Kai Lightner’s resume is as mind-stretching as his plus seven ape index. Since walking into a climbing gym in North Carolina at the age of 6, he has amassed 12 national titles, 6 Pan-American titles, and 5 World Youth Medals, in bouldering and lead climbing, including winning the Youth World Championships in 2014, the first American to achieve this in almost two decades. At 15, he climbed 5.14d (9a) outside, and became the Open/Adult Lead Climbing National Champion in his first year in the category. Transcending the Icarus fate of many child prodigy competition athletes, a decade later, at the age of 24, he climbed three 5.14ds in the same week.

To get there, Lightner had to face his toughest crux - making peace with a body that was an outlier in the climbing world - taller, bulkier, and Black in a sport where that was rare among his contemporaries, present or past. Burdened by the pressures of external expectations, Lightner stepped away from competition and turned his focus to reshaping the industry. In 2020, he founded Climbing for Change, a nonprofit dedicated to breaking down barriers in the sport—tackling issues like access, representation, and industry bias. He has also become a vocal advocate for addressing the pervasive culture of disordered eating in climbing, pushing for greater awareness and systemic change. When he returned to the sport, Lightner reemerged rejuvenated—equal parts humble and intense, driven not just to push his own limits but to help shape a better future for climbing. In 2024, he proved to himself that he could still perform at the highest level, making the first ascent of Death of Villains (5.15a).

After 18 years as a professional athlete, Lightner has come to understand that “Fighting your body is a battle you’ll never win.” As a young black kid in climbing, Lightner had no one who resembled his physical appearance or his life experience to look to. Now, through Climbing for Change, he’s creating blueprints of opportunity for thousands, drawing on his own success and his strong relationships, to make space for more people at the crag, the gym, and in the outdoors.

Achievements

• Founder of Climbing for Change
• Death of Villains, first ascent, 5.15a/9a+, Hurricane, Utah, 2024
• Open Your Mind Direct, 5.14d/15a, 9a/+, Santa Linya, Spain, 2024
• Ciudad de Dios, 5.14d/15a, 9a/+, Santa Linya, Spain, 2024
• Direct into your Fabelita, 9a/5.14d, Santa Linya, Spain, 2024
• Planet Garbage, 5.14d, 9a, Rifle Canyon, Colorado, 2024
• Era Vella, Margalef, Spain, 5.14d, 2015
• “Death of Villains” film, Reel Rock 20, 2025
• “Young Guns” film, Reel Rock 11, 2016
• Bachelors in Business Management, 2024
• keynote speaker and guest lecturer
• American Alpine Club Robert Hicks Bates Award for “outstanding promise for future accomplishment”, 2021
• US Olympic and Paralympics (USOPC) Team Hope Award for “outstanding commitment to service within their communities”
• One of 28 minority game changers under 28, NBC News, 2016