EP 47: Alex Johnson (Part 1)
December 7, 2020
Photo by Bree Robles
Alex Johnson is a two-time world cup gold medalist and has been climbing at a professional level for a decade. We talked about sieging ‘The Swarm’ V13, her effort to qualify for the Olympics, telling an honest story, failing publicly, lessons from coaching, coming out as LGBTQ, learning about self-love from her partner Bree, and becoming a role model. You can learn more about Alex at alexjohnsonclimbing.com
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
Listen to Part 2.
Check out other episodes with AJ:
Follow-Up: Alex Johnson (May 27, 2021)
Patreon:
Follow-Ups:
thenuggetclimbing.com/follow-ups
Athletic Brewing:
Promo Code: “NUGGET25” for 25% off all orders for new customers
Videos:
Articles:
Alex Johnson: Coming Out, Coming Back, and Coming Full Circle (GoGnarly blog)
Alex Johnson Talks About LGBTQIA+ Advocacy (Gripped Magazine)
Gus Kenworthy (ESPN article by Alyssa Roenigk)
Routes/Boulders Mentioned:
‘Zodiac’ V10, Yosemite, CA
‘Pugilist’ V9, Yosemite, CA
‘Atomic Wedgie’ V10, Red Rocks, NV
‘All Thumbs’ V10, Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT
‘The Swarm’ V13, Bishop, CA
‘Trent’s Mom’ V10, Joe’s Valley, UT
Other Instagram Links:
Alex’s Links:
Nuggets:
4:09 – Mr. Golden Sun
7:40 – Googly eyed elephant
8:36 – Fritz
10:50 – An amazing day in Yosemite with Fritz
13:06 – The 100 V10’s goal, and Alex’s approach to climbing
18:33 – Balancing hard projecting with volume
22:10 – Obsession over a single project, and volume bouldering games
26:06 – The Swarm, trying to qualify for the Olympics, and the vulnerability of failing publicly
32:58 – Storytelling and sharing training ideas on social media, and starting to work with Dr. Tyler Nelson
39:45 – Comps vs. outdoor climbing, and “my heart is in rock climbing”
44:38 – Moving back home to coach, and how coaching lead AJ back to competing
49:36 – Practice vs. training vs. performance
52:26 – Balancing practice, training, and performance, and “going to the gym is practice”
55:00 – Practice drills, and working a boulder to learn vs. to send
1:00:13 – Combining training and practice sessions on the same day, 6x2s, and mock comp days
1:02:39 – “Always with intension”, lone-wolf garage sessions, and the vulnerability of training
1:06:40 – AJ’s go-to exercises on the home wall, and “You have to try hard to try hard”
1:09:47 – Coming out, Bree’s quote, and being a role model
1:19:04 – “Be who you needed when you were younger.”
1:19:19 – Gus Kenworthy
1:24:49 – Bree
1:28:56 – Learning about self-love