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 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 208: Jesse Grupper
Jesse Grupper is a 27-year-old American who will be competing at the 2024 Olympics. We talked about his nomad lifestyle, the idea of “training trips”, climbing as an art form, the concept of optimistic training, thinking of ourselves as bodies of water, how he turned around his bouldering after placing last in his first World Cup, balancing Olympic prep with his job, soft robotics, and more!
EP 203: Jakob Schubert
Jakob Schubert is one of the greatest competition climbers ever. In 2023 he won the World Championships in both lead and combined, secured his ticket to the Paris Olympics, sent his first 9c with his FA of ‘B.I.G.’, and sent his hardest boulder with ‘Alphane’ 9A. We talked about his incredible year, learning from Adam Ondra’s risky and efficient climbing style, what he learned from failing on ‘Sleepwalker’ V16, plans for more 9c’s, and much more!