51: Declan Osgood & Zoe Yi, Fukuoka team climbers

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Like five rounds in three days. Oh, gosh. Yeah.

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Do you feel, like, not as strong as other climbers?

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For sure. Yeah. I feel pretty weak all the time.

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We can't do one arm. Okay. I, like, brag about

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how weak I am. Yeah, I take a lot of pride in

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that. There was a comment on it that said that

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Japan brought the Avengers. Yeah. And then the

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U .S. brought the Benchwarmers Benchwarmers.

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Relationship advice. Yeah, let's get your guys'

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relationship advice. Welcome to another episode

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of the That's Not Real Climbing podcast. I'm

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your host, Jinni, and I'm excited to introduce

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my guests for today, Declan Osgood and Zoe Yi.

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Declan and Zoe just competed at the Fukuoka Exhibition

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Team Event for Team USA, where they climbed in

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all five boulder and lead rounds. In this episode,

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we'll learn about their unorthodox climbing training

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program here in San Diego, how team selection

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and strategy worked at Fukuoka, and whether there

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was added pressure climbing with a team and coach

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present. This is my first time doing an in -person

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recording with two guests. So sorry for the strange

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audio mixing in certain parts, but I hope you

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can enjoy this interview with Declan and Zoe.

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for helping to sponsor the podcast. Now, back

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to the show. Okay, how are you guys doing? How

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did you brave the rain? Good. I almost died driving

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here. Yeah. Me too. It was pretty scary. Sorry

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for scheduling it on this day. It's okay. But

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it might be a good thing because there's like

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nothing else to do anyway. Yeah. Yeah. There

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were, like, a lot of people who didn't have their

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lights on while driving, and I hated that. I

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was just following one car the entire time because

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I couldn't see the, like... Yeah, in front. Yeah.

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Please tell me you guys have your lights on while

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driving. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Good. Okay, cool.

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Well, then, let's get right into it. So, how

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did you guys both get into climbing and competing,

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first of all? You can go first. I went to a summer

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camp. When I was eight at the wall climbing gym,

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and then they told me to join the team. So I

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joined the team and started competing after that.

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They, like, knew right off the bat that you were

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something special or what? I don't know. Okay.

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Prodigy. Yeah. I was pretty similar, but it was

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a birthday party. It was actually my brother's

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birthday party. And then after that, my dad got

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into climbing. Oh. And then I just kind of went

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with him to the climbing gym. I joined, like,

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the local team, but there was only, like, one

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practice a week, so we didn't train very much.

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And then I didn't start competing until I moved

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to San Diego. Okay, that makes sense. Where I

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joined, like, Mesa. Oh. Oh, I didn't know that

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you were part of it. Yeah, yeah. I joined Mesa

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on, like, the competitive team and then started

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competing. And does your dad still climb? Yeah,

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yeah. Is he good? He's gotten better throughout

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the years. Okay. Yeah. So that's a no then? There

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was a time where he was better than me, but that

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didn't last very long. Okay. How hard would you

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say he climbs? At Mission Valley, the grades

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are pretty hard, so maybe V5. Okay. That's pretty

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good. Yeah. Mission Valley V5s are pretty hard.

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Yeah. Oh, for real. I get that. Yeah. Does anyone

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in your family climb? Uh, no, my dad climbs like

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once a year, but yeah, I was, I was on the wall

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climbing team for a couple of years and then

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I joined Mesa rim. So we were on the same team

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for a bit and then we both joined class five.

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Yeah. It all comes back to the wall. Uh, 2021.

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Yeah. It all comes back to the wall. Okay. Yeah.

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So do you both still like train with class five

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at all or? Cause you guys aren't like on the

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youth team anymore. No, it's not really a youth

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team. Oh. It's more like an adult. It's not really

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a team. It's a community, really. Yeah, okay.

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Tell me more about class five, because, like,

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I always thought it was just a youth team, but

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it's just a team of people. But it used to be

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a youth team. Okay. But now that we're non -youth,

00:05:01.050 --> 00:05:03.569
it's no longer a youth team. Like, a lot of people

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aged out of youth and, like, moved away for college

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and stuff. Yeah. Now it's Al, our coach, and

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then the two of us, and then two more, Phoebe

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and Alina, who are kind of on the team. Oh, okay.

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You guys never recruited, like, newer people?

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No, but do you know SDCA? SDCA? No. It's like

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a new youth team that kind of came out of Class

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5. Oh, I haven't heard of it. It's not Class

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5, but it's similar ideas. Yeah. It's David and

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Marco. Okay. But they're kind of the youth team

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at the wall. Okay. And then we're kind of, like,

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the adult team, kind of. Interesting. Like, we

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train at the same time. Yeah. We're not running

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together. Okay. So they're not in it for, like,

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I guess technically youth teams are, like, a

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business, really. So it's more just about the

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love of the game. Class 5 is a business. Okay.

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Well, I also know, like, who is it? I always

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see, like, Ross and... Oh, my God, what's her

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name? Kylie, wearing, like, Class 5 shirts. Yeah,

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they're also Class 5. Okay, but they, like, graduated

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and have gone away. Yeah, they don't really practice

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with us. Interesting. Well, that's a bit unconventional,

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and you guys also mentioned that your training

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is a bit unconventional. So, like, first of all,

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what is, like, a typical training routine? Because

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I think a lot of people aren't involved in, like,

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youth teams or, like, structured climbing programs.

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And then, yeah, how is your training different

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from it? Well, I'd say we don't really have as

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much structure, I think, as other youth teams.

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Like, our coach doesn't really come up with plans

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for the day. It's more just, like, what we want

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to work on and how he can help us with that.

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Like, during those couple hours at practices.

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Yeah, I mean, we just climb. Yeah, we don't really

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hangboard or work out that much. I haven't worked

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out in like two months. Dang. We're not climbing

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for like strength gain. It's more like technique

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and like body awareness and stuff like that.

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Yeah. But I guess even when it comes to technique

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and body awareness, there's not like structured

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programs for it. You just do whatever. Yeah.

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Well, I think the philosophy is to create an

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environment where you're kind of forced to like

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learn to climb. the right way. So like our spray

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wall, we spend a lot of time spray walling. So

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it's kind of set in a way where you can't just

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like pull up on the holds and be strong. You

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have to like use your feet and connect your entire

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body to really be able to do any moves. And how

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do you feel like that compares to a typical training

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program? Like what you guys were doing at like

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Mesa? Mesa was a lot of strength training, like

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workouts and stuff, which I think it was really

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beneficial when we were youth climbers, but maybe

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now so it's not as important. Really? Okay. I

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feel like technique is more important now. Yeah.

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I think the philosophy that Al has is if you're

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not as strong, you have to compensate by using

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technique. Yeah. So if you're stronger, it's

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easy to kind of cut corners, and so it kind of

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forces us to learn good movement, and we can

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always get strong later. Do you feel like not

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as strong as other climbers? For sure. Yeah.

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I feel pretty weak all the time. We can't do

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one arm. True. And, like, how do you feel about

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that? You feel, like, fine about it? No, I feel

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great about it. Okay. I, like, brag about how

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weak I am. Yeah, I take a lot of pride in that.

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Huh, okay. Yeah, it's kind of funny, you know.

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But, like, do you think one day you guys will

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do more strength training? Because, like, I guess

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when I talked to Ross, it was, like, you need

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to, like, get to a certain, like, you get to

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a certain strength, and then your, like, technique.

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catches up to the strength and then you like

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can't really progress further until you get stronger

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and then you like do strength training and then

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you do technique i think through our like technique

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training we'll just get stronger naturally and

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so i think it's more like the technique will

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rise and then our strength will just catch up

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i think it's kind of the opposite i feel like

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it's also like i think climbing is the best way

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to get stronger at climbing like um it's like

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you can do a bunch of traditional like, weightlifting,

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but how well that actually transfers to climbing

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is a bit, like, I'm not too sure. No, I get that.

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That's good to hear that you don't need to, like,

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do a bunch of strength training in order to be

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good at climbing. That sounds kind of like what

00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:46.870
they do in Japan or, like, what I've heard, at

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least. Do you know if that's, like, actually

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what they do there or just what they say they

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do, but actually behind the scenes? I mean, I

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don't actually know what they do. Okay. I mean,

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you guys were just there. When I was there, I

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was just doing the same thing that we do here.

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I was just climbing on boulders. Yeah. But the

00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:07.159
boulders there are set in a way where, as Zoe

00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.740
was saying, you have to climb it very well. It's

00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:14.019
like times 100. Yeah. So it's better for technique,

00:10:14.200 --> 00:10:17.480
climbing there, for sure. Okay. It's definitely

00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:19.960
similar. Yeah. And how did you guys like Japan?

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It was so cool. First time. I mostly miss the

00:10:26.100 --> 00:10:28.340
convenience stores, honestly. Oh, right, the

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7 -Elevens. Yeah, they have lots of good food

00:10:31.340 --> 00:10:35.039
options, and you can't really get anything to

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eat at gas stations here. Yeah. The triangles

00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:42.220
are really nice. The what? The triangles. The

00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:47.519
rice triangles? Oh, yeah. With, like, fish inside.

00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:51.289
Yeah, there's a name for them, I think. I call

00:10:51.289 --> 00:10:54.269
them triangles. We all call them triangles. Yeah,

00:10:54.269 --> 00:10:56.509
gotcha. Yeah, I've never been to Japan, but it

00:10:56.509 --> 00:10:58.649
seems nice. What about the climbing gyms? Like,

00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:03.129
did you guys go to the big ones? Yeah. E -Pump,

00:11:03.210 --> 00:11:07.529
Ogikubo. Right, yeah. Next Gen. Oh, yeah, the

00:11:07.529 --> 00:11:10.970
new one. I went to the Underground. I don't think

00:11:10.970 --> 00:11:13.309
you went to it. It was probably my favorite gym.

00:11:13.750 --> 00:11:17.690
It was, like, this really small box. Like, underneath

00:11:17.690 --> 00:11:20.860
is the Parma Complex, and it was, like, Some

00:11:20.860 --> 00:11:23.460
of the best setting I've climbed on. It was really

00:11:23.460 --> 00:11:26.279
fun. What makes, like, good setting for you?

00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:32.019
Just, like, the way I thought about it was when

00:11:32.019 --> 00:11:36.320
I'm in, like, a position, naturally there's kind

00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:38.200
of a way that you want to leave that position.

00:11:38.659 --> 00:11:40.879
And I felt like the climbs really rewarded that

00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:45.679
just, like, intuition. I could just climb, and

00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:48.559
it didn't matter. How I climbed it, I just climbed

00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:50.019
it naturally, and it felt, like, really fun.

00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:53.720
Okay, so then getting into, I guess, how Japan

00:11:53.720 --> 00:11:56.480
went in terms of the actual event that you guys

00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:01.620
were a part of. Is it pronounced Fukuoka? I think

00:12:01.620 --> 00:12:06.399
so. Okay. So, yeah, the team event, I think most

00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:08.240
people are probably wondering how the USA team

00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:11.799
was selected. Because, like, Japan and Korea

00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:16.909
brought, like... their biggest climbers, the

00:12:16.909 --> 00:12:19.110
ones who win all the medals at the World Cups.

00:12:19.190 --> 00:12:22.750
So, yeah, how did you guys get selected? It was

00:12:22.750 --> 00:12:27.730
kind of just open. We have a national ranking.

00:12:28.809 --> 00:12:31.110
That's how they select the people who go to World

00:12:31.110 --> 00:12:35.889
Cups. But I think, I mean, he's on the national

00:12:35.889 --> 00:12:39.850
team, but I'm only on the development team, so

00:12:39.850 --> 00:12:44.620
I'm lower down. Tired from the entire season

00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:47.379
and wanted to take a break, so they turned it

00:12:47.379 --> 00:12:51.620
down. So it came down to us. It's really weird,

00:12:51.659 --> 00:12:54.100
though, because even though I'm on the national

00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:56.700
team for lead, they're selecting based off of

00:12:56.700 --> 00:12:59.360
Boulder as well. Okay, so, like, it was your

00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.679
combined scores? Well, because I'm not on the

00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:03.679
Boulder development team at all. Oh, okay. So

00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:08.620
it was your combined score and any, like, points

00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:10.779
that you got in World Cups. So if you had made,

00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:13.330
like, a semifinal at a World Cup, you had more

00:13:13.330 --> 00:13:16.929
points over someone who was, like, on the team,

00:13:16.970 --> 00:13:19.929
I think. Okay. I don't really know. But, yeah,

00:13:19.990 --> 00:13:21.549
there was some sort of point system that they

00:13:21.549 --> 00:13:24.269
had in place. Yeah. And so everyone else just

00:13:24.269 --> 00:13:25.990
kind of passed up. Yeah. There were a couple

00:13:25.990 --> 00:13:28.190
points. Xander Waller was right in front of me,

00:13:28.230 --> 00:13:29.730
and then he declined, and then it passed down

00:13:29.730 --> 00:13:32.809
to me. I think Colin and Jesse declined as well.

