me because of neck or elbow pain, but they would tell me about their struggles with weight gain, inconsistency in the gym, stress, relationship issues, poor sleep, and frustration with their overall health and vitality. I wanted to do more and so I got my certification as an Integrative Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2022 and immediately jumped into coaching. My first clients were current PT patients with whom I had already established a relationship and knew they were looking for exactly what I was now able to offer: a space to discuss actionable steps to address their nutrition, exercise, and mindset, and build habits for a healthier lifestyle to live their best life.
How do you view the intersection of rock climbing, coaching and mindset?
The parallels between climbing and life are so many…I started climbing nearly 21 years ago and it has played a huge part in building my mental and physical strength and resilience, both in climbing and in life.
I have never been extremely meticulous about a specific hangboard protocol or phased training plan for climbing and still became a pretty accomplished climber sending more than 75 5.13s including 5.13c. I have, however, always been very meticulous about my daily habits, which means prioritizing sleep, good nutrition, hydration, and strength training, in combination with regular climbing, while embracing a willingness to learn through failure and building confidence through action. These skills translate to all areas of life and have helped to build the climber I am today.
This is why I truly believe you can become a better, stronger, healthier, and more confident climber and human, simultaneously, through many of the same skills.
Every adventure has its challenges. Tell us about the personal limiting beliefs or external barriers you grappled with along your path to building your own business and how you handled them.
Limiting beliefs are certainly no stranger to me… not good enough, strong enough, smart enough… I’ve been there. Having overcome a life threatening eating disorder in my late teens/early 20s, my life was once riddled with an overwhelming belief that I was not enough and an impossible quest for perfection. These intrusive thoughts unfortunately still appear in my mind at times, but through years of work, I have learned skills to navigate and redirect those thoughts.
When you seek external validation to justify your worth, you'll never be enough so we must look from within.
Tactically, how did you go about building your own business?
I began coaching as soon as I could. My certification program allowed you to begin coaching half way through the course and I didn’t hesitate at all. My first 5-6 clients were paid through my current employer as we began offering health coaching to current PT patients. Later that year, I launched my first private company, “Primal Link Health Coaching.” It began as a side hustle and honestly I really struggled with marketing effectively, solidly identifying a specific niche, and finding clients. I began by coaching a wide variety of clients, men and women of all ages and backgrounds but I knew my passion really lay in helping women, especially climbers and other outdoor athletes like myself.
In January 2025, I officially launched “Grace and Grit Climbing,” a company rooted in empowering women to build physical and mental strength and resilience to crush their goals, overcome adversity, and build a life of confidence, health, and abundance.
Knowing what you know now, would you pursue entrepreneurship again if you had the chance to do it over?
1000% yes. I’m still in the grind. It isn’t easy, I am not yet fully sustainable but I know with certainty this is where I’m supposed to be. I knew it would be hard, admittedly I didn’t fully appreciate just how hard…but there’s no going back. There is nothing that makes me happier than coaching. There is nothing more rewarding than helping people believe in themselves and change their lives.
What have you learned about yourself from the experience of becoming an entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurship has helped me believe in myself more and more every day, challenging my own limiting beliefs. It has helped me believe that we are all more capable than we often give ourselves credit for. It has taught me to lean into failure and embrace it as an opportunity for learning and growth.
What resources did you utilize along the way that helped make this possible? Who have been your mentors or role models?
I utilized two different coaches myself, one I found more helpful than the other. I believe strongly in the power of coaching, but finding a good fit is extremely important! I read many books, listened to podcasts, and drew inspiration from relentless humans like David Goggins, Cameron Hanes, and Alex Hormozi.
In your experiences coaching, is there a topic that you have become passionate about or that has altered your worldview in some way?
The importance of taking ownership to make change in your life.
It can be very challenging to look inward and accept responsibility for making change in your life but it is truly what gives you the power to change. You cannot control or change the past and bad things may have happened to you that were undeserved and unfair and while these things may not be your fault, at some point, it becomes your responsibility to take charge of your present and redirect your future.
What advice do you have for another woman wanting to go down a path of entrepreneurship?
Be bold, unapologetic, and relentless.
Entrepreneurship isn’t easy and it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. But if you’re passionate about something and you really understand your why for doing what you do, you CAN make it happen! Don’t see your failures as failures. See them as lessons to be learned and learn the lessons they have to teach you and keep going.
Can you share one of your favorite rock climbing adventures?
In 2018 I spent a month in Spain that was absolutely amazing. I spent the first three weeks in Rodellar, a tiny town in northern Spain, with incredible, steep, blocky caves of rock. I had just come off a finger injury and wasn’t sure what to expect of myself on this trip but ended up climbing extremely well for myself and had nearly perfect weather. The final week, we moved around a bit to other climbing areas and spent some time in Barcelona and Taragona and had a fabulous time settling into the Spanish lifestyle.
Where can our readers find you? Use this space to promote your work. We want to support you!
Rock climbing, for me, has always been about so much more than just clipping the chains of a route; it has been a guiding light along the path of life.
I want to help more women to believe in themselves and their ability to overcome challenges and to embrace a life of abundance.
If you love climbing and want to level up both on and off the wall, you’ve come to the right place. Connect with me on the socials and book your free call to get started building the life you want, right now.
Website: https://www.graceandgritclimbing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/halley.tollner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halley_stocks/
Email: halley@graceandgritclimbing.com
Book a free discovery call to work with me: https://calendly.com/halley_graceandgritclimbing/resultscoaching?month=2025-07
Thank you, Halley! There are so many lovely pearls of wisdom to unpack here. I think one of my favorite things that Halley shares is the insight that confidence is built through action. I think, so often, we wait to feel prepared before taking that first step. In reality, it is taking the steps, even (or especially) when we don’t yet feel fully ready that leads to building belief in our abilities. Action builds confidence. The more often we do the thing (and do it scared), the more self-assurance and skill we accumulate along the way.
My parting question for you today is this: If you believed that actions build confidence, not the other way around, what action would you take today?