Episodes Feed
EP 167: Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold is on the podcast! Who? The guy that free handed Yellowstone? Close enough. Seriously though, this was such a great interview. We talked about his two most epic solos that nobody heard about, near misses, lessons from other climbing legends like Tommy Caldwell, Jonathan Siegrist, and Peter Croft, pooping while free soloing stories, how the film Free Solo exceeded his hopes and dreams, the commitment to excellence, and much more!
EP 166: Will Bosi
Will Bosi is a 24-year-old climber from Scotland who has emerged as one of the best climbers in the world. This interview is hot off the press! Will made the second ascent of ‘Burden of Dreams’ V17 less than two weeks ago and joins us for a proper geek out about the send. We talked about his process of projecting the replica and the actual boulder, his feats of finger strength and where to draw the line between party tricks and useful strength, doing the second ascent of ‘Mutation’ at Raven Tor, his absolute dream project, 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 164: Melina Costanza
Melina Costanza is a competition powerhouse and the 2021 US Boulder National Champion. She opened up recently about her struggles with an eating disorder and decided to step away from competitions. We talked about her foot injury and surgery, why patent law is similar to climbing, how sports glamorize suffering, getting stronger during recovery, how gratitude can impact your training, and fun facts about Melina from ketchup to baby teeth necklaces.
EP 163: Johnny Dawes
Johnny Dawes is a legendary British rock climber known for his exceptional footwork and unique dynamic style. We talked about his first ascent of Indian Face (the first-ever E9) when it was likely the most dangerous route in the world, climbing 5.13b (8a) slabs without using his hands, tips for mastering footwork, his writing practice and current book project, and life lessons involving three-legged stools, omelets, pasta, icebergs, and more.
EP 162: Fundamentals Part 6
Fundamentals (Part 6 of 6) — In this episode, Jesse and I dive into how to structure your climbing year. We talk about the circumstances that led to some of our best years in climbing, the importance of having a plan and taking notes, why focus tends to produce excellence, how to build from one phase to the next, and making sure your training supports your climbing. Happy planning!
EP 161: Sam Stroh
Sam Stroh is caffeinated, psyched, and ready to send everything from double-digit highballs to free routes on El Cap. We talked about his early climbing and onsighting Moonlight Buttress (5.12+), our coffee and chocolate addictions, finding the perfect climbing partner, the biggest lessons from each discipline of climbing, suffering on the side of El Cap, botching it with tactics, and harrowing sends.
EP 160: Fundamentals Part 5
Fundamentals (Part 5 of 6) — In part 5 of this series, Jesse and I share our tips and pitfalls for picking a project. As Jesse says in this episode, picking the right projects is a key part of having a satisfying climbing experience. We cover some of our best projecting experiences, as well as times we botched it, and we try to pass on what we learned along the way. Have fun projecting!
EP 159: Tom Randall & Sam Van Boxtel
Tom Randall and Sam Van Boxtel are back on the podcast to discuss all things YouTube! We talked about YouTube as the future of climbing media, why Shawn Raboutou’s vlog is such a big deal in climbing right now, why I started a channel for The Nugget, how much money YouTubers make, the keys to being successful on YouTube, top advice for all content creators, and much more!
EP 158: Fundamentals Part 4
Fundamentals (Part 4 of 6) — In part 4 of this series, Jesse and I discuss our top tips for how to improve your climbing technique, and share common pitfalls that can prevent progress. These are fundamental tips that you can practice at the climbing gym, the boulders, or the crag. We hope this episode helps you more closely examine your movement so you can level up your climbing!
EP 157: Jeannie Wall
Jeannie Wall (aka “The Energizer Bunny”) is a world-class skier, life-long mountain athlete, and obsessed climber. She cofounded Broad Beta to cultivate a community for women and genderqueer folks to share their stories of outdoor adventures in the mountains. We talked about lessons from her upbringing, the importance of partnerships and mentorship in climbing, slowing down to go fast, engaging with the edge of our comfort zone, ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and much more!
EP 156: Fundamentals Part 3
Fundamentals (Part 3 of 6) — In part 3 of this series, Jesse and I discuss tips and pitfalls for going on a sport climbing trip. Whether you are a weekend warrior, planning your first-ever sport climbing trip, or a seasoned veteran, we hope this episode will help you send your dream routes and enjoy your climbing along the way.
EP 155: Caleb Robinson
Caleb Robinson is an ex-competitive soccer player, elite boulderer, route setter, and photographer. He started climbing at age 17 and sent his first V13 in just four years. We talked about the biggest lessons he learned from competitive soccer, how deadlifting fixed his back, a typical week of training, his finger training journey, the power of consistency over time, finding his artistic expression in photography, and much more!
EP 154: Fundamentals Part 2
Fundamentals (Part 2 of 6) — In part 2 of this series, Jesse and I dive deeper into specific tips and pitfalls for going on a bouldering trip. We covered a wide range of topics including training and preparation, crash pad and kit recommendations, how to manage skin and energy, good bouldering ethics, how to boulder in a group, 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 152: Fundamentals Part 1
Fundamentals (Part 1 of 6) — In this episode, Jesse and I each share our top tips and pitfalls for going on a climbing trip. Whether you are planning your first-ever climbing trip, or are a seasoned climber, we think you’ll find some helpful nuggets here. We learned these lessons the hard way. Hopefully, you won’t have to.
EP 151: Anna Hazelnutt
Anna Hazelnutt is a professional climber who specializes in difficult single-pitch trad and slab climbing. But don’t let her specialization fool you—she’s an all-around badass! We talked about two of her biggest climbing achievements to date, leaning into her superpowers, top training exercises for slabs, dealing with negative comments online, embracing empathy, comedy as a mechanism for change, and much more!
EP 150: Luke Mehall
Luke Mehall is the creator of The Climbing Zine and The Dirtbag State of Mind podcast. In this episode, we take turns interviewing each other. I ask Luke why he started The Climbing Zine, what lessons climbing has taught him, what themes connect the stories he selects, and how to sustain creative work. He asks me about my origin story with The Nugget, what all of these interviews have brought to my life, and the difficulties I’ve faced along the way.
EP 149: Steven on Kegels and Coffee
New interview featuring me! Isabel von Rittberg is a good friend of mine and the host of Kegels and Coffee. She interviewed me on her podcast earlier this year to talk about my experience with my first-ever panic attack in December of 2021. We talked about what led up to the panic attack and how it was a wake-up call for me, how to stay sane while getting the work done, and much more.
*This was one of the most vulnerable interviews I’ve done. And it’s one of my favorites. Hope you enjoy :)
EP 148: Alan Watts (Repost)
I often get asked, “what is your favorite interview you’ve ever done?” Firstly, I don’t have a favorite. But if I HAD TO CHOOSE ONE, it would be this episode. Alan Watts is a fascinating character in climbing history and a personal hero of mine. This interview was such a treat. I loved revisiting it for this repost. Enjoy!
*This episode was originally published in EP 04, in February 2020.