00:13:33.049 --> 00:13:34.629
Yeah. I was, like, fourth down or something.

00:13:34.970 --> 00:13:37.669
Okay. Yeah. Were you guys excited to get the

00:13:37.669 --> 00:13:39.690
opportunity, or was it like, eh, I'm not sure?

00:13:39.809 --> 00:13:43.169
No, I was really psyched. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's

00:13:43.169 --> 00:13:44.970
a cool opportunity. I mean, I guess it is far,

00:13:45.129 --> 00:13:48.809
though, for us. Yeah. But, like, it's Japan.

00:13:48.929 --> 00:13:51.169
Like, how can you not go? Yeah, I mean, yeah.

00:13:51.330 --> 00:13:54.629
I would have gone, too. Did you have any, like,

00:13:54.629 --> 00:13:57.210
expectations for the event going into this, especially

00:13:57.210 --> 00:13:58.950
hearing that you guys were, like, going to compete

00:13:58.950 --> 00:14:02.809
against Serato? We found out we were going, like,

00:14:02.809 --> 00:14:06.710
two weeks before. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. I was

00:14:06.710 --> 00:14:10.029
in Japan after World Champs. And then I flew

00:14:10.029 --> 00:14:11.950
back to the US and then like the day after I

00:14:11.950 --> 00:14:14.610
flew back, I got the email that I was going to

00:14:14.610 --> 00:14:18.370
Fukuoka. That sucks. Yeah. But we had no clue

00:14:18.370 --> 00:14:20.129
what to expect. We like found out the format

00:14:20.129 --> 00:14:23.409
the day before the comp. Oh, wow. Yeah. The logistics

00:14:23.409 --> 00:14:25.990
of what was happening. It was like, yeah, we

00:14:25.990 --> 00:14:28.009
had no clue what was going on. There was no way

00:14:28.009 --> 00:14:31.049
to prepare. Yeah. Okay. So then how did you feel

00:14:31.049 --> 00:14:33.309
the difficulty of the boulders compared to maybe

00:14:33.309 --> 00:14:36.590
like World Cup climbs or the other like biggest?

00:14:37.149 --> 00:14:38.590
Well, neither of us have actually climbed on

00:14:38.590 --> 00:14:40.289
a World Cup. I've never done a Boulder World

00:14:40.289 --> 00:14:43.809
Cup. Biggest comps that you guys have been a

00:14:43.809 --> 00:14:45.289
part of. What's the biggest comp you've been

00:14:45.289 --> 00:14:48.909
a part of? Yeah, Youth Worlds, bouldering. I

00:14:48.909 --> 00:14:50.570
thought you've been to Youth Worlds, too. I've

00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:52.269
never been to Youth Worlds for bouldering. I've

00:14:52.269 --> 00:14:55.070
never bouldered internationally. I think it was

00:14:55.070 --> 00:14:57.929
similar styles, but maybe turned down quite a

00:14:57.929 --> 00:15:00.350
bit. I thought they were quite generous. I was

00:15:00.350 --> 00:15:05.210
able to get several tops. That doesn't say that

00:15:05.210 --> 00:15:07.610
it was easy. I think it was just turned down

00:15:07.610 --> 00:15:09.769
a little bit. Okay. Especially in the qualies.

00:15:10.049 --> 00:15:12.889
Most of the, up for the bend, I think a climb

00:15:12.889 --> 00:15:16.950
got, every man topped one climb in the elimination

00:15:16.950 --> 00:15:18.889
round. And then the other climb, it was like

00:15:18.889 --> 00:15:22.690
only a few people didn't top it. So you wouldn't

00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:25.070
really see that in a World Cup. Okay, that's

00:15:25.070 --> 00:15:29.230
true. Well, we, so as viewers, we didn't get

00:15:29.230 --> 00:15:32.129
to see like qualies. I guess the earliest we

00:15:32.129 --> 00:15:35.009
saw was the Boulder elimination round. So I guess,

00:15:35.009 --> 00:15:36.870
like, how did the Boulder elimination round compare

00:15:36.870 --> 00:15:41.090
to, like, what you guys have done before? Easier,

00:15:41.129 --> 00:15:43.570
for sure. Easier. Yeah. Well, that's what I was

00:15:43.570 --> 00:15:45.370
talking about, the elimination round. Oh, okay,

00:15:45.429 --> 00:15:46.769
gotcha. Yeah, that's the one that had a lot of

00:15:46.769 --> 00:15:49.049
tops. Actually, I think Boulder Qualies was quite

00:15:49.049 --> 00:15:51.490
a bit harder. Oh. Because it was all the teams.

00:15:51.529 --> 00:15:56.289
It was, like, all six of them. Yeah. Versus the

00:15:56.289 --> 00:15:58.309
elimination round was only four. True, yeah.

00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:02.740
So we didn't top a single, at least for the guys,

00:16:02.820 --> 00:16:05.200
we didn't top a single one in the all -over round.

00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:09.539
That round was actually pretty hard. Pretty destroyed

00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:13.779
in that round. And then what about finals for

00:16:13.779 --> 00:16:17.139
both? I thought the setting was quite generous

00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:21.299
throughout the entire round, the entire comp.

00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:26.779
I mean, I got a flash in Boulder finals. I wasn't

00:16:26.779 --> 00:16:28.480
expecting to get anywhere on the Boulders, honestly.

00:16:29.900 --> 00:16:32.700
I got pretty high on the lead route too. I think

00:16:32.700 --> 00:16:35.080
it was more like they were just trying to, like

00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:37.299
they didn't really care if setting was a little

00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:39.200
easy because it's more about like showcasing

00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:42.139
the team format and all that. For the lead routes,

00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.639
you could tell that there was a change, especially

00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:48.740
for the guys. The World Cup routes are so powerful

00:16:48.740 --> 00:16:52.740
that you can like easily fall in like the first

00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:55.360
crux. But these routes, it was like really chill.

00:16:55.929 --> 00:16:57.350
Up until the headwall where it, like, turned

00:16:57.350 --> 00:16:59.830
on a bunch. Oh, okay. So I think that's where

00:16:59.830 --> 00:17:01.809
they wanted to get a little bit of change in

00:17:01.809 --> 00:17:03.629
the results. Everyone was kind of at the same

00:17:03.629 --> 00:17:05.349
spot, and then it would just get, like, really,

00:17:05.430 --> 00:17:08.029
really hard. Okay. Yeah. So, like, separation

00:17:08.029 --> 00:17:11.049
between, like, Serrano and Doyon, probably. Yeah,

00:17:11.049 --> 00:17:13.029
that was the difference between where I fell

00:17:13.029 --> 00:17:14.869
and then where, like, Doyon got to. I see. It

00:17:14.869 --> 00:17:17.710
was in that, like, really hard headwall section.

00:17:18.009 --> 00:17:21.130
Yeah. And then how was it, like, how helpful

00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:23.890
was it to actually see other people's beta? I

00:17:23.890 --> 00:17:25.509
thought it was really helpful. Helpful for me.

00:17:25.769 --> 00:17:29.250
I went basically last in qualies and finals.

00:17:29.829 --> 00:17:32.470
I feel like I tend to do better during flash

00:17:32.470 --> 00:17:34.710
format because I think once I know the beta,

00:17:34.829 --> 00:17:38.230
I'm pretty good at just executing. I feel like

00:17:38.230 --> 00:17:40.390
I don't actually like to watch people climb.

00:17:41.269 --> 00:17:44.269
Maybe if I just see one person, just to get in

00:17:44.269 --> 00:17:48.029
my head that it's possible, then I can just climb

00:17:48.029 --> 00:17:50.529
based off of what I already was thinking in my

00:17:50.529 --> 00:17:53.559
head and intuition. Because if you watch so many

00:17:53.559 --> 00:17:55.099
people, you just get really nervous. Because

00:17:55.099 --> 00:17:56.859
you're like, oh, you're watching every single,

00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:59.220
like, foot placement and, like, worrying about

00:17:59.220 --> 00:18:02.119
not slipping. Yeah. Which, if you haven't watched

00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:04.000
anyone, then you just climb based off of your

00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.720
own ability. And it, like, feels more fun that

00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:10.079
way, I think. No, I get that. I won't, well,

00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:12.220
so, like, I personally haven't competed in that,

00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:15.900
like, what's it called, on -site or... Yeah,

00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.960
flash format. Yeah, so I've never done on -site

00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:22.160
and... I guess I always thought, like, oh, I

00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:25.599
would prefer to go with my own beta. Yeah. And

00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.019
then when I think back to any competitions that

00:18:28.019 --> 00:18:31.339
I have done, I've only ever sent harder things

00:18:31.339 --> 00:18:33.519
by copying exactly what other people are doing.

00:18:34.359 --> 00:18:37.680
So, yeah, I don't know if I'm actually good at

00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:40.759
on -site format. What about having a coach there?

00:18:40.839 --> 00:18:43.769
Like, how helpful is that? I mean, the coach

00:18:43.769 --> 00:18:46.869
that you sent was Al, our coach. He's been coaching

00:18:46.869 --> 00:18:49.630
me since I started climbing. Oh, wow. Like

00:18:49.630 --> 00:18:52.569
years. Yeah, since I was 8. Dang. So that was

00:18:52.569 --> 00:18:56.450
really cool to go with him. Because, I mean,

00:18:56.470 --> 00:18:59.890
coaches don't usually get to, like, influence

00:18:59.890 --> 00:19:02.430
anything in a competition, really. So it was

00:19:02.430 --> 00:19:04.170
cool to have him out on the floor and, like,

00:19:04.210 --> 00:19:08.650
ask for a beta if needed. I didn't really notice

00:19:08.650 --> 00:19:11.700
it too much. Okay. I think for bouldering. I'm

00:19:11.700 --> 00:19:14.700
pretty much in my own zone. Oh, okay. I think

00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:17.920
it was helpful if you're on, like, a wrong track,

00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:20.619
he can kind of tell you where to go. Yeah. If

00:19:20.619 --> 00:19:22.619
you're doing something, like, really dumb. Yeah.

00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:26.079
But besides that, like, he's mostly giving, like,

00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:28.180
little tips. Yeah. Just to lead you in the right

00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:31.859
direction. Hmm. But I think it's good to let

00:19:31.859 --> 00:19:35.700
the climber really do it on its own, just because

00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:37.660
you can get really distracted, especially if

00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:39.240
it's, like, five minutes. True. I don't want

00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:41.279
to stay locked in. Yeah. And not be worrying

00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.700
about, like, certain beta or anything? Okay.

00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:46.019
Yeah. I think it's, I think we're both pretty

00:19:46.019 --> 00:19:49.220
independent climbers, but it's just helpful,

00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:53.519
like, if, like, I had a coordination move for

00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:55.319
one of my boulders that I was struggling to stick.

00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:56.799
It was, like, the first move, so it was helpful

00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:59.740
to get an outside perspective of what I looked

00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:02.579
like and just, like, little pointers like that.

00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:04.700
So there wasn't that much, like, communication

00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:06.440
back and forth during the run? Not too much,

00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:08.859
especially because he's balancing two different.

00:20:09.210 --> 00:20:12.529
teams yeah it's like on like opposite ends so

00:20:12.529 --> 00:20:14.170
it's kind of hard for them to be in two places

00:20:14.170 --> 00:20:18.289
at once yeah you didn't get to like watch back

00:20:18.289 --> 00:20:21.109
what you were doing in the moment right no i

00:20:21.109 --> 00:20:23.630
think a few teams did i saw the korean team yeah

00:20:23.630 --> 00:20:26.650
video and then when they come down they would

00:20:26.650 --> 00:20:28.789
like watch the video yeah i think that's definitely

00:20:28.789 --> 00:20:30.910
a strat because that's what we do like in training

00:20:30.910 --> 00:20:33.589
we'll have a video of our spray wall and so we

00:20:33.589 --> 00:20:37.319
can watch it back but in in the moment It's hard

00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:40.180
for one coach to do that because then he has

00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:42.140
to be in two places at once and filming two things

00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:44.319
at once. So I think it wasn't possible with what

00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:46.039
we had, but I think it's definitely a strategy

00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:48.339
we could have used. Did they have like two coaches

00:20:48.339 --> 00:20:51.940
there? The Korean, probably. Oh, okay. Probably

00:20:51.940 --> 00:20:53.880
more than two. Yeah. Oh my gosh, more than two.

00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:56.640
I think so. Okay. A lot of the teams have a few

00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:59.099
coaches. Okay. I mean, I guess it's a lot closer

00:20:59.099 --> 00:21:02.099
for them. Yeah. Did you feel more like pressure

00:21:02.099 --> 00:21:04.079
with your coach being right there, like able

00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:07.279
to talk to you at the same time? I didn't know.

