Mission & Vision

I started Unspoken Beta to utilize my strengths as a creative and give back to the climbing community. My intention is to help climbers of all ages and abilities connect with each other through fun designs and playfully worded shirts, and make the climbing experience more enjoyable with innovative and intuitively designed gear.

My vision is for Unspoken Beta to become a symbol of connection and community, while keeping grassroot aesthetic values. Seeing someone wearing one of our shirts is an invitation to engage, with kindness and curiosity. Seeing our cairn stone marks the path toward your next adventure climbing hard, having fun, and laughing along the way.

How I got started & Why it's important...

I was properly introduced to climbing around 2005. I started on top rope at a nearby crag, and eventually became a regular at the gym. Around 2010, I started dreaming up and roughly designing all sorts of cool gear I wanted to make.

Near the end of 2020 my brother died in a freak act of nature while climbing. I was struck to my core. The majority of people that reached out to give support were his outdoor/climber friends, and seeing and having that community be there for me and my mother was everything. These were the catalysts that pushed me to try when the time came.

The following year I spent many weekends on walks with my mother, just talking and soaking in nature. On one of those walks I was reciting haiku I had written about teaching new climbers in the gym how to improve their technique. The haiku form was still fresh after writing one about my brother for his memorial stone. My mother suggested I put them on shirts and start a business...

This could utilize my strengths as a creative, build a career and life around something I love, and be a way to give back to the community that had given so much to me, so I got started.

It's just common sense.

Unspoken Beta is the common sense you learn as a climber, and don't always think about sharing, but expect others to know. A big focus here is on sharing that knowledge to enhance the experience of everyone involved the the sport of climbing. We climb stronger together!

  • We are climbers.

    Seeking to connect, play, challenge and educate each other, and create a safer, more positive experience for everyone.

  • We are community.

    Friends and strangers alike, we come together and trust in one another to do what we love, climb!

The Mountain Man

To my brother Ben, who loved climbing, and the community of outdoor enthusiasts he found his way into...

My name is Dan Kessel. I am the Founder of Unspoken Beta. A big inspiration and motivation behind this brand is my brother, Ben, who died Sept. 20th, 2020, in a freak act of nature while climbing. In my own creative way, I wanted to continue our love for climbing and support the community he found himself so at home in. Climbing is one of the few things we both deeply loved and were able to enjoy together.

A percentage of Unspoken Beta’s profits will be donated to the scholarship fund in Ben's honor every year to commemorate his life and the struggles he overcame. For more information about Ben, the scholarship fund, or should you choose to donate directly, please visit benkesselmemorial.org.

Additional charities and organizations will receive donations in the future once Unspoken Beta is profitable and sustainable. These donations will be in favor of climbing, nature conservation, and education.

May his memory be a blessing.

Donate Directly Here