WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.060 Because, you know, I was that kid that watched 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:04.480 climbing comps and saw thin athletes and got 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:07.700 disordered eating. Yeah, but you look at athletes' 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:09.919 faces out on the mat and tell me how often you 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:11.800 think they're having fun. Did you ever lie about 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:14.859 that? I guess it's like outdoor climbing. You 00:00:14.859 --> 00:00:16.739 know, I climbed a V14 the other day and no one 00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:19.719 cared at all. And I was like, OK, thanks, guys. 00:00:21.310 --> 00:00:24.489 People saying they were going to call child services 00:00:24.489 --> 00:00:27.429 on me and that I was going to be a bad mum and 00:00:27.429 --> 00:00:29.870 I already was because I was risking my daughter's 00:00:29.870 --> 00:00:33.289 life. Guys that have kids are like, are you going 00:00:33.289 --> 00:00:35.130 to have another one? You bounced back so quick 00:00:35.130 --> 00:00:37.390 last time and I'm like, fuck you, I did not bounce 00:00:37.390 --> 00:00:41.729 back. I grinded away and I pushed so hard and 00:00:41.729 --> 00:00:45.299 it wasn't easy. Welcome to another episode of 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:47.939 the That's Not Real Climbing Podcast. I'm your 00:00:47.939 --> 00:00:49.920 host, Jinni, and I'm excited to introduce my 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:52.859 guest for today, Shauna Coxsey. You all probably 00:00:52.859 --> 00:00:55.920 know who she is, but just in case, she's a British 00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:58.179 climber, two -time bouldering World Cup season 00:00:58.179 --> 00:01:01.560 winner, Olympian, mom, and nowadays she's still 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:04.459 ticking off hard climbs outdoors. In this episode, 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:06.799 we'll learn about how not excited she was to 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:09.180 competing in the Olympics, why she has an issue 00:01:09.180 --> 00:01:11.659 with the word retirement, and of course, the 00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:13.980 difficulty of managing climbing during and after 00:01:13.980 --> 00:01:17.400 pregnancy, both socially and physically. Thank 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:19.400 you so much to Mad Rock for setting up this interview 00:01:19.400 --> 00:01:21.980 at their HQ. Just a reminder that you can use 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:24.180 the code NOTREALCLIMBER for 10 % off your Mad 00:01:24.180 --> 00:01:26.680 Rock order. And I hope you enjoy this episode 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:38.079 with Shauna. Real quick, I'm excited to announce 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:40.579 my new sponsor helping make this podcast episode 00:01:40.579 --> 00:01:43.620 possible, Mad Rock Climbing. 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Feel free to message me 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:13.939 if you have any questions about the shoes or 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:16.960 sizing, and you can use the discount code NOTREALCLIMBER 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:21.039 for 10 % off your entire MedRock order. Info 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:23.300 will be in the description. Back to the show. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.120 But okay, how are you doing today? How are the 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:27.370 clinics? yeah they were good fun actually yeah 00:02:27.370 --> 00:02:31.610 they yeah they were like a really young group 00:02:31.610 --> 00:02:34.169 initially uh and then slightly older for the 00:02:34.169 --> 00:02:36.849 second group but still all like youth squad team 00:02:36.849 --> 00:02:39.770 kind of scenes which i didn't prepare for so 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:43.129 yeah kind of so what was different about it how 00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:44.930 did that like throw a wrench in your plans um 00:02:44.930 --> 00:02:48.330 it just means that the pace needs to change and 00:02:48.330 --> 00:02:53.030 the So in my sessions, I really like to focus 00:02:53.030 --> 00:02:55.710 on mindfulness and kind of body connection with 00:02:55.710 --> 00:02:58.870 the brain and what the body's doing Whereas you 00:02:58.870 --> 00:03:00.590 have to shape that very differently for young 00:03:00.590 --> 00:03:04.240 people and you would for adults i think i wish 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:06.020 i could have been there i wanted to take one 00:03:06.020 --> 00:03:09.080 oh they ran out of spots oh yeah they sold out 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:11.060 super quick actually i didn't even get a chance 00:03:11.060 --> 00:03:13.039 to promote them yeah i'm so interested that it 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:16.699 was all like youth climbers but yeah the youth 00:03:16.699 --> 00:03:18.840 climbers here are crazy yeah so i know they're 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:22.639 so realized that it's it's very scary impressive 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:25.460 it's very different to back home oh really yeah 00:03:25.460 --> 00:03:28.490 yeah because like as just kind of like a more 00:03:28.490 --> 00:03:32.229 recreational comp climber it's very hard to just 00:03:32.229 --> 00:03:36.449 like beat any of the kids yeah and that's like 00:03:36.449 --> 00:03:39.129 it's sad but my goal is to just like beat children 00:03:39.129 --> 00:03:42.830 i feel like that's my goal these days yeah like 00:03:42.830 --> 00:03:44.710 okay exactly they were like are you gonna try 00:03:44.710 --> 00:03:47.439 the hardest climbs in the gym i was like dude, 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:49.379 I'd have to warm up for like three hours to try 00:03:49.379 --> 00:03:51.520 that climb. Like, no, I'm good. I know. Like, 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:53.139 we want to watch you on it. And I was like, oh, 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:56.500 I'm sorry. Yeah. So like, of course, like the 00:03:56.500 --> 00:03:59.300 people taking the clinics learn a lot from them. 