00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:11.099
Maybe that's a me thing. I just feel so stressed

00:21:11.099 --> 00:21:13.579
if there's someone who kind of cares about my

00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:16.640
climbing watching me. I mean, we've climbed in

00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:19.740
front of him for years. He's seen us fail pretty

00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:23.859
miserably and do really well. I guess along those

00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:27.000
lines, when I think about climbing as a sport,

00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:30.910
it's like a very individual sport. How do you

00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:34.029
feel climbing in, like, a team format where there's,

00:21:34.029 --> 00:21:35.950
like, also the pressure of your other teammates

00:21:35.950 --> 00:21:38.829
counting on you? I thought it was cool because,

00:21:38.950 --> 00:21:42.309
like, if I mess up, you know, hopefully there

00:21:42.309 --> 00:21:45.009
will be people that have my back and maybe can

00:21:45.009 --> 00:21:48.289
pull the team score up a little bit. But I just

00:21:48.289 --> 00:21:51.470
feel like it kind of forced us to, like, actually

00:21:51.470 --> 00:21:54.369
talk and be friends and, like, collaborate because,

00:21:54.509 --> 00:21:57.250
like, I didn't really know Vale and Paloma at

00:21:57.250 --> 00:21:58.910
all. Like, I hadn't really talked to them before.

00:21:59.579 --> 00:22:02.599
They were our other two teammates. And I feel

00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:04.980
like normally at World Cups, I've only been to

00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:09.700
a couple, but I think since the U .S. is just

00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:13.539
so big geographically, it's hard to really feel

00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:16.619
like a team because you just don't know a lot

00:22:16.619 --> 00:22:20.039
of your teammates. I also don't think we did

00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:23.839
a very good job of watching every round. I think

00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:25.759
a lot of people just kind of go off and do their

00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:29.049
own thing. Oh, sure. I think it was pretty similar

00:22:29.049 --> 00:22:32.589
to just how I would, like, train normally, where

00:22:32.589 --> 00:22:34.009
you're just, like, climbing another person, you're

00:22:34.009 --> 00:22:36.630
just trading off. Like, you're talking about

00:22:36.630 --> 00:22:40.150
it, and you're climbing. So it felt normal for

00:22:40.150 --> 00:22:43.250
me. Yeah. Like, if I'm climbing with my friends,

00:22:43.289 --> 00:22:46.269
we'll do the same thing. We'll just, like, try

00:22:46.269 --> 00:22:48.230
it, try the same climb, and then talk about it,

00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:50.809
and then keep trying it. Yeah. It didn't feel

00:22:50.809 --> 00:22:52.859
that different. But with, like, the point system,

00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:55.420
you never felt like, oh, like, I let my team

00:22:55.420 --> 00:22:57.740
down. Like, I didn't get these points. Or, like,

00:22:57.740 --> 00:22:59.700
your teammate didn't get it. Maybe a little bit.

00:22:59.700 --> 00:23:01.819
You should have tried harder. Definitely a little

00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:04.319
bit. Yeah. But you can also make up points in

00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:07.359
so many different ways. Like, if you, like, on

00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.799
a sport climb, if you miss, like, one hold or

00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:12.099
something, then, like, the teammate is going

00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:14.779
to get, like, three other points per one hold.

00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:18.839
Or, like, because it's exponential, the points,

00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:21.900
if you miss one hold. That's, like, three points.

00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:26.859
But if they get one hold and it's higher, that's,

00:23:26.859 --> 00:23:30.619
like, even more many points. It's a weird scoring.

00:23:31.339 --> 00:23:35.180
Oh. Yeah. Wait, was it dependent on how far you

00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:37.980
got? Yeah. Well, no, it's how high you get up,

00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:40.140
the more points you get. Oh, okay, yeah. Kind

00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:41.940
of like how it was in the Olympics. In the Olympics.

00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:45.960
Okay, gotcha. Yeah. So if you, like, mess up

00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:49.799
early. There's room to make that up. Sure, yeah.

00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.920
I didn't feel as much pressure. Okay. Did you

00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:55.900
feel like there was anything that changed in

00:23:55.900 --> 00:23:58.400
terms of your mindset or strategy when it came

00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:00.839
to competing in a team format? I think for lead,

00:24:00.940 --> 00:24:02.759
it was the same. Because when you're climbing,

00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:05.039
you're still by yourself. For boulder, it was

00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:07.200
completely different. I think the qualifier round,

00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:11.359
we did not do a very good job climbing as a team.

00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:14.000
And then as the rounds progressed, I think we

00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:17.150
had a pretty good format for... Maybe the elimination

00:24:17.150 --> 00:24:20.390
round was really good. And then the final round

00:24:20.390 --> 00:24:22.970
was just really hard. I think we had a good kind

00:24:22.970 --> 00:24:26.329
of team system going. Yeah, I think it just took

00:24:26.329 --> 00:24:28.410
a little bit of time to warm up to our teammates,

00:24:28.670 --> 00:24:30.690
like if we've never climbed with them before,

00:24:30.809 --> 00:24:34.329
just getting used to their style. Yeah, was there

00:24:34.329 --> 00:24:37.009
any, like, strategy involved in terms of, like,

00:24:37.089 --> 00:24:40.170
oh, this person should go first? Or, like, what

00:24:40.170 --> 00:24:42.390
were the negotiations that happened during the

00:24:42.390 --> 00:24:47.799
comp? It wasn't very dramatic. It was sort of

00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:50.980
just like, hey, I'll brush the feet and you brush

00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:53.619
the hands and you can go first. It was kind of

00:24:53.619 --> 00:24:57.400
just decided in the moment. With Vale, we were

00:24:57.400 --> 00:24:59.259
actually thinking pretty strategically, I think.

00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:03.559
Because he's been training bouldering a lot more

00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.480
and I'm training more lead. There were different

00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:11.660
styles. So for the slab, I would say I'm better

00:25:11.660 --> 00:25:14.329
at slab than Vale. And so I would try it first

00:25:14.329 --> 00:25:17.269
just so I had more time to kind of think about

00:25:17.269 --> 00:25:18.670
the climate and I would have a better shot at

00:25:18.670 --> 00:25:21.369
doing it. And then for the more like powerful

00:25:21.369 --> 00:25:24.589
boulders, he had a really good idea of how he

00:25:24.589 --> 00:25:25.829
wanted to do it. And I was kind of like, well,

00:25:25.910 --> 00:25:28.470
I don't know what I'm going to do. Okay, you

00:25:28.470 --> 00:25:30.650
can go first so I can watch you. You know exactly

00:25:30.650 --> 00:25:31.849
what you're going to do. You're going to flash

00:25:31.849 --> 00:25:33.890
it. And then I have kind of more information

00:25:33.890 --> 00:25:36.089
to go off of and decide what I'm going to do.

00:25:36.869 --> 00:25:40.049
Yeah, which I think was great. We like complemented

00:25:40.049 --> 00:25:42.000
each other really well. Yeah. Like, our strength.

00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:44.259
He's, like, a really tall boulder. I'm, like,

00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:46.500
a shorter kind of slab climber. So I think it

00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:49.059
worked out really well. Yeah. And then Paloma's

00:25:49.059 --> 00:25:50.819
also, like, pretty tall, right? Yeah, Paloma's

00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:52.859
pretty tall. I think we had a good team going.

00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.759
I think it was great that we had, like, two taller

00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:57.440
and two shorter climbers. Oh, true. Yeah, like,

00:25:57.559 --> 00:26:00.079
allows you to fit in different boxes. Yeah. Yeah.

00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:03.299
What about, like, the lead? Was there any, like,

00:26:03.299 --> 00:26:07.500
strategy with, like, who goes out first? I think

00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:09.950
less who goes out first, but more, like, Who

00:26:09.950 --> 00:26:13.029
goes on which route? Oh, yeah. Remind us how

00:26:13.029 --> 00:26:16.910
that went. There were two routes, and each route

00:26:16.910 --> 00:26:20.390
needed a female and a male climber. So we would,

00:26:20.390 --> 00:26:22.529
like, get to the venue, look at the routes, kind

00:26:22.529 --> 00:26:27.089
of see, like, it was sort of about, like, which

00:26:27.089 --> 00:26:32.369
style suited you more, but also, like, the point

00:26:32.369 --> 00:26:35.349
scale, right? So it's kind of like, oh, if there's

00:26:35.349 --> 00:26:38.410
a stop or move, like... Some of them might fall

00:26:38.410 --> 00:26:43.009
here, but I think there's usually a more bouldery

00:26:43.009 --> 00:26:45.589
route and a more resistance -based route. So

00:26:45.589 --> 00:26:49.069
I feel like the intuition would be to put us

00:26:49.069 --> 00:26:51.109
on the resistance route and the boulders on the

00:26:51.109 --> 00:26:53.490
bouldery route. But then you could say, well,

00:26:53.549 --> 00:26:56.670
maybe if we do the jump in the middle, we have

00:26:56.670 --> 00:26:59.470
potential to go a lot higher since our endurance

00:26:59.470 --> 00:27:02.849
is a little better. And so, yeah, what was the

00:27:02.849 --> 00:27:06.940
strategy you guys went with there? I mean, I

00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:10.339
just let Vale pick. Okay. Because he's more a

00:27:10.339 --> 00:27:12.259
boulder. And most of the times he was on the

00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:15.180
bouldery route, like the jumps or the canvases

00:27:15.180 --> 00:27:17.559
or whatever. And then I was put on the endurance

00:27:17.559 --> 00:27:21.099
route. How did the lead routes feel? Was it like

00:27:21.099 --> 00:27:24.700
what you expected? Yeah. I mean, the beginning

00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:27.339
half was pretty chill. Right. And then it would

00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:30.500
just get harder as you went up. I think it was

00:27:30.500 --> 00:27:33.420
pretty fun. It was a lot less pressure because

00:27:33.420 --> 00:27:36.660
you can kind of ease into the route fully thrown

00:27:36.660 --> 00:27:38.339
into this, like, really cruxy boulder problem

00:27:38.339 --> 00:27:42.500
at the start, which was a lot more fun than just,

00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:45.720
like, a World Cup where as soon as you're on

00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:47.160
the wall, you're, like, fighting for your life.

00:27:47.420 --> 00:27:50.539
Okay. It honestly reminded me a lot more of American

00:27:50.539 --> 00:27:54.059
setting than, like, IFSC style, some of the routes

00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:57.319
I got on. I feel like most of the positions were

00:27:57.319 --> 00:28:00.440
pretty secure. Like, you could rest in a lot

00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:04.359
of places, whereas in, like, World Cups and stuff,

00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:06.819
they kind of... force you to keep going like

00:28:06.819 --> 00:28:10.799
you can't stay in one place too long um and then

00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:13.519
you guys had to do a lot more climbing than most

00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:18.519
other teams so how did the climbing and boulder

00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:22.150
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help out non -monetarily, liking, commenting,

00:28:54.259 --> 00:28:57.359
and sharing helps a great deal as well. Back

00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:00.500
to the show. Which one was the same day or the

00:29:00.500 --> 00:29:01.839
day before? They were kind of all the same day.

00:29:02.019 --> 00:29:05.099
Oh, okay. The first day was lead and boulder.

00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:08.259
Yeah. Qualifications. Yeah, qualifications. The

00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:11.140
second day was boulder and lead. And then the

00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:14.299
third day was just boulder finals. So there's

00:29:14.299 --> 00:29:16.400
a lot of rounds. Like five rounds in three days.

00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:21.119
Oh, gosh. Yeah. How did it affect you guys? I

00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:22.720
mean, it wasn't actually that bad because each

00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:25.619
round you're only doing like one route for the

00:29:25.619 --> 00:29:28.940
lead and two routes, max three routes for the

00:29:28.940 --> 00:29:31.119
boulder. Yeah. But it's just a lot of preparation

00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:33.319
because you have to warm up. You have to cool

00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:36.960
down and then fully warm up again. So, I mean,

00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:38.579
you're still getting tired, but it's not as much

00:29:38.579 --> 00:29:41.519
as like a full lead comp where you're doing two

00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:45.680
qualities and then one semi or like five boulders

00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:48.440
in a round. yeah i think it ended up being okay

00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:51.559
i think maybe a little low on skin but yeah yeah

00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:55.000
yeah i felt fine like energy wise i don't know

00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:58.259
about the others yeah because i mean half it's

00:29:58.259 --> 00:30:00.460
kind of like you're climbing half the amount

00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:04.599
compared to like a regular yeah okay i guess

00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:08.400
that's true yeah so you guys were fine compared

00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:12.200
to the other um teams yeah they had much more

00:30:12.200 --> 00:30:14.789
people yeah so They'd, like, swap people out

00:30:14.789 --> 00:30:17.329
every round. Yeah. So we didn't climb that much,

00:30:17.410 --> 00:30:18.829
but compared to the rest of them, we climbed

00:30:18.829 --> 00:30:21.829
a lot. True, yeah. Yeah, I guess, why wasn't

00:30:21.829 --> 00:30:25.250
there any, like, swaps? Or, like, is there, like,

00:30:25.250 --> 00:30:27.349
literally no one else who wanted to, like, come

00:30:27.349 --> 00:30:29.630
and do, like, swap outs? Or is it, like, a financial

00:30:29.630 --> 00:30:33.130
issue? That and, oh, just, like, financially,

00:30:33.150 --> 00:30:36.410
I think, like, if we sent more people, we'd all

00:30:36.410 --> 00:30:40.390
get less funding, so. Yeah. Yeah. I think people

00:30:40.390 --> 00:30:42.880
just didn't want to go. But it works out because

00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:45.099
then we get to do more climbing. It was really

00:30:45.099 --> 00:30:49.400
cool to do every round. And did you guys get

00:30:49.400 --> 00:30:52.619
funded to go? Your flights and hotels were paid

00:30:52.619 --> 00:30:57.819
for? We got a lump sum from IFSC. That's nice.

