Matthew Phillips joins us this week! He's only young but he's already had a sparkling career in the sport. A world champion, but also an incredibly humble and laid back guy who's now getting more involved with the routesetting and coaching side of the sport. His pragmatism and fearlessness in the face of challenges is infectious and we really enjoyed having an opportunity to chat to him!  If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us:...

Alex joins us this week! One of the UKs most experienced and best known setters as well as one of the brains behind Hardwood Holds, Alex has been on the UK scene for a really long time and he's an absolute font of knowledge when it comes to all things routesetting and holds (as well as I'm sure a many great other things but we weren't talking about them). Give it a listen if you like delving into the nerdy side of indoor climbing, I always enjoy hearing what he's got to say.  He's also...

Happy New year everyone! Just Aidan and I back this week with some updates and some chat before we dive back into the guests again from next week!  Aidan ponders finding the fun in projecting and Sam gives the story of his first 8C boulder.  If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show

Yo ho ho!... Wait that's pirates... Ho ho ho Merry Christmas everyone! Aidan and Sam team up to shambolically attempt to give the 12 recommendations of Christmas. All pretty chaotic but we hope some of you have a journey home to kill or want to stave off the boredom of having to listen to your family for a few minutes!  We're having a week off next week, but will be back, with a bunch of exciting guests in the New Year, so happy New Year to all of you as well.  If you think we've been good...

A big guest for us this week, Shauna Coxsey joins us for a chat. We cover a lot of ground from her competition days, her injuries, working with the IFSC and climbing post motherhood. Give it a listen, there's a lot in there! If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show

A fantastic story, and one the climbing community would do well to learn from. James Pearson joins us this week to tell us about how he tried to push trad climbing, and how severe a community kickback can be even over something as trivial as slightly inflated grading. We hear about what James learnt from the experience, and how he improved himself as a climber to be ready to be in more or less the exact same situation many years later...  Glossary  Headpoint - The art of practicing a climb...

Very exciting episode for your listening pleasure this week as Alex and Billy, two previous guests, return to talk us through their fantastic adventure in Yosemite. Not many people believed two retired comp climbers who've barely done a multi-pitch between them could wander over to Yosemite and free climb a thing that has still to this day only seen a handful of free ascents.  Come hear all about it! If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us please check out our Patreon...

Taylor joined us this week for a typically wide ranging conversation. We joke a bit about Taylor being 'tall not strong' but it's all in an ironic way, he's clearly a beast! Lots of stuff on the agenda, first ascenting, climbing in the south east, living in a school bus in a commune, all standard fare. Taylor is a super humble guy and it was great to get a chance to chat to him, hope you enjoy! If you're enjoying our podcast and would like to support us:...

We were thrilled to have Ollie Torr this week. The guy really knows his stuff when it comes to coaching climbing. As well as being a strong climber himself, the people he coaches have enjoyed massive success. We got him talking about all kinds of stuff, and some of it might just be useful!  If you're enjoying this podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show

All in the title really, just Aidan and I catching up about how his Finland trip has been going mostly, but also trying to assess boulders by way of their objective qualities not our experiences on them or their difficulty.  If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to support us, please do check out our Patreon page! : https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show

We were excited to have Hazel join us this week, she's the head coach at Strong Mind, the company that is working to redress the balance by exploring the psychological side of our sport. It's pretty easy to talk about the physical side of climbing, hangboard protocols and shoulder conditioning or whatever, but it was a lot of fun to dive into the murkier waters of the mental side with someone who really knows their stuff.  If you think you might benefit from a tune up to your  mental game...

Just the home team this week! Chatting about Aidan returning to Finland, being ill (as in the covid not being cool), battery powered planes and teasing Aidan with more ridiculous moral conundrums. You know, the usual drivel. If you're enjoying our podcast and would like to support us, check us out over on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show

Orrin dropped in to join us this week. We know Orrin pretty well, he's a strong climber based in Leicester, which is not exactly the hub of UK climbing, but Orrin has definitely made the most of it! He's climbed up to 8C on the boulders and he's competed for Great Britain at world cups so he's had a great deal of success in the sport. That said he's been really open and honest with this struggles when things aren't all going his way. He has the ability to really confront his flaws and talk...