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:01.180 But as the instructor, is there anything you 00:04:01.180 --> 00:04:03.020 learned from like teaching these clinics? Yeah, 00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:07.680 I learned so much from the athletes that come 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:08.900 in the clinics or the people that come in the 00:04:08.900 --> 00:04:11.219 clinics. And I think it's, you know, I'm someone 00:04:11.219 --> 00:04:13.300 that's really inspired by the people around me. 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:18.100 And I think. So much of what I learn from the 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:23.040 people on the clinics is about the mental side 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:25.399 and the approach and the inquisitive nature. 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:27.439 I love it when I get asked a question that I 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:29.680 have to stop and really think about the answer 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:35.180 to. And I think when it's a lot of young climbers... 00:04:35.470 --> 00:04:37.790 what I learn mostly is about the sense of where 00:04:37.790 --> 00:04:40.509 the sport's at and I've done a few different 00:04:40.509 --> 00:04:42.790 things here in LA and elsewhere with younger 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:44.990 climbers and I'm realizing that so much more 00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:47.230 we need to focus on the mental side of climbing 00:04:47.230 --> 00:04:51.790 and the most frequently asked question I get 00:04:51.790 --> 00:04:54.389 is how do I or how did I deal with nerves as 00:04:54.389 --> 00:04:57.470 a professional climber or as a professional comp 00:04:57.470 --> 00:04:59.370 athlete like that's still the case somewhat on 00:04:59.370 --> 00:05:02.779 rock but it's so much more exposed yeah and you're 00:05:02.779 --> 00:05:05.180 so it's so much more intense in in competition 00:05:05.180 --> 00:05:08.480 climbing right so um yeah that's probably my 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:10.339 most frequently asked question from these clinics 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:13.379 and elsewhere too yeah you seem like one of the 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:17.079 competitors who was like better at dealing with 00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:18.839 your nerves i don't remember where i heard this 00:05:18.839 --> 00:05:21.740 but someone was talking about how um maybe it 00:05:21.740 --> 00:05:24.199 was just like you in that room talking um about 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:26.459 how people like run out onto the maps instead 00:05:26.459 --> 00:05:28.980 of like staying calm and you can just yeah yeah 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:31.500 yeah yeah so i guess you kind of give off that 00:05:31.500 --> 00:05:34.220 like vibe of being more chill during comps yeah 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:36.220 and i think it's something i tried pretty hard 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:40.379 to embody is being present and being calm i perform 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:44.120 best when i'm calm and not agitated. Also like 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:45.779 running out onto the mats when it's super hot 00:05:45.779 --> 00:05:47.500 especially because some climbs are at altitude 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:49.600 you know like it's kind of exhausting you're 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:51.959 either the boulder or flustered and I don't know 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:54.360 to spend an extra five seconds walking to the 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:57.139 boulder and feeling calm and controlled for me 00:05:57.139 --> 00:05:59.360 made a huge difference than if I ran out there 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.300 but that's a personal choice yeah as everything 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:04.860 is and especially comp climbing everyone kind 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:09.279 of has or tries to weave their own version of 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:12.360 what is most conducive to a successful performance, 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:17.500 right? Yeah. So how is your like method for staying 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:20.579 calm during a comp? Staying calm? Yeah. Yeah. 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:22.240 I mean, this is the question I've been asked 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:24.459 the most. I'm very well versed in answering it. 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:28.620 Yeah. But no, I... have talked a lot about recently 00:06:28.620 --> 00:06:31.680 and what I would say to anyone struggling with 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.899 nerves in competition is that nerves are not 00:06:34.899 --> 00:06:37.220 something to be afraid of right nerves are a 00:06:37.220 --> 00:06:39.759 good thing they mean you are excited to be there 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:42.579 they mean you have a lot of emotion around that 00:06:42.579 --> 00:06:46.180 event there's also the fact that we can't change 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:48.439 our emotions we can't change how we feel in any 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:51.120 given moment we can't just choose to feel differently 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:55.879 so understanding that we feel nervous and figuring 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:58.740 out what that looks like is super important and 00:06:58.740 --> 00:07:00.660 we can make choices to feel differently in the 00:07:00.660 --> 00:07:04.439 future we can focus on our breathing or kind 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:06.939 of do mindfulness practice or whatever it might 00:07:06.939 --> 00:07:09.319 be to help you change how you're feeling but 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:11.600 in that moment you can't make nerves go away 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:14.500 it's it's not possible so for me it looked like 