00:30:58.119 --> 00:31:00.980
It doesn't quite cover everything, but it covers

00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:03.940
a good chunk of it, I think. But then if more

00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:06.720
people came, it would have taken longer. Okay,

00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:10.660
that makes sense. And then for both of you, I

00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:13.039
think this is like your first time, well, you

00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:14.579
said it's your first time competing on the world

00:31:14.579 --> 00:31:18.400
stage? For bouldering. I've done a couple world

00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:21.740
cups, and I did world champs in Seoul. And then

00:31:21.740 --> 00:31:24.019
what about you? You've also done some. I did

00:31:24.019 --> 00:31:26.519
some world cups this season and last season.

00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:29.740
Okay, yeah. Yeah, just a handful. Yeah. So how

00:31:29.740 --> 00:31:31.720
did this event kind of compare to that in terms

00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:36.859
of like? viewership or like crowd or how it felt

00:31:36.859 --> 00:31:38.259
in general. Well, a whole other world because

00:31:38.259 --> 00:31:42.740
I've been to, I haven't made a semi. So I've

00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:46.400
never been like on the live streams. So it was,

00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:48.119
it was cool that like my family could watch.

00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:52.319
Oh yeah. And we did so many rounds so we could

00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:54.500
watch every single one. I think like the production

00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:59.640
quality was quite good. Like just regular. I

00:31:59.640 --> 00:32:01.680
mean, yeah, and I think especially, like, all

00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:04.160
the volunteers and audience, they were super

00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:06.480
psyched. Like, it was really cool. Like, they

00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:09.140
kept it up the entire round, even when everybody

00:32:09.140 --> 00:32:12.660
got to the top of everything sometimes. But,

00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:16.480
yeah, it felt like there really weren't that

00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:18.660
many of us. There were, like, four teams in finals.

00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:22.079
I've obviously never been in a World Cup final,

00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:25.700
but it felt like a World Cup final. But, like,

00:32:25.779 --> 00:32:29.509
zero pressure. Oh, really? Yeah. Pressure. Yeah.

00:32:30.190 --> 00:32:32.309
Just because you didn't have any expectations

00:32:32.309 --> 00:32:35.410
going into it? Yeah, I was just excited to be

00:32:35.410 --> 00:32:39.289
there. It felt like a charity event, kind of.

00:32:39.609 --> 00:32:42.049
Have you done other charity events? No, well,

00:32:42.109 --> 00:32:46.190
just like there wasn't any pressure to do well.

00:32:46.250 --> 00:32:48.490
There was nothing that we were qualifying for.

00:32:48.650 --> 00:32:53.130
It was just a standalone event. Right. Especially

00:32:53.130 --> 00:32:54.769
if you're in the final, that was kind of the

00:32:54.769 --> 00:32:57.430
goal, was to qualify for finals. So when you're

00:32:57.430 --> 00:32:59.130
there, you're just like, okay, nothing can go

00:32:59.130 --> 00:33:01.410
wrong now. Especially because we qualified in

00:33:01.410 --> 00:33:03.710
fourth, so we literally could not do any worse.

00:33:03.910 --> 00:33:06.609
We could only do better. And it's like, you only

00:33:06.609 --> 00:33:08.970
have to beat one team to podium. Yeah, true.

00:33:09.609 --> 00:33:11.869
Was there, I forget, was there like a prize pool,

00:33:12.109 --> 00:33:15.150
or was it just for riding? No, no, no, I think

00:33:15.150 --> 00:33:19.009
the worst. For the podium, yeah. Well, it's kind

00:33:19.009 --> 00:33:20.710
of a shame you guys didn't get a podium then.

00:33:21.740 --> 00:33:24.799
But it was a cool experience. How does it compare

00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:27.740
to, like, youth competitions? I feel like youth

00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:31.779
competitions, like IFSC, there's a lot of pressure.

00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:35.380
Oh, really? I find that the youth world competitions

00:33:35.380 --> 00:33:37.900
have, like, so much more pressure than the World

00:33:37.900 --> 00:33:40.519
Cups. Oh. Just because there's, like, kind of

00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:43.000
a time limit for how long you can compete because

00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:45.539
you can graduate and you, like, really want to

00:33:45.539 --> 00:33:48.859
do well because if you do well there, it kind

00:33:48.859 --> 00:33:50.759
of leads into, like, doing well in the World

00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:56.220
Cups. But for kind of USA Climbing youth and

00:33:56.220 --> 00:34:00.059
like USA Climbing elite, I don't think there's

00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:03.519
as much pressure, I think, just because there's

00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:06.259
not as much competition and it's kind of like

00:34:06.259 --> 00:34:09.500
you're with your friends. So it's just kind of

00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:11.780
like a fun comp, which was more similar to this.

00:34:12.920 --> 00:34:15.619
Yeah, I feel like I felt the most pressure at

00:34:15.619 --> 00:34:18.960
Youth Worlds because that's... It's kind of like

00:34:18.960 --> 00:34:21.300
what I was training for the entire year, like

00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:23.719
mainly youth nationals, like to be able to make

00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:27.679
youth worlds. And World Cups are just like a

00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:31.139
nice, like, you know, like I get these opportunities

00:34:31.139 --> 00:34:34.099
and it's really cool to go and experience it,

00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:36.440
but not really like expecting anything from it.

00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:38.980
Yeah, I guess I have heard, well, I've heard

00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:43.099
some people say that like the youth scene is

00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:46.550
a lot more like stressful than... The elite or,

00:34:46.610 --> 00:34:49.010
like, adult scene, I guess? Yeah, for sure. You

00:34:49.010 --> 00:34:52.769
experienced that, too? Yeah. Is it, I guess,

00:34:52.829 --> 00:34:54.949
like, the pressure or expectation that you'll

00:34:54.949 --> 00:34:58.389
actually, like, win or podium at it? I feel like

00:34:58.389 --> 00:35:00.730
the youth comps, the youth nationals that I've

00:35:00.730 --> 00:35:02.730
been to have always been, like, the hardest comps

00:35:02.730 --> 00:35:07.349
to win or, like, to do well at. Because there's

00:35:07.349 --> 00:35:08.730
so much pressure, and there's, like, only one

00:35:08.730 --> 00:35:11.070
comp that you've been training for, like, this

00:35:11.070 --> 00:35:13.210
entire year. There's so many comps that you've

00:35:13.210 --> 00:35:16.980
been to. Everyone's so close because they're

00:35:16.980 --> 00:35:19.960
the same age. They've been climbing for the same

00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:22.219
amount of years. So everyone's kind of around

00:35:22.219 --> 00:35:24.719
the same level. It's just luck of the draw or

00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:27.719
just pure determination who comes out on top,

00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:31.000
I think. And especially there's only three spots

00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:34.340
for Worlds. Anything can happen. Your foot slips

00:35:34.340 --> 00:35:40.039
and then that's it. What has World Cups and that

00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:42.260
whole circuit kind of highlighted in terms of

00:35:42.260 --> 00:35:46.389
your strengths and weaknesses? I feel like especially

00:35:46.389 --> 00:35:51.309
bouldering in the team event in Japan, because

00:35:51.309 --> 00:35:53.369
it was, like, my first international boulder

00:35:53.369 --> 00:35:56.690
comp, like, I finally really understood why we

00:35:56.690 --> 00:35:58.849
train the way we do or, like, why we get on the

00:35:58.849 --> 00:36:01.690
boulders that we do. Because it felt so familiar

00:36:01.690 --> 00:36:05.630
and intuitive compared to comps in the States.

00:36:07.150 --> 00:36:09.469
And it would lead to, like, once I got to the

00:36:09.469 --> 00:36:12.590
World Cup stage, I was, like, like, I feel like

00:36:12.590 --> 00:36:18.230
I got... Much better results there than in domestic

00:36:18.230 --> 00:36:21.949
comps, even though I didn't make semis. I just

00:36:21.949 --> 00:36:25.829
felt a lot more comfortable with the style. What

00:36:25.829 --> 00:36:30.690
was the style difference? I think in the U .S.

00:36:30.690 --> 00:36:34.150
there's a big emphasis on being strong and having

00:36:34.150 --> 00:36:40.130
a lot of fitness. I think World Cups really reward

00:36:40.130 --> 00:36:45.559
being able to climb well. like getting through

00:36:45.559 --> 00:36:49.440
sections fast. I think for the most part, when

00:36:49.440 --> 00:36:51.780
I go to these World Cups, it's like the technique

00:36:51.780 --> 00:36:54.460
is there for me. I feel like all the moves are

00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:57.000
possible. It's more just like a kind of a strength

00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:00.400
thing, like a comfort thing. I guess a lot of

00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:04.059
the climbs are really uncomfortable, and they

00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:08.360
take a lot of like almost brain patience where

00:37:08.360 --> 00:37:10.380
you're like in these really uncomfortable positions

00:37:10.380 --> 00:37:13.309
for like a really long amount of time. where

00:37:13.309 --> 00:37:16.369
maybe your body isn't super tired, but your brain

00:37:16.369 --> 00:37:20.710
just gets really fatigued. And so I've been trying

00:37:20.710 --> 00:37:24.469
to work on that where you're in really uncomfortable

00:37:24.469 --> 00:37:27.789
positions. I think that's probably the biggest

00:37:27.789 --> 00:37:30.670
style difference is just everything's really

00:37:30.670 --> 00:37:35.269
uncomfortable. Interesting. Yeah. I'm trying

00:37:35.269 --> 00:37:37.969
to think if there's a way to relate to that because

00:37:37.969 --> 00:37:40.750
I have no idea what that means. Like brain patients

00:37:40.750 --> 00:37:44.440
or uncomfortable? Like, I guess brain patients.

00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:47.260
Or, like, I'm trying to imagine what a boulder

00:37:47.260 --> 00:37:50.519
would look like. When I think about it, it's

00:37:50.519 --> 00:37:54.099
like you're in this position, and if you, like,

00:37:54.119 --> 00:37:56.639
move too quickly, you're, like, going to fall

00:37:56.639 --> 00:37:59.420
out. So you just have to, like, slow it down

00:37:59.420 --> 00:38:00.980
and just, like, keep moving. Even though your

00:38:00.980 --> 00:38:02.739
brain's like, I don't want to do this. I want

00:38:02.739 --> 00:38:04.639
to, like, hop off the wall. You just have to,

00:38:04.659 --> 00:38:07.139
like, keep going and keep going and keep going,

00:38:07.179 --> 00:38:09.079
like, inch by inch. Just use it like the next

00:38:09.079 --> 00:38:12.670
move. Okay. Was there, like, a move or, like,

00:38:12.750 --> 00:38:15.570
boulder during this competition that you remember,

00:38:15.670 --> 00:38:20.670
like, mostly feeling like that? On the slab in

00:38:20.670 --> 00:38:24.150
the finals, it was, like, you do this kind of,

00:38:24.150 --> 00:38:29.329
like, foot cross. And, like, the foot felt horrible

00:38:29.329 --> 00:38:32.630
when I put it on. But you just have to, like,

00:38:32.690 --> 00:38:34.809
really slow it down and then step over it. And

00:38:34.809 --> 00:38:37.679
then I think this is something that... I need

00:38:37.679 --> 00:38:39.360
to get better at is like being really patient

00:38:39.360 --> 00:38:42.280
because the next move I got the foot out and

00:38:42.280 --> 00:38:44.239
as soon as I felt good, I just went immediately,

00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:47.800
but I really should have slowed it down and like

00:38:47.800 --> 00:38:50.960
try to do it as, as smooth as possible. Cause

00:38:50.960 --> 00:38:53.320
I got, I got really excited and I, and I dropped

00:38:53.320 --> 00:38:55.559
the top. Yeah. So if I had waited a little bit

00:38:55.559 --> 00:38:57.719
longer and like kind of sat in the position,

00:38:57.860 --> 00:38:59.519
I think I would have done it or at least have

00:38:59.519 --> 00:39:02.619
a better shot in doing it. But it's like really

00:39:02.619 --> 00:39:05.440
hard to sit in those uncomfortable positions

00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:08.840
because you're, Like, on that line of, I feel

00:39:08.840 --> 00:39:10.780
like I'm going to fall out right now. Yeah. But

00:39:10.780 --> 00:39:12.380
you just have to, like, stay there, which is

00:39:12.380 --> 00:39:16.079
really hard. I get that. It's a weird kind of

00:39:16.079 --> 00:39:19.440
patience, for sure. Yeah, in our finals as well,

00:39:19.440 --> 00:39:22.599
there was the first boulder. It was, like, a

00:39:22.599 --> 00:39:26.599
mantle off of kind of slopey volume. It was green.

