Episodes Feed
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 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 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 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.
EP 199: Will Anglin & Matt Jones
Will Anglin returns and is joined by coach and trainer Matt Jones. This is one of the most valuable episodes I’ve ever recorded. It’s a GOLD MINE for anyone who wants to progress their climbing. Will and Matt provide clear and in-depth guidance for beginner, intermediate, and advanced climbers in this three-hour masterclass. If you feel stuck at a plateau or simply want to progress to the next level, don’t skip this episode!
EP 198: Travis Tameirao
Travis Tameirao is a 33-year-old from Rhode Island. On August 13, 2018, his life changed in a freak accident in the climbing gym. Three years and a dozen surgeries later, Travis miraculously returned to climbing and sent his first V10 and V11. We talked about his accident, getting a full knee replacement, how he made a full recovery, his incredible wife Katie, why he swims four times per week, treating yourself like you have the V17 gene, taking responsibility for your life, the interplay of luck and hard work, and much more.
EP 191: Jesse Firestone Returns
Jesse Firestone is back on the podcast! We talked about his injury this spring and finding silver linings, why he focused more on weight training than climbing this summer, shifting his priorities to spending more time on projects, biggest lessons from the past three years of coaching, Adam Ondra’s hip flexibility, how to become more flexible through climbing, why visualization is an excellent use of your time, and much more!
EP 190: Josh Champion
Josh Champion is an MD and elite boulderer based in Portland, Oregon. Josh and I hung out in 2017 during my infamous Bishop trip. Since then he moved to Colorado for residency, got even stronger, and then quit climbing shortly after sending his first three V13s. We talked about why he quit for three years, how he improved his relationship with climbing, helpful books, building Just Beta, and much more!
EP 177: Tiba Vroom
Tiba Vroom is a Dutch professional climber and cofounder of Wildflower Climbing Gym. We talked about the pressure that comes with early success, her first trip to Magic Wood and sending Riverbed 8B, confronting fear of failure, separating self-worth from performance, being the 8, starting a non-profit gym in the Netherlands, taking responsibility for your life, dream climbs in Fontainebleau, and more!
EP 174: Bernd Zangerl
Bernd Zangerl a bouldering legend from Austria. We talked about his early climbing and making the 2nd ascent of Dreamtime, some of his proudest FAs, how he recovered from a career-ending injury in 2016, his mindset for highballs, meditation and the power of the mind, believing in love, our impact as climbers, sustainability, and discovering world-class bouldering in the Himalayas.
EP 168: Don McGrath
Don McGrath is the author of Vertical Mind and an expert on mental training for climbing. We talked about the two simple diet changes he made to get back in shape in his 60s, our untapped potential in mental training, debunking and rewriting unhelpful scripts, how to tackle fear of falling and fear of failure, pre-climb rituals, how to use your climbing partner as a coach, how to stay in love with climbing as we age, duct tape and baling wire, embracing the suck, and much more!
EP 165: Charlie Schreiber
Charlie Schreiber is a world-class climbing coach who has helped day 1 athletes become National Champions, 5.14d sport climbers, and V15 boulderers. We talked about the value of asking “why”, giving kids hard work and then reward, finding fresh lemons to squeeze, puzzle books and getting inside the mind of the puzzle maker, our shared goal to climb V13, how to have a good poop in the morning (every time), and much more!
EP 153: Ollie Torr
Ollie Torr is an ex-gymnast, high-end rock climber, and co-founder of Lattice Training. We went deep in this conversation and covered Ollie’s top exercises for different types of climbers, how to climb more like Aidan Roberts, how to find your own superpowers and become a specialist, the secret to finger strength, balancing strength and fitness, overtraining vs. under recovering, taking action is six-week blocks, and much more!
EP 135: Alice Hafer
Alice Hafer is a climber, writer, and coach who specializes in mind power training. We talked about climbing her first 5.14s, her experiences with depression and anxiety and how she changed her own mind through mental training, finding an identity outside of climbing, tips for staying motivated, focusing on effort over outcomes, and using box jumps to train for climbing power.
EP 133: Neil Gresham
Neil Gresham is a British climber and coach who has been at the cutting edge for over two decades. We talked about using ballet as part of his training for his FA of ‘Lexicon’ E11, the importance of developing your finishing game, extensor training for stronger fingers, go-to ring and TRX exercises, sticking our training in the bank, thumb crimping, climbing his first 5.14c (8c+) at age 45, and much more.
EP 132: Rebecca Williams
Dr. Rebecca Williams is a clinical psychologist, performance coach, and the author of Climb Smarter. We talked about the deeper fears that often underlie fear of falling, the underdeveloped self-soothing system, breathing exercises to reduce anxiety, pre-climb routines, meditation and mindfulness, and the benefits of shifting our focus from achievement to mastery.
EP 131: Ryan Devlin
Ryan Devlin is a television actor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, rock climber, and host of his new podcast The Struggle Climbing Show. We talked about parallels between climbing and being a TV actor, the role of chemistry in dating, how to deal with rejection, progressing from 11b to 12c in a year in his 40s, and biggest takeaways from interviewing top climbers on his podcast.
EP 127: Jesse Firestone
Jesse Firestone is an elite boulderer, a climbing coach, and a climbing philosopher. He’s also a good friend of mine from Oregon. We talked about quantum leaps in our progression as climbers, Jesse’s top 3 tips for climbers at different stages, non-physical factors that affect our performance, tips for flashing hard boulders, training changes after age 30, and much more.
*If you liked my episodes with Emil Abrahamsson and Martin Keller, don’t skip this one!