Episodes Feed
EP 233: Olympic Reactions
Allison Vest joins me to talk about the Paris Olympics! We talked about our biggest surprises from the men’s and women’s combined semifinals, our thoughts on the route setting, what defines an “electric” boulder, why speed was so great to watch, heartbreaking results, men’s and women’s combined finals, who we are most excited to see bring their Olympic fitness to the rocks, and much more!
EP 232: Natalia Grossman
Natalia Grossman is a World Champion and 3x overall World Cup winner and will compete for Team USA at the Paris Olympics. We talked about spending time in Mexico as a kid, her breakout year in 2021, dealing with public criticism, working on her mindset, how to win without being the strongest person competing, hard outdoor sends and goals, her happiest moments, her top training advice, and much more.
EP 231: Colin Duffy
Colin Duffy is a 2x Olympian, 3x World Cup winner, and V16 boulderer from Colorado. We talked about puzzles, studying applied math, early competitions, joining Team ABC, getting 70th in his first open event, learning how to lose gracefully, qualifying and competing in Tokyo, how the Olympic scoring has changed, his strategy for Paris, future outdoor rock climbing goals, and much more.
EP 230: Emma Hunt
Emma Hunt is the US speed climbing record holder and will compete in the Paris Olympics. We talked about her intro to speed climbing, how strong you have to be for speed climbing, speed training, how speed shoes compare to other climbing shoes, her mental game and strategy in comps, prejudice against speed in the climbing world, whether the speed route will ever change, why speed is cool, and much more!
EP 229: Shauna Coxsey
Shauna Coxsey is the most successful competition climber in the UK and the first British woman to climb V12, V13, and V14. We talked about becoming a mom, sitting in and sharing our emotions, human nature and the joy of climbing, inspiration vs. aspiration, motivation vs. commitment, competing in Tokyo, retiring from comps, sending Hazel Grace V14 in terrible conditions, pushing for her V15 goal as a mom, and much more!
EP 228: Josh Hadley
Josh Hadley is a leading flexibility coach in climbing and the face behind the Lattice YouTube Channel. I’ve struggled with stretching routines over the years, and this episode completely changed my flexibility training. In this episode, Josh shares his top 4 stretches for inflexible climbers and introduces key concepts like chasing horizontal, weighted stretching, tempo, contract and relax, reducing friction, best times to stretch, and more. We also covered his recent CARCing experiment and other topics. Enjoy!
EP 227: Nature Climbing
How are granite climbing holds made? Are there benefits to training on rock? In this episode, I am joined by Mads Bulow Duus and Pawel Rogowski from Nature Climbing. We go behind the scenes on the origin story of their brand, the craftsmanship behind their beautiful products, how to build a successful brand, training and skin conditioning on granite hangboards, the future of climbing holds, and much more!
EP 226: Justen Sjong
Justen Sjong (The Climbing Sensei) is a world-class climber and coach who specializes in technique and mental game. This episode is a technique masterclass. We talk about the four stages of technique, how to practice any new skill, how to send faster, his goal to climb 9a before 60, and Justen coaches me on how to float on the wall using his drop-drive-stop method.
EP 225: Tony Bell & David Bress
In this episode, I crack open a beer with Tony Bell and David Bress, the two founders of Revival Climbing Coalition. The two of them installed my dream home wall in 2.5 hours and I was blown away by the craftsmanship and elegance of the design. We talked about their backgrounds, how they bootstrapped a climbing wall business, what sets their products apart, the biggest surprises they faced, sustainability challenges, future products and innovations, and more!
EP 224: Jana Švecová
Jana Švecová is a professional rock climber from the Czech Republic who has emerged as one of the top female boulderers in the world. We talked about her upbringing and her early success in competitions, her pivot to outdoor bouldering, her inspiration for choosing ‘Terranova’ 8C+/V16 as a project, making the first ascent of ‘Nova’ 8C/V15, using her finger injury as an opportunity, current training, and much more!
EP 223: Aidan Roberts Returns
Aidan Roberts returns to the podcast! Aidan is at the cutting edge of bouldering and is one of the most genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of talking to. We talk about professional climbing and today’s media landscape, and he brings us up to speed on the last year and a half of his climbing and shares the full stories of ‘Spots of Time’ and ‘Arrival of the Birds’, two new boulders proposed 9A/V17.