00:39:28.900 --> 00:39:30.679
Wow, it's been a while now. That was, like, a

00:39:30.679 --> 00:39:33.960
month ago. But you're kind of, like, you have

00:39:33.960 --> 00:39:35.340
to flip all the way, and you're reaching up,

00:39:35.380 --> 00:39:37.280
and there's this, like, crimp on the underside

00:39:37.280 --> 00:39:39.320
of another volume. Oh, I remember that. And you

00:39:39.320 --> 00:39:42.019
just feel stuck, like so stuck, but I think you

00:39:42.019 --> 00:39:44.579
just have to keep going and like slowly get your

00:39:44.579 --> 00:39:49.639
foot up. And I felt really like, I just wanted

00:39:49.639 --> 00:39:52.059
to hop off the wall so bad because it felt so

00:39:52.059 --> 00:39:55.780
uncomfortable. I remember for that women's finals

00:39:55.780 --> 00:40:01.059
one, like the Korean and Japanese climbers did

00:40:01.059 --> 00:40:03.340
it and it looked quite different from everyone

00:40:03.340 --> 00:40:05.929
else doing it. For the slab, did anyone end up

00:40:05.929 --> 00:40:09.690
setting it? One guy did, Oren. Oh, yeah. But

00:40:09.690 --> 00:40:11.789
I was actually pretty proud of that because it

00:40:11.789 --> 00:40:13.889
was actually a really hard slab. Yeah. And everyone

00:40:13.889 --> 00:40:15.289
was falling on the last move. So the fact that

00:40:15.289 --> 00:40:17.889
I got there, I had a shot at it. It was pretty

00:40:17.889 --> 00:40:20.750
cool. Yeah. It was a really fun climb. Those

00:40:20.750 --> 00:40:22.210
are the slab climbs that I really like. And I

00:40:22.210 --> 00:40:24.650
think I'm pretty good at them. Yeah. Yeah, that

00:40:24.650 --> 00:40:26.650
was cool to see. So, yeah, in general, for both

00:40:26.650 --> 00:40:28.909
of you, it seems like lead climbing is what you

00:40:28.909 --> 00:40:31.469
guys are doing right now. Is that your preference?

00:40:31.650 --> 00:40:36.130
Are you trying to expand into Boulder? I do prefer

00:40:36.130 --> 00:40:40.210
lead. Okay. I am trying to expand. Yeah, I think

00:40:40.210 --> 00:40:43.730
I just enjoy lead more because I think in most

00:40:43.730 --> 00:40:45.510
of the U .S. comps, a lot of bouldering is just,

00:40:45.570 --> 00:40:49.110
like, can you jump really far or can you, like,

00:40:49.110 --> 00:40:53.110
hold these terrible holds? And it's just not,

00:40:53.210 --> 00:40:58.510
like, really as enjoyable for me as lead. But,

00:40:58.510 --> 00:41:00.869
I mean, obviously you have to get better bouldering

00:41:00.869 --> 00:41:03.030
to get better lead because the moves are going

00:41:03.030 --> 00:41:06.289
to get harder. Yeah, true. I actually don't have

00:41:06.289 --> 00:41:08.710
a preference. I like them equally. I think I'm

00:41:08.710 --> 00:41:12.389
just better at lead, like, naturally. But I've

00:41:12.389 --> 00:41:13.789
been getting more into bouldering because it's

00:41:13.789 --> 00:41:16.969
just, there's, like, something cool about, like,

00:41:17.030 --> 00:41:20.269
how hard can you do and, like, what's the max

00:41:20.269 --> 00:41:22.389
amount of power you can generate in, like, such

00:41:22.389 --> 00:41:25.269
a short amount of time. Yeah. Like, it's pushing

00:41:25.269 --> 00:41:29.289
the limits of, like, just pure strength versus

00:41:29.289 --> 00:41:32.010
lead is, like, it's a little bit more of just

00:41:32.010 --> 00:41:35.329
a lot of climbing. Like, the moves are easier,

00:41:35.489 --> 00:41:40.550
so it's not as, like... I feel like the bottom

00:41:40.550 --> 00:41:42.829
half of lead routes aren't as cool as, like,

00:41:42.829 --> 00:41:46.030
the cruxes of boulder routes. I got that, yeah.

00:41:46.190 --> 00:41:48.510
Like, it's kind of cool to just try really hard.

00:41:48.690 --> 00:41:51.329
Yeah. I feel like in lead, you don't get that

00:41:51.329 --> 00:41:53.730
as often, because it's more like you're trying

00:41:53.730 --> 00:41:56.969
hard on, like, one really hard move, and it's

00:41:56.969 --> 00:41:58.530
just, like, you're just tired by then. Try really

00:41:58.530 --> 00:42:01.110
hard when you're pumped. Yeah, but it's only

00:42:01.110 --> 00:42:03.510
for, like... One move and then you're falling

00:42:03.510 --> 00:42:06.110
down. For boulder, it's like you get to try hard

00:42:06.110 --> 00:42:07.789
and then you rest and you get to keep trying

00:42:07.789 --> 00:42:10.590
hard. Maybe you should be trying harder at the

00:42:10.590 --> 00:42:11.929
end of lead routes. I should be trying harder

00:42:11.929 --> 00:42:15.190
on lead routes, yeah. I guess what's your long

00:42:15.190 --> 00:42:18.630
-term thinking strategically in terms of choosing

00:42:18.630 --> 00:42:23.110
boulder or lead or boulder and lead? Is there

00:42:23.110 --> 00:42:25.869
any thinking or is it just what you feel like?

00:42:25.869 --> 00:42:27.809
I think if you're a good climber, you're going

00:42:27.809 --> 00:42:30.829
to be good at both. I think that's more the goal

00:42:30.829 --> 00:42:32.719
is just... being a really good climber and being

00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:35.840
good at, like, everything. Because then it doesn't

00:42:35.840 --> 00:42:37.840
matter if you're training lead or training pole,

00:42:37.880 --> 00:42:39.039
like, you're going to be really good regardless.

00:42:39.880 --> 00:42:42.860
I think definitely, like, I noticed this gap

00:42:42.860 --> 00:42:44.780
a couple years ago just comparing against, like,

00:42:44.860 --> 00:42:48.360
other people my age who are, like, really good

00:42:48.360 --> 00:42:50.039
in lead. But they're also really good in boulder.

00:42:50.099 --> 00:42:52.440
And I was, like, not even making semis at youth

00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:54.860
nats or, like, not making finals. And I was,

00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:57.639
like, I feel like this is a bit of a problem.

00:42:58.019 --> 00:43:00.880
So I've definitely been, I think. I'm definitely

00:43:00.880 --> 00:43:04.199
closing the gap now. I've been bouldering a lot

00:43:04.199 --> 00:43:08.019
more this year, especially getting to travel

00:43:08.019 --> 00:43:10.639
and climb on different styles, I think, has helped

00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:14.719
a lot. I've done a lot of the cash comps recently.

00:43:15.119 --> 00:43:19.099
It's been cool. Oh, yeah, you did... Wait, which

00:43:19.099 --> 00:43:21.019
one was it? Oh, Battle of the Bay. I think I

00:43:21.019 --> 00:43:24.280
did a comp every weekend of October. Oh, gosh.

00:43:24.500 --> 00:43:28.860
It was like... I was gone for 18 days, which

00:43:28.860 --> 00:43:31.159
is the longest I've been away from home. So I

00:43:31.159 --> 00:43:35.000
first, I took a train to New Mexico because there

00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:36.960
were no good flights, so they were like $400.

00:43:37.360 --> 00:43:42.760
I took a 20 -hour train. Oh, my. No, it was chill.

00:43:43.579 --> 00:43:47.239
So that was for Yankinyard. Oh, okay. It's like

00:43:47.239 --> 00:43:49.219
the one with the highballs and, like, the airbags.

00:43:49.539 --> 00:43:51.820
They, like, set a boulder on their lead wall

00:43:51.820 --> 00:43:53.739
and put an airbag under it. I did not see this,

00:43:53.739 --> 00:43:55.739
no. Yeah, that was really cool. Was it streamed

00:43:55.739 --> 00:43:58.099
anywhere? It was on YouTube. Oh, really? Okay.

00:43:58.099 --> 00:44:00.380
I just wanted to go because it seemed really

00:44:00.380 --> 00:44:02.500
cool. Yeah. I've never been before. And then

00:44:02.500 --> 00:44:04.980
it was Japan, and then flew back to San Francisco

00:44:04.980 --> 00:44:08.039
for Battle of the Bay. Right. And then I did

00:44:08.039 --> 00:44:13.280
Battle for the Fort last weekend in Colorado,

00:44:13.420 --> 00:44:15.940
but I didn't make finals. And then you did Boulder

00:44:15.940 --> 00:44:17.639
Fest right before that, right? I did Arizona

00:44:17.639 --> 00:44:20.780
Boulder Fest, like, beginning of October. How

00:44:20.780 --> 00:44:24.960
do you guys like doing cash comps? I have a lot

00:44:24.960 --> 00:44:27.460
of fun just being able to see my friends and

00:44:27.460 --> 00:44:30.800
go different places and hopefully win some money.

00:44:31.800 --> 00:44:34.860
I think it's a lot more fun because there's no

00:44:34.860 --> 00:44:38.860
pressure. But they're really far away. We don't

00:44:38.860 --> 00:44:41.980
have very many in San Diego. So then what are

00:44:41.980 --> 00:44:46.920
your future plans for climbing? Because you guys

00:44:46.920 --> 00:44:49.559
are both on the younger side. I'd like to be

00:44:49.559 --> 00:44:51.940
able to make a semifinal at one point. I think

00:44:51.940 --> 00:44:53.849
that would be pretty cool. Semi -final. I think

00:44:53.849 --> 00:44:56.110
if you make a semi -final, you have the ability

00:44:56.110 --> 00:44:59.309
to make a final. Yeah. It's just, like, you just

00:44:59.309 --> 00:45:02.989
have to be really good and, like, perform really

00:45:02.989 --> 00:45:05.969
well. Or, like, making the Boulder team. Yeah.

00:45:06.030 --> 00:45:09.690
I think if I can make the Boulder team, then

00:45:09.690 --> 00:45:12.030
I'll have, like, the skills and the strength

00:45:12.030 --> 00:45:15.030
required to make, like, a lead World Cup semi.

00:45:16.010 --> 00:45:18.210
Yeah. I have, like, similar goals, honestly.

00:45:19.250 --> 00:45:22.159
Just keep climbing, hopefully. I don't really

00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:25.940
have a very solid plan for the future, like,

00:45:25.980 --> 00:45:28.739
with college and everything. Yeah. Like, I am

00:45:28.739 --> 00:45:32.780
committed to Carnegie Mellon, which is in Pittsburgh,

00:45:32.900 --> 00:45:35.739
but I honestly don't know if I will survive the

00:45:35.739 --> 00:45:39.079
winters there. Yeah. So I might change plans.

00:45:39.559 --> 00:45:42.460
Oh, like college plans? I might, like, reapply

00:45:42.460 --> 00:45:46.420
this year to somewhere else. Whoa. Yeah. Dang.

00:45:47.079 --> 00:45:51.769
But it's all up in the air right now. I'm currently

00:45:51.769 --> 00:45:53.789
taking a gap year. What went into that decision?

00:45:53.969 --> 00:45:56.309
Was it about climbing? It was about climbing.