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:18.839 owning them you know like kind of realizing that 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:21.480 a they were a good thing and b they weren't anything 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:24.939 to fear And then I'd use different breathing 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:28.600 techniques. So at times I've used box breathing, 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:30.920 you know, like four seconds in, hold for four, 00:07:30.939 --> 00:07:34.620 four seconds out, hold for four, you know? So 00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:37.620 I use that even still today, you know, if I'm 00:07:37.620 --> 00:07:40.360 struggling to sleep or if my toddler is testing 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:44.120 my patience. So box breathing for me is something 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:46.819 that I use as a tool regularly and did so. So 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:49.100 therefore in competition, if I was feeling anxious, 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:54.480 I could use that as a tool. and then i would 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:58.139 very much use mindfulness as well so kind of 00:07:58.139 --> 00:08:01.300 certain intentions of what i wanted to do in 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:04.139 that session and i'd use that to come back to 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:07.439 like where i was if i did feel nervous and then 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:10.819 i would literally force myself to smile to walk 00:08:10.819 --> 00:08:13.060 out on the mat smiling those things yeah which 00:08:13.060 --> 00:08:16.439 is scientifically proven to make you feel better 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:22.300 yeah so for me smiling and being present and 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:24.920 happy to be in that space, to be in the space 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.339 that I've worked really hard to get to, helped 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:29.500 me deal with nerves. So kind of accepting where 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:32.019 they are, trying to control my breathing and 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:35.740 my state, and then smiling. Okay, thank you. 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:38.220 Yeah, a little process. I hope it helps people. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:39.840 Sorry, delve straight into that. Yeah, no, I 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:41.879 mean, hopefully it helps. It seems like a question 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:45.059 you get a lot. Yeah, it is. Yeah, I get it a 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:47.659 lot. And I didn't struggle with nerves at comps 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:50.019 towards the end. But the one thing I will say 00:08:50.019 --> 00:08:53.200 is that you cannot train experience. Yeah. So 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:55.799 you can train comp simulations. You can do as 00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:59.360 many boulders as you want or ropes or speed runs. 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.539 But you can't train being out in front of a crowd 00:09:02.539 --> 00:09:05.860 on the mats performing. So the more you do it, 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:08.580 the easier it gets. Yeah. I mean, you said that... 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:11.179 it didn't you didn't feel as nervous anymore 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:14.399 at the end was that because maybe you like didn't 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.000 care as much anymore or did you still i think 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.539 i would say the only competition i ever went 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:23.320 into not to compete that i didn't care as much 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:26.360 would be the olympics and there's a whole story 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:29.139 behind that do you want to get in i know we can 00:09:29.139 --> 00:09:34.179 yeah um and that so going into the olympic qualification 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:38.169 so the world championships in 2019 I felt pretty 00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:43.750 good. But my entire team around me was fairly 00:09:43.750 --> 00:09:45.990 convinced that I wasn't going to qualify at that 00:09:45.990 --> 00:09:49.149 event. We didn't even talk about the fact that 00:09:49.149 --> 00:09:51.269 I might qualify. It didn't feel like a possibility. 00:09:51.730 --> 00:09:55.370 And I think Tokyo feels like so long ago now. 00:09:55.490 --> 00:10:01.110 Because it kind of was. A little. But we just 00:10:01.110 --> 00:10:03.169 didn't know where anyone sat in terms of a three 00:10:03.169 --> 00:10:05.799 -discipline sport. they didn't exist previously 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:08.740 you know that three discipline element so i'd 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:11.639 done some training and my speed time wasn't incredible 00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:13.700 compared to some of the other athletes i mean 00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:16.840 it wasn't terrible but it wasn't great okay um 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:19.220 and we had no idea where my lead climbing was 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:22.759 at because i hadn't done many comps yeah and 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:25.059 the hardest thing to train was bouldering so 00:10:25.059 --> 00:10:28.500 yeah because you went from having all your time 00:10:28.500 --> 00:10:30.500 to be the best in the world or the best you could 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:34.639 be at the thing you love most And that was me 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:36.740 trying to be one of the best in the world to 00:10:36.740 --> 00:10:39.360 a third of your time, trying to be better than 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:42.399 you've ever been. Yeah. Which I fell so out of 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:44.039 love with bouldering in the start of the Olympic 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:46.580 training process. It was like super heartbreaking. 