Five Things You Didn’t Know About Walltopia CEO

If you’ve ever climbed indoors, then you’ve likely climbed on a Walltopia structure. Since 1998, the company has risen to the top of the gym climbing world.

The 20-year-old company is based in the Bulgarian village of Letnitsa, which has less than 3,000 people, between the Balkan Mountains and the Romanian border.

Bulgaria is the poorest member of the European Union and hourly wages are the lowest.

Ivaylo Penchev and Metin Musov founded Walltopia in 1998 and their walls now stand in over 50 countries. They’re currently working on over 50 new projects around the world.

Here are five things you might not know about Penchev.

High School Friends

Penchev and Musov met while climbing at a local crag during their high school years, they both grew up poor.

Musov never went to college and Penchev starting studying for a master’s degree in theoretical physics, before quitting for his many business projects.

Co-owner of Plastic Bag Company

In 1995, Penchev and four other Bulgarians co-founded Extrapack, which is now one of the biggest manufacturers of plastic bags in Europe.

As of 2016, the company had over 700 employees. Penchev used the money he made with Extrapack to kick-start Walltopia.

He has a Lamborghini

Penchev has a number of expensive vehicles, including a red Lamborghini.

Compared Climbing Industry to Sex

In a 2015 interview with Bloomberg, Penchev said, “Our industry is at the end of infancy and the beginning of puberty, but as we know, the main activity in that period is masturbation.

“For some, the real sex is close, or maybe even started. But the real orgy is about to come.”

Work Like Dogs

Penchev is known for being a tough boss and has called co-workers “idiots” and fines people for arriving late.

He hangs signs around the factory that says to work like kucheta, Bulgarian for “dogs.”

Nevertheless, his growing staff of nearly 500 remains dedicated to working for the booming brand.