00:45:57.530 --> 00:46:00.389
And I'm really happy with my decision. I think

00:46:00.389 --> 00:46:02.570
everyone should take a gap year, honestly. My

00:46:02.570 --> 00:46:04.289
friends are all jealous now that I'm not. Yeah,

00:46:04.309 --> 00:46:07.969
true. But yeah, just to compete as much as I

00:46:07.969 --> 00:46:10.869
can, train a little bit more, because I was pretty

00:46:10.869 --> 00:46:13.429
busy in high school. I went to a regular high

00:46:13.429 --> 00:46:17.809
school. So yeah, getting to train and compete

00:46:17.809 --> 00:46:22.949
and travel. Yeah, I think I've been, like, I

00:46:22.949 --> 00:46:25.130
can afford to be really spontaneous with my travel

00:46:25.130 --> 00:46:28.670
now. So I think it's really nice. Where are you

00:46:28.670 --> 00:46:33.050
thinking of applying instead of Carnegie? I have

00:46:33.050 --> 00:46:36.909
no clue. Like, personally, I mean, you're doing,

00:46:36.949 --> 00:46:40.829
like, computer science, right? I'm doing, my

00:46:40.829 --> 00:46:44.510
intended major was information systems, which

00:46:44.510 --> 00:46:46.789
is, like, computer science with a side of business,

00:46:47.010 --> 00:46:51.110
really. Yeah. I honestly don't know where I would

00:46:51.110 --> 00:46:55.170
apply. Somewhere with better weather. Probably,

00:46:55.230 --> 00:46:57.289
like, west coast. You can't get better than right

00:46:57.289 --> 00:47:00.289
here. Yeah, that's kind of hard. I don't know

00:47:00.289 --> 00:47:02.429
if I could stay, like... I say as it's currently

00:47:02.429 --> 00:47:05.630
raining right now. Well, I mean, we talked about,

00:47:05.670 --> 00:47:08.190
like, driving in the rain for, like, 30 minutes,

00:47:08.289 --> 00:47:10.710
which, like, no one else ever would do ever.

00:47:11.389 --> 00:47:14.150
Did you grow up here? I moved here when I was,

00:47:14.170 --> 00:47:17.429
like, five. I'm from Seattle, though. There was

00:47:17.429 --> 00:47:22.369
a lot of rain there. Yeah. I like the rain. Okay.

00:47:22.610 --> 00:47:27.070
Yeah. Occasionally. Well, I think I was in a

00:47:27.070 --> 00:47:29.269
similar, well, I wasn't in a similar position

00:47:29.269 --> 00:47:32.309
to you, but I know Carnegie's a good school.

00:47:32.710 --> 00:47:38.429
Yeah. So that part is good. Yeah. I think. I

00:47:38.429 --> 00:47:40.349
don't like Pittsburgh, though. I grew up in Pennsylvania.

00:47:40.809 --> 00:47:43.349
Oh, really? Yeah. I didn't, I toured Carnegie

00:47:43.349 --> 00:47:46.210
and, like, University of Pittsburgh, and I did

00:47:46.210 --> 00:47:50.579
not like the vibes. Did you tour? I went for

00:47:50.579 --> 00:47:52.780
admitted students day. Oh, okay. Like, two days.

00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:56.579
I think it was nice. I think, like, the academics

00:47:56.579 --> 00:48:00.840
are definitely very good. And the name, too.

00:48:01.000 --> 00:48:06.219
Yeah. Like, I think would help. Yeah. But the

00:48:06.219 --> 00:48:11.179
weather in the winter is questionable. And the

00:48:11.179 --> 00:48:13.679
climbing isn't great. I don't have any friends

00:48:13.679 --> 00:48:18.940
there. So, sort of like. Yeah. It's okay to not

00:48:18.940 --> 00:48:22.019
have your friends there, but I did not like the

00:48:22.019 --> 00:48:24.239
weather. I thought Pittsburgh looked depressing.

00:48:25.579 --> 00:48:30.380
And you can apply to, like, Berkeley. Yeah, I

00:48:30.380 --> 00:48:34.619
don't, I think, I mean, I really like the weather

00:48:34.619 --> 00:48:37.699
in San Francisco, but I just don't think I could

00:48:37.699 --> 00:48:39.519
do a big school like that. I think I'd just get

00:48:39.519 --> 00:48:42.840
lost. It's, like, too big of a school? Yeah.

00:48:43.260 --> 00:48:45.079
Interesting. Like, what are you looking for?

00:48:45.690 --> 00:48:48.389
This is turning into a personal question. I don't

00:48:48.389 --> 00:48:50.210
know what I'm doing with my life. I'm just so

00:48:50.210 --> 00:49:01.170
curious. I mean, one of... I don't know. Probably

00:49:01.170 --> 00:49:06.610
somewhere near the West Coast. But I think the

00:49:06.610 --> 00:49:12.469
biggest thing I like about climbing, more than

00:49:12.469 --> 00:49:14.650
the actual... climbing itself is just the community.

00:49:14.929 --> 00:49:17.150
Yeah. I feel like it'd be important to be close

00:49:17.150 --> 00:49:26.030
to, like, some climbing friends. Okay. I don't

00:49:26.030 --> 00:49:30.670
know. Okay. Declan, what about you? My idea of

00:49:30.670 --> 00:49:32.550
what are your future plans in terms of, like,

00:49:32.550 --> 00:49:34.469
are you going to go to school or are you going

00:49:34.469 --> 00:49:35.809
to continue training? I'm currently in a gap

00:49:35.809 --> 00:49:39.769
semester. Yeah. I mean, I'm not committed anywhere.

00:49:39.869 --> 00:49:43.260
I don't have any, like, super rigid plans. I

00:49:43.260 --> 00:49:45.639
definitely want to stay in San Diego. Okay, yeah.

00:49:45.639 --> 00:49:47.599
I mean, I can't imagine really living anywhere

00:49:47.599 --> 00:49:50.519
else. It's like when you're in paradise, you

00:49:50.519 --> 00:49:52.420
don't want to leave paradise. I agree with that.

00:49:52.500 --> 00:49:56.300
I agree with that. So, yeah, I think that's probably

00:49:56.300 --> 00:49:57.840
the most important thing is, like, location.

00:49:58.420 --> 00:50:01.139
And I know so many people here that also want

00:50:01.139 --> 00:50:04.159
to stay here. Yeah. I had thoughts of maybe going

00:50:04.159 --> 00:50:06.239
to Salt Lake City because so many people move

00:50:06.239 --> 00:50:09.780
out there to train. But I just don't like Salt

00:50:09.780 --> 00:50:13.559
Lake City very much. Ooh, yeah. I just prefer

00:50:13.559 --> 00:50:16.280
being next to, like, the ocean and not having,

00:50:16.320 --> 00:50:19.320
like, insanely hot summers and then cold winters.

00:50:20.380 --> 00:50:22.940
But the training's really good there. But I think

00:50:22.940 --> 00:50:25.360
building up, like, San Diego would be really

00:50:25.360 --> 00:50:27.760
nice because we have, like, kind of this thing

00:50:27.760 --> 00:50:30.000
going. I think if you, like, keep building it

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:33.019
up, then we'll have kind of a training spot that's

00:50:33.019 --> 00:50:35.440
on par with Salt Lake City, I think. Oh, you

00:50:35.440 --> 00:50:37.199
think so? I think so. I mean, because we have...

00:50:37.199 --> 00:50:39.400
What about the National Training Center? Well...

00:50:40.199 --> 00:50:42.099
Yeah, I mean, that national training center is

00:50:42.099 --> 00:50:47.420
really nice, but they have only one coach there,

00:50:47.619 --> 00:50:53.780
Josh, versus here we have a lot of people that

00:50:53.780 --> 00:50:58.679
are kind of joined on the same ideas and are

00:50:58.679 --> 00:51:02.760
kind of building each other up with kind of the

00:51:02.760 --> 00:51:07.239
same goal in mind. So I think... If we just get

00:51:07.239 --> 00:51:09.619
the facilities right, I think we'll have a really

00:51:09.619 --> 00:51:12.940
good climbing place down here. I feel like we

00:51:12.940 --> 00:51:15.860
train at the wall climbing gym. I feel like the

00:51:15.860 --> 00:51:20.460
facility is pretty crazy for what the gym is.

00:51:21.340 --> 00:51:24.980
We have two spray walls, a whole back area where

00:51:24.980 --> 00:51:28.039
we can set anything. They have really good boulders

00:51:28.039 --> 00:51:30.960
in the main gym. Honestly, that's all you need.

00:51:31.199 --> 00:51:33.239
Especially seeing the gyms in Japan, they're

00:51:33.239 --> 00:51:35.960
really small, but they utilize their space really

00:51:35.960 --> 00:51:39.639
well. So we have a similar idea where we have

00:51:39.639 --> 00:51:41.920
a lot of space and we just have different things

00:51:41.920 --> 00:51:45.719
that kind of do different jobs for our climbing.

00:51:45.940 --> 00:51:48.599
And that's really all you need is different stations.

00:51:49.159 --> 00:51:52.579
And then in terms of Salt Lake's weather, I do

00:51:52.579 --> 00:51:55.480
agree that it's kind of crazy there. I was there

00:51:55.480 --> 00:52:00.840
last year, not the 2025 season, but the

00:52:00.840 --> 00:52:06.269
season World Cup in Salt Lake. and it was

00:52:06.269 --> 00:52:09.849
degrees one day, and then the next day it was,

00:52:09.869 --> 00:52:13.809
like, snowing, and I was so pissed off. I hated

00:52:13.809 --> 00:52:18.050
that so much. And it was really windy. Well,

00:52:18.110 --> 00:52:21.150
the day was 80. It sucked. And then in terms

00:52:21.150 --> 00:52:22.750
of staying in San Diego, you mentioned really

00:52:22.750 --> 00:52:24.889
wanting to stay here. Is there anything else

00:52:24.889 --> 00:52:26.550
here that you really like to do? Like, are you

00:52:26.550 --> 00:52:31.769
a surfer? I do surf a lot, yeah. I mean, I just

00:52:31.769 --> 00:52:35.980
like the weather. Yeah. I feel like we have a

00:52:35.980 --> 00:52:39.760
good community here. Like in North Park, there's

00:52:39.760 --> 00:52:41.639
a lot of stuff to do. Those are really good restaurants.

00:52:43.500 --> 00:52:47.440
When I travel to other places, I realize how

00:52:47.440 --> 00:52:51.260
good we have it here. So that makes me want to

00:52:51.260 --> 00:52:54.300
stay even more. I got that. What about you? Is

00:52:54.300 --> 00:52:55.420
there anything else you'd like to do outside

00:52:55.420 --> 00:52:59.539
of climbing? I mean, not really anything related

00:52:59.539 --> 00:53:03.000
to San Diego. Sure, it doesn't have to be. Yeah.

00:53:03.480 --> 00:53:06.139
I don't surf or anything. I don't like the beach.

00:53:06.440 --> 00:53:10.280
Oh, you don't like the beach. No. Yeah. But I

00:53:10.280 --> 00:53:13.099
recently started working part -time as a stagehand.

00:53:13.579 --> 00:53:18.519
So, like, setting up concerts mostly and taking

00:53:18.519 --> 00:53:22.000
them down. I did, like, theater tech all throughout

00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:24.480
high school. It's kind of been an interest. I

00:53:24.480 --> 00:53:27.920
was like, I think this year is just a good time

00:53:27.920 --> 00:53:31.239
to join the industry. and, like, see what it's

00:53:31.239 --> 00:53:35.300
like. Hmm. Of, like, theater? Like, the live

00:53:35.300 --> 00:53:38.199
event industry. Oh, really? So I think it'd be

00:53:38.199 --> 00:53:41.059
cool to try to work my way up, like, maybe into

00:53:41.059 --> 00:53:45.559
rigging, like, hanging stuff up and, yeah. Have

00:53:45.559 --> 00:53:46.880
you worked with any of these rappers? Yeah, you

00:53:46.880 --> 00:53:49.260
should have helped me, like, set up this thing.

00:53:49.659 --> 00:53:52.860
I worked on Night Hearts Festival a couple weeks

00:53:52.860 --> 00:53:56.239
ago. Do you know Skrillex? Oh, yeah. You don't

00:53:56.239 --> 00:53:58.940
know Skrillex? You've never heard of Skrillex?

00:53:59.340 --> 00:54:01.579
I've never heard of Skrillex until that. What?

00:54:02.059 --> 00:54:04.639
That was... It's a generational thing. Oh, my

00:54:04.639 --> 00:54:07.000
God. Don't say it like that. I'm not that much

00:54:07.000 --> 00:54:11.619
older. No, I mean, I don't, like, know them.

00:54:11.719 --> 00:54:13.619
Like, I'm not a huge fan, but, like, I've heard

00:54:13.619 --> 00:54:19.320
of Skrillex. I'm working a WWE Survivor Series

00:54:19.320 --> 00:54:22.260
at Echo Park next week. Interesting. Have you

00:54:22.260 --> 00:54:27.059
heard of WWE? A generational thing? Yeah. Yeah.