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:48.679 And one of the things I had to work really hard 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:52.899 to get back. So, yeah, going into Hachioji World 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:55.179 Championships, we had no idea. So I walked away 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:58.179 from that event with a bronze medal and was like 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:01.220 pretty psyched, obviously, unexpected. And was 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:04.299 like, OK, the Olympics is... a year away let's 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:07.500 train and push for that i picked up a couple 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:10.299 of injuries but they were manageable and then 00:11:10.299 --> 00:11:14.360 the whole covert delay just had such a negative 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:18.039 impact for me personally on my training on my 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:21.039 injuries not being able to have access to physios 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:26.240 and the usual routine and i'm someone who thrives 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:29.419 off my environment i like to work with people 00:11:29.419 --> 00:11:31.580 and train with people. And then that was all 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:35.100 stripped away. So as one of the older athletes 00:11:35.100 --> 00:11:38.980 as well that qualified, an extra year felt hard 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:41.360 as opposed to exciting. And for the younger athletes, 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:43.139 you know, an extra year of training was super 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:45.620 significant. It was huge. How old were you at 00:11:45.620 --> 00:11:55.720 the time? 27? Okay. Yeah, I think. Gosh, I should 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:58.120 know the answer to that. I guess if you didn't 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:00.440 care about that time then no I mean I did really 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:02.620 care you know going to Hachioji and then 2020 00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:05.320 yeah but then by the time 2021 came around it 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.799 felt like get to the games that was the goal 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:10.340 ultimately because my body was really struggling 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:13.559 yeah I knew I needed surgeries I knew I needed 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:19.259 kind of a lot of time away and I'd had a knee 00:12:19.259 --> 00:12:22.639 surgery that had an epidural that went wrong. 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:25.220 So I had a, I therefore carried a back injury 00:12:25.220 --> 00:12:27.799 because of that. I still do. Epidural for a knee 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:30.480 injury? Yeah. Whoa. Yeah. I didn't know that 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:32.700 was a thing at all. It wasn't. So it was during 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:37.259 COVID. The anesthetist didn't want to do general 00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:40.679 despite my asking for it. It's a long story, 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:44.440 but yeah. So they missed my epidural space when 00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:46.679 they did the epidural and punctured my spinal. 00:12:47.580 --> 00:12:51.419 called fluid so the dura fluid leaked out um 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:54.639 so yeah i had a i still have a back injury from 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:57.100 that which was really aggravated by speed so 00:12:57.100 --> 00:13:01.259 basically in 2019 i was psyched and then mid 00:13:01.259 --> 00:13:05.419 2020 kind of got screwed over by a bad epidural 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:10.799 yeah so 2020 olympics so in 2021 it was like 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:13.139 cool let's limp to the finish line we get there 00:13:13.139 --> 00:13:15.740 and try and become an olympian yeah actually 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:19.700 complete this chapter You didn't do bad. No, 00:13:19.779 --> 00:13:21.840 in hindsight, I was like, shit, I probably should 00:13:21.840 --> 00:13:23.960 have tried a bit harder and been more in the 00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:25.820 zone for this, but it was so hard and it was 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:27.519 the first time in my career where I felt like 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:31.679 I couldn't get into the space of fighting to 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:34.700 compete. And I also knew it was my last ever 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:37.639 event. I knew that it was the end of my career 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:45.100 and I was ready for it, but it felt kind of drawn 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:48.830 out towards the end. It was like, Yeah. Are we 00:13:48.830 --> 00:13:50.730 going to make it or not? Like, are we going to 00:13:50.730 --> 00:13:52.409 get there? And there'd been so much hype towards 00:13:52.409 --> 00:13:54.429 it. And I also wanted babies. I was like, I really 00:13:54.429 --> 00:13:56.649 want to have a baby. So the extra year for me 00:13:56.649 --> 00:13:59.509 was not ideal. Okay. And so that was your very 00:13:59.509 --> 00:14:02.590 last event. yeah okay yeah someone asked me earlier 00:14:02.590 --> 00:14:04.529 when did i last go on the speed route and i was 00:14:04.529 --> 00:14:07.409 like uh in tokyo you haven't touched it since 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:10.190 no i think the speed climbers were really sad 00:14:10.190 --> 00:14:12.570 to hear that i don't know i mean i feel like 00:14:12.570 --> 00:14:14.690 they deserve their own set of medals and they 00:14:14.690 --> 00:14:16.649 deserve their own discipline i'm not sure speed 00:14:16.649 --> 00:14:18.289 