Our story
The origins
Everything began in 2020, in Vietnam, in the midst of the COVID period. We were then a group of French expatriate climbers, at the heart of an international community, suddenly cut off from the world. Locally, climbing became more than just a sport: a way to create bonds and bring people together.
In this context, a first project was born: Climbing in Huu Lung, a documentary on local climbing, accompanied by the production of a simple t-shirt. What started as just a detail marked the beginning of a momentum.
Very quickly, a collective energy took shape. Events were organized, content was produced, and an engaged community formed around the sport: the Vietnam Climbing Circle,
From this dynamic, a French brand was born: Nival.
The beginnings
A little later, before returning to France in 2021, we felt the need to go further and concretely explore the world of textiles.
With the intuition that Nival had to start with a climbing essential, we launched an initial production of 50 chalk bags.
Designed from clothing scraps, these bags did not yet meet a commercial ambition. They served primarily as a learning ground to understand manufacturing constraints, materials, and the realities of the textile industry.
A foundational first step, which anchors Nival in a pragmatic and experimental approach.
The turning point
Back in France, Nival truly took shape in 2022, in Metz, Lorraine. The ambition was never to create just another brand, but a brand designed by and for climbers.
With a clear conviction: to develop technical and durable clothing, capable of supporting each practitioner in their progression.
The first trousers were conceptualized and produced thanks to a crowdfunding campaign that ended in January 2023.
The ecosystem
At the same time, we launched the YouTube channel Côté Bloc in 2021, which quickly became a pillar of the ecosystem. Every week, we share content there to document climbing, its locations, and those who bring it to life.
In a few years, the channel gathered tens of thousands of subscribers and established itself as a meeting point for climbers.
More than just a media outlet, Côté Bloc and Nival move forward together: one unites a community around verticality, while the other designs the technical clothing that accompanies it.
The impact
In 2024, we are reaching a new milestone with Nival Impact. Thanks to the strength of our community, we are funding and building a complete climbing gym within the NGO Maison Chance in Vietnam.
More than 200 children benefit from it every day. No commercial interest, only the desire to give back what climbing has provided.
The move
In December 2024, Nival left Metz to settle in Thônes, in the heart of the Aravis range.
Rather than a big city, we chose a human-scale region where cliffs are within reach and where close proximity to local stakeholders gives meaning to entrepreneurship.
This is where we have set up our base camp: design, product development, shipping, and customer service are now managed from the Aravis.
A deliberate choice: anchoring ourselves in a demanding environment to affirm our identity as a technical climbing brand.