00:54:27.079 --> 00:54:29.460
Huh. Okay, cool. Yeah, you should have helped

00:54:29.460 --> 00:54:32.059
me set up this. Oh, I don't know anything about

00:54:32.059 --> 00:54:34.480
audio. Oh, okay. So it's just like we're getting

00:54:34.480 --> 00:54:38.579
a lighting tech. Okay, well, these lights are

00:54:38.579 --> 00:54:42.840
very fancy. They're set up for me, I guess. Okay,

00:54:42.900 --> 00:54:45.559
cool. Good to know. Okay, I guess now we can

00:54:45.559 --> 00:54:47.820
get into some of the audience submitted questions

00:54:47.820 --> 00:54:52.960
that came in. So the first one, this was from

00:54:52.960 --> 00:54:55.860
Discord. With your experience from the team event,

00:54:56.099 --> 00:54:58.260
how would you have wanted a team climbing event

00:54:58.260 --> 00:55:01.360
to be shaped differently, if anything? I think

00:55:01.360 --> 00:55:04.480
it went pretty well. It was quite well executed,

00:55:04.679 --> 00:55:08.199
yeah. For the first version of this format, I

00:55:08.199 --> 00:55:11.659
think it went really well. I don't know if you,

00:55:11.880 --> 00:55:13.780
because it wasn't live streamed, but after the

00:55:13.780 --> 00:55:17.219
comp there was a speed traverse. Oh, no, I didn't

00:55:17.219 --> 00:55:20.900
see that. Yeah, it was crazy. They took down

00:55:20.900 --> 00:55:24.780
all the climbing walls. routes on the boulder

00:55:24.780 --> 00:55:27.679
wall and they put up like this really big traverse

00:55:27.679 --> 00:55:30.739
that we just like ran through and they're like

00:55:30.739 --> 00:55:35.820
really big jumps and it was like it showcased

00:55:35.820 --> 00:55:37.500
like just the experience of climbing I think

00:55:37.500 --> 00:55:40.539
the entire comp was just like this is what climbing

00:55:40.539 --> 00:55:45.519
is so I think it did a great job and uh the the

00:55:45.519 --> 00:55:48.079
audience was like really psyched for a couple

00:55:48.079 --> 00:55:51.360
of the rounds it was they brought in like school

00:55:51.360 --> 00:55:54.019
kids Yeah, they brought, like, a bunch of schools,

00:55:54.139 --> 00:55:56.679
and they were just, like, super psyched to watch.

00:55:57.239 --> 00:56:00.239
And you would just, like, be, like, really showboating

00:56:00.239 --> 00:56:02.699
on these routes, and, like, as soon as you did

00:56:02.699 --> 00:56:05.900
anything cool, it would go crazy. So it was really

00:56:05.900 --> 00:56:08.440
cool. I honestly can't think of anything that

00:56:08.440 --> 00:56:13.280
I would change. Yeah, I think it was very well

00:56:13.280 --> 00:56:16.059
executed, especially for the first one. Would

00:56:16.059 --> 00:56:18.760
you want to do more of these, or do you think...

00:56:18.760 --> 00:56:21.219
I don't know if the goal of this event was to,

00:56:21.260 --> 00:56:23.840
like... test it out and see if like world cups

00:56:23.840 --> 00:56:25.659
are always going to be like that but how would

00:56:25.659 --> 00:56:27.539
you feel if like the format changed more towards

00:56:27.539 --> 00:56:32.260
something like this i actually don't i would

00:56:32.260 --> 00:56:34.960
not prefer world cups being this format because

00:56:34.960 --> 00:56:37.719
it's hard to be really competitive because the

00:56:37.719 --> 00:56:41.719
routes are easier and it's like for the like

00:56:41.719 --> 00:56:44.920
mixed boulder a lot of the guys would like do

00:56:44.920 --> 00:56:48.039
it in a few attempts and the kind of discrepancy

00:56:48.039 --> 00:56:50.420
and results would be like if the women got it

00:56:50.879 --> 00:56:52.920
So it's a lot harder to be competitive in. But

00:56:52.920 --> 00:56:54.840
it is just, like, really fun. So I would do it

00:56:54.840 --> 00:56:58.199
occasionally. But it's hard to do, like, championship

00:56:58.199 --> 00:57:00.480
events like this. Yeah. I think it would be cool

00:57:00.480 --> 00:57:02.679
to hold, like, one of these kinds of events at

00:57:02.679 --> 00:57:04.500
the end of the season just as, like, a fun way

00:57:04.500 --> 00:57:07.320
to cap it off. Yeah, I'd really enjoy seeing

00:57:07.320 --> 00:57:09.719
it, like, more consistently, like, maybe every

00:57:09.719 --> 00:57:13.380
year. Yeah, I forgot to ask earlier about, I

00:57:13.380 --> 00:57:16.599
guess, like, how the, like, gender -combined

00:57:16.599 --> 00:57:19.019
boulders felt. How did that feel for, like, both

00:57:19.019 --> 00:57:23.070
of you? I think it's really hard to set, like,

00:57:23.070 --> 00:57:28.610
mixed boulders that, like, balance well between

00:57:28.610 --> 00:57:30.230
the two genders. I think they did a pretty good

00:57:30.230 --> 00:57:33.090
job. But I think for boulders, like, it always

00:57:33.090 --> 00:57:35.869
has to be slab. And that just makes it a little

00:57:35.869 --> 00:57:38.809
boring. But I think it was good to test out.

00:57:39.230 --> 00:57:42.730
Did it feel, like, reachy? No, it felt pretty

00:57:42.730 --> 00:57:45.550
good. Yeah, it felt fine. It's always going to

00:57:45.550 --> 00:57:48.230
be really technical slabs because you can't just

00:57:48.230 --> 00:57:51.380
have, like, a really powerful climb. Yeah. And

00:57:51.380 --> 00:57:54.219
so, yeah, it's not as fun to watch. I think Slab

00:57:54.219 --> 00:57:56.440
isn't as fun to watch because you're just, like,

00:57:56.480 --> 00:57:58.420
standing on the wall for, like, a minute straight.

00:57:58.599 --> 00:58:02.800
Yeah. But our first, it wasn't live streamed,

00:58:02.800 --> 00:58:05.659
but our first qualities route for the mixed boulder

00:58:05.659 --> 00:58:08.199
was actually pretty technical. There were, like,

00:58:08.199 --> 00:58:10.579
some small crimps, and there were a few girls

00:58:10.579 --> 00:58:12.260
that did it and then, like, a few guys that didn't

00:58:12.260 --> 00:58:13.820
do it. So I think that one was actually really

00:58:13.820 --> 00:58:17.880
well set. Like, some good tiebreakers for that

00:58:17.880 --> 00:58:20.719
one. Yeah. Which was cool. Yeah, I think for

00:58:20.719 --> 00:58:24.019
finals I saw some discussion on maybe like Reddit

00:58:24.019 --> 00:58:28.960
where people were saying that the finals mixed

00:58:28.960 --> 00:58:32.760
route was like a bit reachy looking for the women.

00:58:33.500 --> 00:58:37.239
Maybe like the last move. Yeah. Yeah. I wasn't

00:58:37.239 --> 00:58:39.960
sure if it was just if it was actually reachy

00:58:39.960 --> 00:58:42.320
or if it just looked like that because we saw

00:58:42.320 --> 00:58:44.420
it look so much easier for like the taller guys

00:58:44.420 --> 00:58:47.800
to do it. I mean, Mao did it. Yeah. And she's

00:58:47.800 --> 00:58:50.079
like. really short yeah so i don't think there

00:58:50.079 --> 00:58:53.699
was a hype problem at all yeah yeah maybe if

00:58:53.699 --> 00:58:55.380
you have like i'm more in there there'll be like

00:58:55.380 --> 00:58:59.400
a question yeah yeah oh but then there would

00:58:59.400 --> 00:59:02.880
just be the whole argument about yeah yeah okay

00:59:02.880 --> 00:59:06.960
cool um next question from the audience um any

00:59:06.960 --> 00:59:09.400
memories from youth training or advice that stuck

00:59:09.400 --> 00:59:13.719
with you there's like a famous like idea from

00:59:13.719 --> 00:59:18.349
al it's like uh kind of the Like, instructions

00:59:18.349 --> 00:59:20.630
of climbing, I guess you could say. Where it's,

00:59:20.670 --> 00:59:27.829
like, you throw, catch, settle, throw. It's,

00:59:27.829 --> 00:59:30.170
like, how you do, like, a move or something.

00:59:30.389 --> 00:59:32.449
Or, like, even a climb. It's just, like, what

00:59:32.449 --> 00:59:33.730
you're doing the entire time is you're, like,

00:59:33.730 --> 00:59:37.889
throwing to a hold, you catch it, and there's,

00:59:37.909 --> 00:59:39.969
like, the time that you're settling to prepare

00:59:39.969 --> 00:59:43.989
for the next hold or the next move. And that

00:59:43.989 --> 00:59:48.019
idea was, like, kind of what... started how we

00:59:48.019 --> 00:59:51.099
trained at class five, I think. And then like

00:59:51.099 --> 00:59:53.920
all of our ideas kind of flowed from that. I

00:59:53.920 --> 00:59:57.039
was like, oh, this is how you should throw. This

00:59:57.039 --> 00:59:59.619
is how you should catch. And then this is like

00:59:59.619 --> 01:00:03.820
why it matters. It's like a weird way to think

01:00:03.820 --> 01:00:07.159
about it. I think maybe for a lot of people,

01:00:07.179 --> 01:00:09.619
it's like really weird to understand. Yeah, like

01:00:09.619 --> 01:00:12.949
what are you supposed to do? Like, that's just

01:00:12.949 --> 01:00:16.590
it. Okay. It's like a language thing. I guess

01:00:16.590 --> 01:00:19.590
you just have to, like, feel it and, like, understand

01:00:19.590 --> 01:00:23.130
it. You understand it when you, like, start to

01:00:23.130 --> 01:00:25.989
feel it out. It's hard to describe in, like,

01:00:25.989 --> 01:00:29.210
words, I guess. Is there, like, a tip you can

01:00:29.210 --> 01:00:32.349
maybe give to, like, people who want to get better

01:00:32.349 --> 01:00:36.590
at climbing in order to, like, do this? Or, like,

01:00:36.590 --> 01:00:39.630
something that made it click for you? I feel

01:00:39.630 --> 01:00:44.659
like just... the intention behind like figuring

01:00:44.659 --> 01:00:48.639
out what part of the move feels hard because

01:00:48.639 --> 01:00:52.119
the throw catch settle throw is just like the

01:00:52.119 --> 01:00:54.579
move in its entirety and there's different parts

01:00:54.579 --> 01:00:57.460
of that kind of section that can feel harder

01:00:57.460 --> 01:01:00.719
if it's like oh this move what's really hard

01:01:00.719 --> 01:01:03.880
for me is throw is like really weird like the

01:01:03.880 --> 01:01:05.679
catch the end position is like fine it's like

01:01:05.679 --> 01:01:07.840
a good hold but it's just like a really weird

01:01:07.840 --> 01:01:11.429
throw then you have to like really kind of hone

01:01:11.429 --> 01:01:15.289
in on why does this throw feel weird you know

01:01:15.289 --> 01:01:17.489
and then you like figure if it's like oh it's

01:01:17.489 --> 01:01:19.230
just like a really weird squeeze or the foot's

01:01:19.230 --> 01:01:21.969
bad and that's where you go even deeper and you're

01:01:21.969 --> 01:01:23.750
like okay how do I make this foot better or how

01:01:23.750 --> 01:01:26.869
do I you know connect these two holes okay yeah

01:01:26.869 --> 01:01:28.929
that makes sense yeah you're just really specific

01:01:28.929 --> 01:01:32.610
and like um just your intention is like what

01:01:32.610 --> 01:01:37.250
makes you better I think an idea I was introduced

01:01:37.250 --> 01:01:41.530
to pretty early on was like practice versus performance

01:01:41.530 --> 01:01:44.909
um when you're thinking about a comp yeah i always

01:01:44.909 --> 01:01:48.469
thought like like i was like okay like maybe

01:01:48.469 --> 01:01:50.710
maybe these locals are all practice right they're

01:01:50.710 --> 01:01:53.269
like sort of low stakes but like nationals youth

01:01:53.269 --> 01:01:54.889
nationals has to be performance right because

01:01:54.889 --> 01:01:57.409
like if it isn't then what is but i feel like

01:01:57.409 --> 01:02:02.789
i slowly realized over time that like nothing

01:02:02.789 --> 01:02:05.369
really is performance like it's all practice

01:02:05.369 --> 01:02:09.619
for the next thing and that mindset kind of helps

01:02:09.619 --> 01:02:13.019
you relax and see the comp as a learning experience

01:02:13.019 --> 01:02:16.980
and also just like you know a place to have fun

01:02:16.980 --> 01:02:19.940
um instead of like putting a lot of pressure

01:02:19.940 --> 01:02:23.699
on yourself to succeed did you see on uh did

01:02:23.699 --> 01:02:26.840
you watch the live streams on youtube for the

01:02:26.840 --> 01:02:29.780
football yeah there was a comment on it that

01:02:29.780 --> 01:02:33.519
said i didn't read the comments um that japan

01:02:33.519 --> 01:02:37.219
brought the avengers yeah and then the us brought

01:02:37.690 --> 01:02:40.309
The Benchwarmers, Benchwarmers. Yeah, how do

01:02:40.309 --> 01:02:43.309
you feel about that? I think it's fine. I mean,

01:02:43.309 --> 01:02:45.929
we definitely weren't, like, the strongest on

01:02:45.929 --> 01:02:48.090
the U .S., but I think we did actually really

01:02:48.090 --> 01:02:51.570
well regardless. Yeah, I think for being, like,

01:02:51.590 --> 01:02:55.550
the, I don't know, B -team, Benchwarmers, Benchwarmers,

01:02:55.550 --> 01:02:57.550
we were pretty good. Yeah, I think we did good.