We were thrilled to have Isabelle join us for a chat this week. She is one of the best boulderers around and has been responsible for a large amount of boulder development. She has the hardest first ascent by a female to her name, and yet her accomplishments have often seemed to fly slightly under the radar, especially the ones that we thought would have been big news in the climbing world! We chat a little bit about why that might be and also a lot about boulder development, including how...

66 the number of the beast, and the beast in this case is Alex Megos. One of the world's greatest rock climbers, it was a right treat to have him on one of the world's podcasts. A nice chilled out chat about a range of topics, you know who he is, and you know we don't have a format, just give it a listen! (Thank-you for listening) If you enjoy our podcast and would like to support us: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show

A classic ramble pod this week as we discuss a whole lot of absolute rubbish. Should you take your phone climbing? Should Aidan have a Nokia 3310 instead of an iPhone. If you could wear a pair of shoes that benefitted the rock but were rubbish would you wear them? You know, that kind of gubbins.  If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help us to keep it going, please do check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support the show

This week we were joined by South-West crusher Solly. Solly has done a bunch of hard FAs and repeats in recent years so we've been meaning to get him on for a while. We had a really fun chat talking about all sorts of things, Solly has had his fair share of mishaps and misadventures to go along with the big successes so there's something for everyone.  *Warning, this episode is slightly more sweary than usual so be prepared* If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help us to keep...

Billy is back! Our very first guest returns with an update on all that's been going on since last we spoke.. And it's quite a lot! Billy is a top bloke and a good mate of both of ours so it's always a fun chat when he's around. We chat about him taking a step back from the comp scene (he's not actually officially retired but that made for a snappier title), some successful rock trips and he's got some big and exciting goals to chase on his upcoming Yosemite trip.  If you enjoy our podcast...

Ravioli, he reminds me of that kid in school who everyone wanted to be friends with because he would beat up the bullies. I reckon he's the de facto leader of the Moonboarding community. Insanely strong but equally friendly, supportive and encouraging of everybody else. We don't just talk about the Moonboard though as he's no stranger to hard rock climbs, and Aidan doesn't know all that much about the Moonboard so that prevented us from spending the whole conversation nerding out about...

It's a peek into the near future this week as we discuss how artificial intelligence or 'AI' to us in the biz is going to change absolutely everything in climbing. As is traditional we don't know anything about AI so we had to get AI to tell us about itself. A bit like the plot of Ex Machina (one of my favourite films) but Chat GPT so far hasn't gone into a murderous rampage.  If you're enjoying the podcast and would like to help us to keep it going :...

Louis AKA Captain Cutloose joins us this week. As one of the busiest people in climbing it took a few months to find a time but once we did it was a real  treat. Louis' media persona is the incredibly energetic and enthusiastic climbing coach that you may have seen on Instagram or Youtube, but somehow he actually is just like that in real life too. He's effortlessly entertaining and manages to sneak profound suggestions and useful tips under the rug almost without you noticing.  Thanks for...

Ned joins us for a natter this week. One of the strongest climbers the UK has ever produced but he's tried his very best to keep a low profile. If he was a musician his music probably wouldn't be on spotify and only available via cassette. He's responsible for strengthening millions of meat hooks and his products quite likely sit above a doorframe in your house.  His personal climbing has been put on the backburner a tad in recent years, as he's become a Dad and he's also supporting his wife...

You wouldn't know when listening to this episode, but Hamish is a very talented climber, but one who hasn't taken the obsessive path and has left his mind open to experience life outside of climbing as well. As two climbing obsessives, Aidan and I wanted to explore that a bit! They say you can tell a lot about someone from the company they keep, well in this case I think you can. Hamish is one of Aidan's closest friends, and it's not hard to see the similarities in the way they...

Tom O'Hallaran on the pod this week and we had a great chat talking about the Olympic build up as well as the Australian climbing scene and lots of the bits and pieces that he gets up to. It's a long one and we had so much more to cover so hopefully we'll be able to persuade him to come back at some point! This podcast is solely supported by our fantastic community of patroons, if you enjoy the podcast then do consider checking out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70353823 Support...

Jonny Kydd has recently climbed an 8C called The World is Yours at Biblins cave. It took him multiple seasons and over 110 sessions. Not the sort of siege many of us would be willing to take on but Jonny has demonstrated incredible mental resilience and tenacity and when listening to him speak it's infectious. He's also a Lattice coach with a sports science background so is able to provide some great takeaways for all listeners. I really hope you enjoy! If you are enjoying the podcast and...