Anne-Worley Moelter used to be "terrified" of heights, so it's pretty surprising that she grew up to become a leader in the rock-climbing world.

Moelter was in middle school when she went to a North Carolina summer camp and had her first go at the sport.

"I didn't want to go, and my camp counselor really encouraged me," Moelter, now 46, tells CNBC Make It. "As soon as I did, I fell in love with it."

Moelter returned to climbing after graduating college; moving to Boulder, Colorado; and quitting an unsatisfying tech job. After she left the tech world, she got hired as an assistant manager at a climbing gym and jumpstarted her career in the field.

Today, Moelter is the CEO of Movement Gyms, a nationwide network of over 30 climbing gyms with fitness facilities and yoga studios.

Second-time CEO: 'It was a lot of soul-searching'

It's actually her second run at the chief executive role: Back In 2009, she and her husband, Mike, opened their own climbing gym in Boulder, and Moelter was CEO. The cofounders opened two more locations, in 2014 and 2018, before their success got the attention of a larger fitness network that wanted to acquire them.

The couple didn't immediately jump on the offer. At the time, they were focused on opening their third gym, and "we just were not interested. It was not the right time," Moelter says.

Conversations picked up again in 2019, and they finally reached a deal: The network bought the Moelters' facilities and rebranded to become Movement Gyms. Moelter stepped down as CEO but became a member of the board of directors.

The biggest appeal of joining the network was to improve the experience for members, guests and staff, Moelter says. "When you have a network of gyms that is 30 versus three, inherently there are just more things you can do for people," she says. Now, she could offer staff better benefits and opportunities to grow in the company, while members and guests would have access to more facilities across the U.S.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say there were bumps along the way, because there always are when you have transitions of any type," Moelter says.

One big challenge was recognizing her small business was such a large part of her identity, she says. Another: knowing what worked for your small organization won't always work on a larger scale, and figuring out how to come up with new business expectations and operations.

"Being able to adopt skills quickly, to know how to ask questions, to understand what's going to work best for economies of scale, that has been a fascinating learning curve that I've actually enjoyed very much," Moelter says.

She continued her position on the board until 2024, when she was asked to return to her role as CEO.

Yet again, it wasn't an immediate yes.

"There was a lot of soul-searching, to be quite frank," Moelter says. She was already very active in her board seat and engaging with the business on a weekly basis.

"To step back into the CEO position is very different, and it is a lot," she says.

"And yet," she continues, "to me, having the opportunity to hopefully positively affect change and positively impact people's lives, from our members and guests to our team members, if I can do that, then I feel like I will have done well in this life."

It's allowed her to exercise the best career advice she's ever gotten from an advisor who said, "as a small business owner starting things from the ground up, you have to be really resolute in terms of why it is you're doing what you're doing," Moelter says. "When you get knocked down for the ninth time, you have to know what it is that's going to motivate you to get up for that 10th attempt."

The fitness industry is still led by men

Moelter recognizes that her leadership in the industry, especially for such a long period of time, is "unusual."

"I do believe that part of it is because we are so young," Moelter says, referring to the rock climbing field in particular.

Some 70% of self-employed gym owners are men, compared with 29% who are women, according to 2022 data from Sport Alliance and the Women in Fitness Association.

"What is really encouraging is our leadership team at Movement is comprised of eight people, and five of those are women," Moelter says. "Over the past decade or two, we have seen that gap has closed in terms of disparity in gender."

A 20-year weekly 'power hour'

Throughout the changes, Moelter says one thing has remained constant on her calendar: A weekly rock-climbing "power hour" that she's had with her climbing partner, Angela, for over 20 years.

"We have moved through all of those stages of life together," Moelter says, including both becoming moms and growing in their careers. Moelter has two kids: a 9-year-old son who's on the climbing team affiliated with Movement Gyms and 13-year-old daughter who joins her family on the wall recreationally.

"We get in there, and we get on the ropes, and we climb, and we catch up. It's awesome," Moelter says of her weekly catchup with Angela. "It's good for my soul and it's good for my body, and I so enjoy the time with her. It's a highlight of the week."

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