01:02:57.550 --> 01:03:01.170
Not bad at all. I mean, still made finals. Yeah,

01:03:01.210 --> 01:03:05.059
still made both finals, which was cool. But I

01:03:05.059 --> 01:03:07.159
saw some people defending us. They're like, well,

01:03:07.219 --> 01:03:09.699
they made both finals, so they're pretty good.

01:03:09.920 --> 01:03:12.460
Yeah, it's pretty good to make both finals. Yeah,

01:03:12.500 --> 01:03:15.679
I guess I didn't ask during the episode, but

01:03:15.679 --> 01:03:18.659
what are your guys' outdoor goals, if you have

01:03:18.659 --> 01:03:22.500
any? I've been trying buttermilker in Bishop

01:03:22.500 --> 01:03:26.239
for quite a while now. And every year I get a

01:03:26.239 --> 01:03:29.880
little bit closer because I only try it one day

01:03:29.880 --> 01:03:33.519
a year. Yeah, fair enough. So it's like one year,

01:03:33.639 --> 01:03:36.840
it's this really big move, and I wasn't strong

01:03:36.840 --> 01:03:39.739
enough or tall enough. And then last year, I

01:03:39.739 --> 01:03:42.159
was able to do the stand from it, which is a

01:03:42.159 --> 01:03:45.579
12. And then hopefully this year, if I go back,

01:03:45.719 --> 01:03:50.099
I'll maybe send that one. Yeah, every year, I

01:03:50.099 --> 01:03:53.599
just try to take off another climb. So last year,

01:03:53.619 --> 01:03:57.159
I did a mystery, which you probably don't know

01:03:57.159 --> 01:03:58.800
it because you're not thinking about outdoor

01:03:58.800 --> 01:04:01.920
climbing. Is it in San Diego? No, no, it's in

01:04:01.920 --> 01:04:04.860
Bishop. Oh, okay. Yeah. Well, like SoCal area,

01:04:04.980 --> 01:04:08.440
I mean. The Buttermilker's also in Bishop. Oh.

01:04:08.619 --> 01:04:12.739
Yes. We only go to Bishop. I mean, there is outdoor

01:04:12.739 --> 01:04:17.139
climbing in San Diego, which I think would be

01:04:17.139 --> 01:04:19.820
cool to go to. But I just have not experienced

01:04:19.820 --> 01:04:25.019
it that way. Okay. Yeah, I just go wherever everybody

01:04:25.019 --> 01:04:28.800
else goes, honestly. So long for the ride. I've

01:04:28.800 --> 01:04:31.739
been trying Maze of Death, which is also in Bishop,

01:04:31.840 --> 01:04:35.780
like the past two years, and some of my teammates

01:04:35.780 --> 01:04:38.460
are not really psyched on it, so I think I want

01:04:38.460 --> 01:04:41.219
to try to do it this year. Okay. Is Bishop not

01:04:41.219 --> 01:04:45.039
considered SoCal? It's pretty central. Oh, okay.

01:04:45.739 --> 01:04:51.480
I've been there once. Yeah? Yeah. So I have been

01:04:51.480 --> 01:04:54.400
there. Five, six -hour drive up north? Yeah,

01:04:54.420 --> 01:04:57.659
that feels like it's in California. I wouldn't

01:04:57.659 --> 01:05:00.460
consider it. Okay. Maybe some people would. I

01:05:00.460 --> 01:05:02.960
stayed in a really cool, like, goat farm Airbnb

01:05:02.960 --> 01:05:06.219
there. Really? But then it burned down. While

01:05:06.219 --> 01:05:09.559
you were in it? No, I was not in it, but it burned

01:05:09.559 --> 01:05:12.119
down. So now, unfortunately, people can't stay

01:05:12.119 --> 01:05:15.739
there anymore. But I would recommend it if it

01:05:15.739 --> 01:05:18.820
was still existing. But maybe one day they'll,

01:05:18.840 --> 01:05:22.590
like, build it up again. Yeah. Okay, I only had

01:05:22.590 --> 01:05:26.150
one last question. And it was also, it was like

01:05:26.150 --> 01:05:28.869
an audience question just for Declan. And it

01:05:28.869 --> 01:05:31.070
was also not really an audience question. It

01:05:31.070 --> 01:05:35.690
was Jaden's question. So, yeah, I guess you beat

01:05:35.690 --> 01:05:39.010
Elden Ring, Night, Rain. Do you want to discuss

01:05:39.010 --> 01:05:44.769
that? Well, I beat Cruz. Do you know Cruz Padilla?

01:05:45.070 --> 01:05:47.550
I mean, I've seen all these people. He's like,

01:05:47.670 --> 01:05:51.280
I've... grown up with him competing in youth.

01:05:51.719 --> 01:05:53.940
So he's one of my biggest competitors, but also

01:05:53.940 --> 01:05:56.099
one of my best friends. Because we have pretty

01:05:56.099 --> 01:06:01.159
different styles when it comes to climbing. And

01:06:01.159 --> 01:06:03.639
so we'll just play games on the weekends or something.

01:06:04.280 --> 01:06:08.920
And Jayden also joins, but we beat the final

01:06:08.920 --> 01:06:11.840
boss without Jayden. He was pretty upset. But

01:06:11.840 --> 01:06:14.440
it was his fault anyway. Wait, is it a multiplayer

01:06:14.440 --> 01:06:18.949
game? Yeah. Oh. It's like multiplayer, but you're

01:06:18.949 --> 01:06:24.730
fighting computer bosses. Oh, okay. Yeah. Oh,

01:06:24.849 --> 01:06:26.409
I didn't know it was multiplayer. I thought people

01:06:26.409 --> 01:06:27.929
were just out there playing that by themselves.

01:06:28.409 --> 01:06:31.409
Well, I'm staring at the wheel. Should we spin

01:06:31.409 --> 01:06:34.289
the wheel? Since we're filming in this interesting

01:06:34.289 --> 01:06:42.909
studio, we get to spin the wheel. Okay. I might

01:06:42.909 --> 01:06:47.920
cut this out. Okay, that's a good one. Are you

01:06:47.920 --> 01:06:50.659
giving him two free concert tickets? Oh, crap.

01:06:51.679 --> 01:07:02.920
Let's spin again. Okay. Oh, my God. What concert

01:07:02.920 --> 01:07:06.300
are you taking me to? It's fate. I guess it is

01:07:06.300 --> 01:07:09.579
fate. Do you guys want concert tickets to something?

01:07:10.079 --> 01:07:14.420
I don't care. Skrillex? Yeah, next time Skrillex.

01:07:14.809 --> 01:07:20.070
If it's two free concert tickets. Relationship

01:07:20.070 --> 01:07:22.570
advice. Yeah, let's get your guys' relationship

01:07:22.570 --> 01:07:24.590
advice. Do you want relationship advice, or are

01:07:24.590 --> 01:07:25.590
you giving it to us? I think you guys should

01:07:25.590 --> 01:07:29.389
give your general relationship advice as 18 -year

01:07:29.389 --> 01:07:34.349
-olds. Go climbing. Okay. I think that was actually

01:07:34.349 --> 01:07:37.570
pretty good advice. Legitimately? Yeah. Legitimately.

01:07:37.570 --> 01:07:40.710
Yeah, I think it is good. Like, see how they

01:07:40.710 --> 01:07:45.360
think. Yeah, it's problem solving. Okay. Yeah,

01:07:45.420 --> 01:07:47.360
if they just, like, get really mad at a boulder.

01:07:47.900 --> 01:07:50.699
True. Maybe that's a red flag. Yeah, when they,

01:07:50.760 --> 01:07:52.380
like, come down and then they, like, punch the

01:07:52.380 --> 01:07:54.739
boulder. Yeah. That's not good. That's a red

01:07:54.739 --> 01:07:57.639
flag. We don't want that. Yeah. Okay. Do you

01:07:57.639 --> 01:08:01.920
have any relationship advice? Well, I'm curious

01:08:01.920 --> 01:08:07.360
if you guys would prefer to, like, date climbers

01:08:07.360 --> 01:08:11.099
or non -climbers. That's interesting. A lot of

01:08:11.099 --> 01:08:15.280
my friends... say they'd rather not. Because

01:08:15.280 --> 01:08:17.779
it's really weird if you go to a competition,

01:08:18.020 --> 01:08:21.260
and you're like, I have to focus on this thing

01:08:21.260 --> 01:08:22.859
that I've been training for for a really long

01:08:22.859 --> 01:08:27.079
time. And you're like, oh, actually, I also have

01:08:27.079 --> 01:08:29.479
to think about this other person that they're

01:08:29.479 --> 01:08:33.119
also focused on. I think if you do it right,

01:08:33.199 --> 01:08:36.659
it's fine. But for the most part, it's at a level

01:08:36.659 --> 01:08:39.560
of stress that's just not needed. But I feel

01:08:39.560 --> 01:08:43.420
like normal people might, I find it hard to,

01:08:43.479 --> 01:08:46.699
like, understand why you're just in the gym so

01:08:46.699 --> 01:08:49.000
much. Yeah, yeah. But that's the same with, like,

01:08:49.020 --> 01:08:51.500
a lot of sports are like that. That's true. Yeah.

01:08:51.880 --> 01:08:54.760
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if other sports. I

01:08:54.760 --> 01:08:57.340
guess if you could date someone else who's, like,

01:08:57.359 --> 01:08:59.439
doing another sport at a similar level. Yeah,

01:08:59.439 --> 01:09:01.760
that's true. But, yeah. Yeah, but then you're

01:09:01.760 --> 01:09:03.720
not competing against, like, you're not competing

01:09:03.720 --> 01:09:06.159
together. Oh, so you're just talking about, like,

01:09:06.180 --> 01:09:08.760
people in the competition scene. Yeah. Okay.

01:09:08.880 --> 01:09:11.520
Yeah. That's a very small scene. I guess maybe

01:09:11.520 --> 01:09:13.739
I interpreted the question differently, but I

01:09:13.739 --> 01:09:16.460
think if they're doing a different sport, I think

01:09:16.460 --> 01:09:21.039
it's fine. So date climbers and go climb. Go

01:09:21.039 --> 01:09:23.239
climb. Okay, I'm going to leave it at that. I'm

01:09:23.239 --> 01:09:26.279
not giving any advice. Okay, cool. Well, I think

01:09:26.279 --> 01:09:28.119
that's all the questions I had then. Thanks for

01:09:28.119 --> 01:09:31.819
joining me today. Any last -minute words of wisdom

01:09:31.819 --> 01:09:34.619
you guys want to get out there? I have no wisdom.

01:09:34.699 --> 01:09:38.600
I'm not a wise person. I'm not very deep. Okay.

01:09:39.079 --> 01:09:41.479
All right, then anything you want to shout out

01:09:41.479 --> 01:09:44.359
or let people know where they can find you? Shout

01:09:44.359 --> 01:09:47.020
out Class 5. Oh, yeah. Yeah, shout out Class

01:09:47.020 --> 01:09:51.319
5. With their weird training methodology. Yeah.

01:09:51.859 --> 01:09:54.399
Okay, cool. Well, then, thank you guys for joining

01:09:54.399 --> 01:09:56.039
me today, and it was good to talk to you guys.

01:09:56.300 --> 01:09:57.960
Thank you. Thanks so much for having us. Thanks

01:09:57.960 --> 01:10:01.060
for joining in the rain. Thank you so much for

01:10:01.060 --> 01:10:03.420
making it to the end of the podcast. Don't forget

01:10:03.420 --> 01:10:05.920
to like and subscribe if you enjoyed. Otherwise

01:10:05.920 --> 01:10:09.380
you are a super big climber. If you're listening

01:10:09.380 --> 01:10:11.939
on a podcasting platform, I'd appreciate if you

01:10:11.939 --> 01:10:14.899
rate it five stars and you can continue the discussion

01:10:14.899 --> 01:10:18.039
on the free competition climbing discord linked

01:10:18.039 --> 01:10:20.500
in the description. Thanks again for listening.