We recorded this a couple of days after my chat with him and Sam on their podcast. I was honored to join them and I loved the conversation. Check it out for some reflections amongst the three of us about our podcasting and climbing.
EP 222: Paul Houghoughi Returns
Paul Houghoughi (The Climbing Physio) returns for our promised part 2! This was every bit as good as our first episode. In part 2 we focused on how to build bulletproof knees and hamstrings for heel hooks, how to prevent shoulder injuries, how to strengthen and mobilize your neck and back, some of the most common changes to climber’s bodies as we age, and more. Paul also shared helpful advice for folks who feel overwhelmed by the endless possibilities of injury prevention.
EP 221: Keenan Takahashi
Keenan Takahashi is one of the top boulders in the world. We talked about the origin story of his clothing company ANTIGRAV, the importance of carving out space for creativity, establishing his latest V15 FA ‘The Gold Standard’, watching Sean Bailey send ‘Devilution’, unclimbed king lines in Bishop, shifting his focus to meaningful hard climbs, his stubbornness, why trying limit moves makes him a better climber, learning the macro from the micro, accessing try hard, why he started training, upcoming goals, and much more! I’ve wanted to talk to Keenan since the very beginning of the podcast, and this turned out to be one of my all-time favorite interviews.
EP 220: Alannah Yip
Alannah Yip is a professional climber from Canada who competed at the Tokyo Olympics. We talked about getting diagnosed with alopecia and the emotional journey of losing her hair, taking back her power, preparing for the Olympic Qualifying Series, lessons from Tokyo, mantras for slab boulders, her involvement with IFSC policies to prevent eating disorders and RED-S, her eating disorder as a teenager, why she plans to retire from comps, rock climbing goals, and much more!
EP 219: Fitz Cahall
Fitz Cahall is the cofounder of Duct Tape Then Beer, and the creator of The Dirtbag Diaries and Climbing Gold with Alex Honnold. We talked about the early days of the internet, what podcasting was like in 2007, being on the fringe, storytelling, virtual reality, spending your time on the right things, the unglamorous parts of our work, results vs. success, his new book States of Adventure, and much more!
EP 218: Mat Wright Returns
Mat Wright returns to the podcast to talk about his send of ‘Rhapsody’! We talked about the emotional dip after a hard send, the power of letting things come to you, making your own luck, patience as a tactic, top-down projecting, feeding our internal climbing algorithms, his process and how it felt to send, his next project, learning how to take the pressure off, and much more!
EP 217: Dr. David Spiegel
Dr. David Spiegel is a Stanford psychiatrist and one of the world’s most respected experts in the field of hypnosis. We talked about how our minds can make our bodies feel better, how hypnosis has helped his clients, why hypnosis is a good fit for climbers, breathing exercises for relaxation or focus, his new Reveri App, and much more. Dr. Spiegel does a self-hypnosis session with Steven to relieve stress and anxiety and you can follow along!
EP 216: Maddy Cope
Maddy Cope is a world-class rock climber and the head of education for Lattice Training. We talked about Maddy’s transition from dancing to climbing, living in a shack in the woods in Chamonix, and lessons from her personal reflections on climbing. We also talked about Lattice’s new online training course that Maddy was in charge of creating and gave a discount for listeners!
EP 215: Nathan Williams
Nathan Williams is obsessed with ‘Return of the Sleepwalker’ 9A/V17, and estimates he has spent 100+ days trying it. We talked about getting mentored by Jimmy Webb and Kasia Pietras and sending his first V10 within one year of climbing, why he took a year off, falling in love with ROTS, how to stay psyched after bad days, friction control, climbing with a purpose, gaining legendary finger strength in a few minutes per week, static feats of strength, and much more!
EP 214: Neely Quinn Returns
Neely Quinn returns to the podcast! We talked about how doing mindset work with Hazel Findlay changed her life, why she decided to become a life coach herself, simple tactics for working through negative emotions and banishing shame, why working on your mindset will make you climb harder, and much more! Neely also gives Steven a life coaching session and helps him find more contentment with his climbing.