Cover art for 40: Erik Noya, Spanish Speed Climber

5/12/25

40: Erik Noya, Spanish Speed Climber

Erik is an accomplished speed climber from Spain! In this episode, we’ll learn about how politics destroyed climbing in Venezuela, what it was like starting over with life and training in Spain, injuries in speed climbing, and we’ll get his thoughts on other speed climbing formats like relays and yearly route changes. Hear from speed climbing’s most positive athlete!

Cover art for 39: Shauna Coxsey, GB’s Legendary Boulderer

4/28/25

39: Shauna Coxsey, GB’s Legendary Boulderer

So you all probably know who she is, but just in case you don’t, Shauna is a British climber, 2-time bouldering world cup season winner, Olympian, mom, and nowadays she’s still ticking off hard climbs outdoors. In this episode, we’ll learn about how not excited she was to compete in the Olympics, why she has an issue with the word “retirement,” and of course, the difficulty of managing climbing during and after pregnancy both socially and physically.

Cover art for 38: Chaz Misuraca, Climbing Blind

4/7/25

38: Chaz Misuraca, Climbing Blind

Chaz is a blind paraclimber from team Canada and is in the B3 category, meaning he has about 10% of his sight left. What’s crazy is that he didn’t start climbing until after he lost his vision! In this episode, we’ll learn about his rocky journey losing his vision at 32 years old and struggling with alcoholism, how to lead belay blind, and hear some surprising stories about run-ins with famous climbers that he doesn’t know because he can’t “watch” climbing content.

Cover art for 37: Tijl Smitz, IFSC Presidential Candidate

3/24/25

37: Tijl Smitz, IFSC Presidential Candidate

Tijl is currently the IFSC Europe president but he is now running for the president of IFSC with elections taking place in April. In this episode, we’ll learn about how IFSC politics works, hear about the changes he wants to make within the IFSC, and get his take on some hot topic issues like national federation quotas, RED-S testing, and the NEOM games.

Cover art for 36: Gregor Vezonik, Retired Slovenian Climber

3/10/25

36: Gregor Vezonik, Retired Slovenian Climber

Gregor was a boulder & lead climber from team Slovenia but he recently retired a few months ago from competitions. In this episode, we’ll get insight into the powerful Slovenian team, how he made the decision to retire and all the planning around it, what it’s like climbing with Janja, and we get to hear him geek out about holds and hold shaping.

Cover art for 35: Anna Apel, Team Germany’s Young Gun

2/17/25

35: Anna Apel, Team Germany’s Young Gun

Anna is a boulder & lead climber from team Germany and one of the younger athletes I’ve interviewed so far as she still competed in youth world champs last year. In this episode, we’ll talk about the differences between the youth and senior circuit, the pressure of expectations after FLASHING all qualis boulders in Innsbruck, and we get some insight into team Germany.

Cover art for 34: Rodrigo Hanada, Team Brazil One to Watch

2/3/25

34: Rodrigo Hanada, Team Brazil One to Watch

Rodrigo is a boulder & lead climber from team Brazil. He actually started climbing fairly recently in 2018, but since then has been a 2x south american cup winner and is working his way up the ranks on the world cup circuit! In this episode, we talk about what makes training and climbing in Brazil difficult, how he feels like a “weaker” climber due to starting out as a chubbier kid, and mindset tips he uses while competing.

Cover art for 33: Niki & Jake, Modern Routesetting Specialists

1/20/25

33: Niki & Jake, Modern Routesetting Specialists

Niklas Wiechmann and Jake Mason are routesetters from "Another Setting Podcast" but you may already be familiar with them because Niki was my FIRST ever podcast guest and you are probably familiar with Jake from the Bouldering Bobats. In this episode, we absolutely TRASH US gym hold selection and setting, they give their opinions on worldwide setting styles, comp formats, and moves to LEAVE BEHIND in 2024, and we discuss freelance vs world cup routesetter pay.

Cover art for 32: Andy McVittie, Climbing PT

1/6/25

32: Andy McVittie, Climbing PT

Andy is a climbing PT from Process Physiotherapy. He has been climbing for over 30 years, has coached in the past, and over time has noticed climbing injuries change as the style of climbing has evolved in the competition scene. In this episode, we'll debunk some training and PT myths, talk about the differences between male and female climbers and the types of injuries they face, and we’ll hear about why he thinks fingers are strong enough.

Cover art for 31: Oceana Mackenzie, 2x Olympian

12/9/24

31: Oceana Mackenzie, 2x Olympian

"She goes by Oce" is a boulder and lead climber from Australia! She's had an amazing 2024 season with her first world cup boulder medal in Prague, and also recently competed in her 2nd Olympics. In this episode, we'll learn about how she battled THREE health issues while competing in the Paris olympics, how Paris compared to Tokyo, her training with team Switzerland and making lead climbing gains, and her (thankfully far in the future) plans for retirement.