BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:

When Rick Agnelli first started climbing in the late ’70s, rock-climbing gyms like the one he operates in Costa Mesa didn’t exist.

In fact, his first taste of the extreme sport came when he followed some of his father’s army buddies up the face of a bona fide rock — without gym mats or professional instruction.

He admits it probably wasn’t the safest introduction to the sport, but the passion stuck, and ultimately transformed into a 30-year fascination.

“In those days, climbing was kind of a weird, fun thing to do,” he said. “I was into group sports — basketball, baseball, all that good stuff — but it’s not quite the same reward as you get from climbing, because generally, you do all the work and no one helps you; you pick your own challenge and do it.”

Now, Agnelli is the general manager of Costa Mesa’s Rockreation, the largest and most comprehensive rock-climbing facility in the Newport-Mesa area.

The gym is no amusement park, Agnelli jokes. Indeed, the facility goes the extra mile to cater to serious climbers, sporting three different “rocks” to scale, as well as a conventional gym and weight-training for local climbers. The rock formations are changed every few months to keep customers interested and engaged during their work-outs.

“We don’t have a huge ad budget, because advertising can be counterproductive sometimes,” he said. “Then you’d get busloads of kids expecting Magic Mountain, and we’re really not like that — this is for people who really want to practice serious climbing.”

One of those climbers, Glenn Lake of Laguna Hills, said he first got into climbing at the facility when his son started to take an interest.

His son is grown now, but Glenn still comes back to the facility — even after knee replacement surgery.

“I was incapacitated for about three months, but I couldn’t wait to come back in here and start doing some light stuff,” he said. “It’s really just about trusting the knee and knowing your limits.”

Glenn’s climbing partner, Newport Beach resident Todd Nydam, agreed.

“That’s the nice thing about this sport, it’s kind of self-regulating,” he said. “You can’t really overdo it or overexert yourself, or else you’ll just pop off the wall.”

ROCKREATION

ADDRESS: 1300 Logan Ave.

HOURS: Open Monday through Friday starting at noon, and at 10 a.m. on the weekends.

PRICE: Monthly membership is $59 per person, and $50 for students. Annual memberships are also available

PHONE: (714) 556-7625

WEBSITE: www.rockreation.com

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.