climbers will be sad to hear that because they 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:20.470 have their own sport you know and i respect that 00:14:20.470 --> 00:14:24.649 and i loved training it actually but yeah i mean 00:14:24.649 --> 00:14:26.649 i got pregnant not long after getting back from 00:14:26.649 --> 00:14:29.490 tokyo and also it's the worst thing for my back 00:14:29.490 --> 00:14:33.320 so yeah yeah yeah makes sense okay so we will 00:14:33.320 --> 00:14:36.379 get into your um i guess quitting the competition 00:14:36.379 --> 00:14:41.279 scene a bit in a bit um but i guess first for 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:42.899 those who don't know how did you get into climbing 00:14:42.899 --> 00:14:45.480 and competing in the first place yeah so i started 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:48.720 climbing when i was four i saw it on the tv my 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:53.139 dad was a trials bike rider um so we used to 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:55.580 watch like the trials riding on the adventure 00:14:55.580 --> 00:15:00.259 sports programs on the tv And then after one, 00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:02.679 climbing came on one day. And it was Catherine 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:05.759 Destivelle, who is a French female climber. And 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:09.639 she was soloing cliffs in Africa, in Mali. And 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:12.179 I just fell in love. And I was like, Dad, that's 00:15:12.179 --> 00:15:14.159 what I want to do. I want to do that. I want 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:17.100 to climb. We found a local gym a little while 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:23.539 later. So no one in my family climbed. I've brought 00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:25.899 in a couple of people, some of my nephews since. 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:29.940 but yeah i started at four and then started competing 00:15:29.940 --> 00:15:32.519 at seven just because there was a compound at 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:36.299 my local gym which i did and i think i i came 00:15:36.299 --> 00:15:37.960 like third because there were three people in 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:41.179 it oh okay yeah still counts for something yeah 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:44.700 i mean i got a medal i got the medal and i qualified 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:46.779 for the national final so i went to the national 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:49.639 final because there were only three again um 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:51.759 but yeah i went to the national final and there's 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:53.840 actually footage of me climbing and i'm crying 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.759 my eyes out i seem to hate it oh but I remember 00:15:56.759 --> 00:15:59.720 distinctly watching the oldest female category 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:02.220 in the youth having this climb off and they were 00:16:02.220 --> 00:16:05.299 on this super steep wall and it was these like 00:16:05.299 --> 00:16:07.899 three incredible climbers all having this climb 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:09.759 off one after another and I was like I want to 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:12.299 do that so I've seen like the footage of me being 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:14.779 upset and I kind of remember it but I remember 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:16.879 way more this like climb off from these really 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:20.600 strong girls and I'm pretty sure it was Leah 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:22.940 Crane who is my coach that came to the games 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:27.559 with me and then Hazel Finley and Katie Whittaker 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:30.220 so like three kind of legends in the British 00:16:30.220 --> 00:16:33.000 scene for sure. Yeah and so since then were you 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.440 more inspired by the comp scene or also just 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:41.039 like outdoors? I don't think I've ever really 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:43.799 been inspired by kind of the elite of the sport 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:47.039 mainly because it felt quite disconnected for 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:51.120 me because In terms of where I was at and what 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:57.820 I was doing, there wasn't so much press around 00:16:57.820 --> 00:17:00.440 the competition scene in my sphere where I grew 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:04.619 up climbing. And then there were so few women 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:08.119 in the sport doing inspiring things at the time 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:11.359 that were promoters. I'm sure there were, but 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:13.240 we didn't find out about them. So I felt quite 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:16.000 disconnected from the elite world of the sport. 00:17:17.400 --> 00:17:19.119 But I think I've always been someone who's more 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:21.740 inspired by the people surrounding me doing amazing 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:26.759 things. You know, like my sister worked full 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:29.059 time and did a law degree part time whilst raising 00:17:29.059 --> 00:17:31.579 me. And I'm like, that is badass and inspiring. 00:17:31.900 --> 00:17:35.099 Like that is super hardcore. But as well, you 00:17:35.099 --> 00:17:36.619 know, you go to the climbing gym and you see 00:17:36.619 --> 00:17:39.140 someone send their first V3 that they've been 00:17:39.140 --> 00:17:43.579 working a few sessions towards. Or like someone 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:45.559 getting their first pull up and they've... They're 00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:47.740 trying super hard and they do it. That's inspiration 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:49.680 for me. That's something that I can feel and 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:52.900 I appreciate. Whereas I feel quite detached. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:55.380 And I think I did as a younger person from kind 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:58.940 of the elites of the world. And I guess thinking 00:17:58.940 --> 00:18:02.700 back, looking back on your time in Team GB when 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:06.140 you were actually competing, I don't know how 00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:08.599 involved you are with GB anymore. I'm not involved 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:11.240 at all with GB. Okay. Yeah. You might not know 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:13.440 the answer for this. Okay. How do you feel like 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:16.470 the team has progressed since you left? I think 00:18:16.470 --> 00:18:19.390 well I mean we can look in terms of numbers you 00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:22.349 know I was the only British athlete to go to 00:18:22.349 --> 00:18:26.710 Paris not Paris getting confused I was the only 00:18:26.710 --> 00:18:30.150 British athlete to go to Tokyo and then we had 00:18:30.150 --> 00:18:35.569 four Olympians in Paris so we obviously saw Toby 00:18:35.569 --> 00:18:38.630 take the gold and then Hamish and Erin both make 00:18:38.630 --> 00:18:43.369 finals and Molly was there too so to have four 00:18:43.369 --> 00:18:46.309 athletes Going to Paris. I think is an incredible 00:18:46.309 --> 00:18:49.210 achievement. I think there has been significant 00:18:49.210 --> 00:18:51.990 progress in terms of representation of British 00:18:51.990 --> 00:18:55.670 athlete in the elite so in finals and winning 00:18:55.670 --> 00:18:59.109 medals and being successful But I definitely 00:18:59.109 --> 00:19:01.069 don't think the support has improved for the 00:19:01.069 --> 00:19:03.069 athletes and I think it's really sad actually 00:19:03.069 --> 00:19:06.349 to see Where the sport is right now to see the 00:19:06.349 --> 00:19:08.410 success that the athletes are having and to see 00:19:08.410 --> 00:19:12.349 how under supported they are Yeah, and I think 00:19:12.349 --> 00:19:17.769 that there's been more funding come in and I'd 00:19:17.769 --> 00:19:20.849 love to see it go to the athletes and actually 00:19:20.849 --> 00:19:23.609 make a difference for them. I know there's athletes 00:19:23.609 --> 00:19:26.009 who qualified for the Olympics who won't even 00:19:26.009 --> 00:19:28.150 have all their comp registrations paid this year. 00:19:28.569 --> 00:19:31.589 Wow, really? Like in GB or just in general? Oh, 00:19:31.690 --> 00:19:34.710 wow. Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty rough. It's sad. 00:19:34.890 --> 00:19:39.829 It's really sad. Let alone flights or accommodation 00:19:39.829 --> 00:19:44.799 or funding for training. Going backwards, it's 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:47.819 so unfortunate, but I don't know enough detail 00:19:47.819 --> 00:19:50.900 on the what. Okay. Yeah, funding is always a 00:19:50.900 --> 00:19:52.859 huge issue with anything in the comp scene, I 00:19:52.859 --> 00:19:56.279 think. I guess sort of on the lines of funding, 00:19:56.500 --> 00:19:59.299 you mentioned to me that you felt like you'd 00:19:59.299 --> 00:20:01.619 gotten really lucky with your timing as an athlete, 00:20:01.779 --> 00:20:05.180 growing along with social media. I guess what 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:08.880 exactly do you mean by that? So my growth as 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:12.630 a professional athlete... kind of coincided with 00:20:12.630 --> 00:20:15.490 our sport growing at a significant rate. And 00:20:15.490 --> 00:20:18.789 I think also coincided with social media, kind 00:20:18.789 --> 00:20:22.029 of the birth and growth of Instagram and that 00:20:22.029 --> 00:20:26.730 becoming relevant. So those three things for 00:20:26.730 --> 00:20:29.710 me kind of created the perfect storm in some 00:20:29.710 --> 00:20:32.609 ways for me to be able to build a platform and 00:20:32.609 --> 00:20:39.240 to work with brands and be successful. Yes, it 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:41.240 was a lot of work. It didn't just happen by accident. 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:46.720 I pour a lot of effort and energy into my social 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:50.099 presence and how I interact with the media and 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:53.460 the work that I do and everything I do outside 00:20:53.460 --> 00:20:57.309 of being on the wall, but I do think I was lucky. 00:20:57.470 --> 00:21:00.230 I do think it's a different game to play if you're 00:21:00.230 --> 00:21:02.529 coming into the world now, because you're stepping 00:21:02.529 --> 00:21:05.329 into a sport that is Olympic, that has very distinct 00:21:05.329 --> 00:21:07.890 pathways in place in some countries and others 00:21:07.890 --> 00:21:13.109 less so. You know, you can't just rock up to 00:21:13.109 --> 00:21:15.569 US nationals and have a go. You have to qualify 00:21:15.569 --> 00:21:17.069 to get there. You have to go through a whole 00:21:17.069 --> 00:21:19.190 process, as I've been learning from the youth 00:21:19.190 --> 00:21:23.990 here recently. You know, like it's a very distinct... 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:26.759 drawn out process just to get to nationals let 00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:30.599 alone to get to internationals and then you've 00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:33.299 got the whole contention of social media and 00:21:33.299 --> 00:21:37.839 how to perform in that world you know as a professional 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:41.279 athlete there's kind of two ways to make money 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:43.859 and have a successful career is to be really 00:21:43.859 --> 00:21:47.740 good and be at the very very top or to be marketable 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:50.519 and work with brands and be very good at the 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:52.680 marketing side. And you can marry those worlds 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:56.700 and do pretty well. You can do even better if 00:21:56.700 --> 00:21:58.380 you're doing that in the States. It's a whole 00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:01.059 different game. Oh gosh, yeah. It's very much 00:22:01.059 --> 00:22:03.980 different in Europe. The funding's a lot less. 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:10.440 But yeah, I think now to exist in either of those 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:13.299 worlds is a lot more challenging or to build 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:17.619 up to having a strong presence. in the comp scene 00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:21.279 at the elite it's more difficult in terms of 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:23.500 the process to get there let alone the actual 00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:27.079 them performing as it is on social media too. 00:22:27.579 --> 00:22:29.480 Also I just want to say in terms of like the 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:32.819 US funding or I guess in terms of like I guess 00:22:32.819 --> 00:22:35.160 like advertising funding yeah I mean I think 00:22:35.160 --> 00:22:37.319 the athletes here don't get funding well I guess 00:22:37.690 --> 00:22:40.250 Sorry either. Yeah, but there are some countries 00:22:40.250 --> 00:22:42.369 that do get like funding for that. Yeah. Yeah, 00:22:42.430 --> 00:22:44.829 of course that that's a great point and worth 00:22:44.829 --> 00:22:46.630 mentioning I'm talking in terms of sponsorship 00:22:46.630 --> 00:22:48.869 me. Yeah on that side of thing the marketing 00:22:48.869 --> 00:22:52.490 side. Yeah, I think there's Generally a lot more 00:22:52.490 --> 00:22:55.349 budget from companies in the US than there is 00:22:55.349 --> 00:22:59.089 in Europe, right? In terms of marketing budget, 00:22:59.250 --> 00:23:00.809 but yeah, there are countries in Europe that 00:23:00.809 --> 00:23:05.019 are fully funded. There are countries like in 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:07.319 the across the world federations that pay their 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:09.279 athletes to be athletes or they might be part 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:11.619 of the military in that country or the police 00:23:11.619 --> 00:23:14.960 um and then that will mean they get funded as 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:17.720 an athlete to do that full time so there's a 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:19.720 lot of different ways in which it works in different 00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:22.220 countries but yeah in the states i know it's 00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:25.880 only the very top few who are funded um and in 00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:27.759 the uk i don't even know if it's the top few 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:29.380 anymore yeah i guess it doesn't seem like that 00:23:29.380 --> 00:23:33.230 um But yeah, we know how to do capitalism. That's 00:23:33.230 --> 00:23:37.190 the moral of the story. So do you think if you 00:23:37.190 --> 00:23:39.109 started as an athlete right now, you would find 00:23:39.109 --> 00:23:41.309 it really daunting to get into the whole like 00:23:41.309 --> 00:23:44.930 marketing space? It's such a hard question to 00:23:44.930 --> 00:23:47.910 answer because, you know, with hindsight, it's 00:23:47.910 --> 00:23:52.930 impossible to imagine what I might have thought. 00:23:53.029 --> 00:23:55.529 I think ultimately I knew exactly what I wanted 00:23:55.529 --> 00:23:57.730 to do. I wanted to be a professional climber 00:23:57.730 --> 00:24:01.950 and I knew exactly. what my goals were not how 00:24:01.950 --> 00:24:05.069 to achieve them and i forged a path for myself 00:24:05.069 --> 00:24:07.730 and i've said before that it wasn't a case of 00:24:07.730 --> 00:24:10.029 trying to open doors for myself we were building 00:24:10.029 --> 00:24:12.309 the doors to open because they just didn't exist 00:24:12.309 --> 00:24:14.369 you know there hadn't been a professional comp 00:24:14.369 --> 00:24:18.829 climber from the uk before me we'd had some success 00:24:18.829 --> 00:24:22.049 in comps way back and the odd odd medal here 00:24:22.049 --> 00:24:27.130 and there but for me my goal was to train like 00:24:27.130 --> 00:24:30.809 an athlete become an athlete in the climbing 00:24:30.809 --> 00:24:35.450 world and that felt quite new but I think I was 00:24:35.450 --> 00:24:37.690 very driven and really understood my goals so 00:24:37.690 --> 00:24:40.890 I think coming in now I think yes I'd find it 00:24:40.890 --> 00:24:44.470 daunting just as I did back then but I think 00:24:44.470 --> 00:24:46.509 I'd be quite driven to know exactly the path 00:24:46.509 --> 00:24:48.869 I wanted to go down but that's just because I'm 00:24:48.869 --> 00:24:51.819 quite a goal -driven person. Any like social 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:54.359 media tips to current athletes out there? Oh 00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:57.859 my gosh, social media tips. That's a big question. 00:24:58.019 --> 00:25:01.299 You just slid that right in there. I feel like 00:25:01.299 --> 00:25:03.480 we could do a whole podcast on social media tips 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:05.819 and I don't think I'm the right person to ask. 00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:08.720 I think the social media, you know, people try 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:10.799 to master it and I think that that is an impossible 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:15.579 task. I think ultimately if you're able to be 00:25:15.579 --> 00:25:20.640 yourself. that's the best way to go about things 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:24.880 but I think it's almost a game you know that 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:27.299 you're having to play and deciding how you want 00:25:27.299 --> 00:25:29.900 to play that game is really important I don't 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:34.420 think that you have to like be the next influencer 00:25:34.420 --> 00:25:36.819 and do it a specific style I think you can be 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:40.740 authentic to yourself now but posting consistently 00:25:40.740 --> 00:25:49.200 and trying to allow negativity to pass without 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:53.440 giving you too much emotional distress because 00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:56.640 it's impossible to exist on social media without 00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:01.160 encountering negativity and i find that really 00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:04.180 sad and i hate that that's a part of my job and 00:26:04.180 --> 00:26:06.400 a part of you know younger athletes are going 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:09.579 to face that too yeah but it's kind of an unfortunate 00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:11.799 circumstance of the world we're living in it 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:15.000 feels like yeah Yeah, there's a lot of negativity 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:16.880 online. I mean that kind of like drives clicks 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:19.559 as well. Exactly. I guess that is kind of just 00:26:19.559 --> 00:26:22.400 how it works But I guess I was kind of wondering 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:24.940 sort of like transitioning to the athletes commission 00:26:24.940 --> 00:26:27.940 thing because I guess I kind of had this thought 00:26:27.940 --> 00:26:31.059 that maybe I don't know if this is true, but 00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:33.299 as part of Athletes' Commission, maybe one thing 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:35.859 that you guys work on is also come up with workshops 00:26:35.859 --> 00:26:37.859 for athletes so that they know how to manage 00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:41.579 their life after the sport. I was wondering if 00:26:41.579 --> 00:26:43.420 that's something you guys do. It's something 00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:46.059 that some national federations do, and some national 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:49.359 federations do it really well. A lot of Olympic 00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:52.960 national Olympic committees will do it, so NOCs. 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:57.720 it's really interesting because with the international 00:26:57.720 --> 00:27:00.859 federation it obviously sits at the top and then 00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:02.460 you have the national federations below that 00:27:02.460 --> 00:27:04.240 and then kind of the athletes come through the 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:07.079 national federations so understanding where responsibility 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:10.819 lies is often quite confusing and i do think 00:27:10.819 --> 00:27:12.740 it's something well it is something that's come 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:15.400 up at the athlete commission and some of the 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:18.819 commission members have wanted to run sessions 00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:23.019 on marketing and strategies and yeah life after 00:27:23.019 --> 00:27:27.119 what comes after pro -athlete life. There are 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:31.319 a few systems in place within the IFSC to help 00:27:31.319 --> 00:27:34.299 educate on judging and route setting and whatnot 00:27:34.299 --> 00:27:37.619 so there's the balls starting to roll there and 00:27:37.619 --> 00:27:39.460 I think it is definitely something that national 00:27:39.460 --> 00:27:42.859 federations need to do more as well because obviously 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:46.980 it's relevant to where you are in the world as 00:27:46.980 --> 00:27:49.339 well and culturally what that looks like it will 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:53.400 be different at times but I would love to see 00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:56.880 more. professional athletes involved, not just 00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:59.480 in the coaching side, which I think is a really 00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:02.619 natural fit for most people to say, oh, that 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:04.960 makes sense to bring athletes through into coaching. 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:07.420 Although we don't see it as much as I would expect 00:28:07.420 --> 00:28:12.019 or would hope. Different skill sets, kind of. 00:28:12.059 --> 00:28:14.819 Yeah, they are. But I do think that there's an 00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:18.599 element of having someone on your team as a national 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:21.140 federation that's been there and done it is invaluable. 00:28:22.209 --> 00:28:25.210 As much as you're a coach, I do not think you 00:28:25.210 --> 00:28:27.769 need to be a professional climber or have been 00:28:27.769 --> 00:28:30.789 to the Olympics to be a good coach. But I'm just 00:28:30.789 --> 00:28:32.910 saying the experience of having been out on those 00:28:32.910 --> 00:28:36.970 mats is invaluable. You can't say you know what 00:28:36.970 --> 00:28:38.730 that feels like or you know how to coach that 00:28:38.730 --> 00:28:41.470 environment entirely without the experience, 00:28:41.670 --> 00:28:43.650 I don't think, and without that shared experience. 00:28:44.210 --> 00:28:47.920 I think what we learn... And what athletes learn 00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:50.799 on that mat is very useful for coaches to absorb 00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:53.599 as well. It's not a one -way relationship. I 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:55.339 think that coaches can learn a lot from athletes 00:28:55.339 --> 00:29:00.039 too. So my main task as the chair of the athlete 00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:02.700 commission has been to have an athlete representative 00:29:02.700 --> 00:29:05.420 sit on every single commission within the IFSC. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:09.000 Because what I found when I came on board initially 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:14.549 was there would be a topic. or a question around 00:29:14.549 --> 00:29:17.869 something that was changing and all this work 00:29:17.869 --> 00:29:19.650 would be done and then the athlete commission 00:29:19.650 --> 00:29:21.910 would be told that it was happening and often 00:29:21.910 --> 00:29:27.130 have some questions or some discourse and then 00:29:27.130 --> 00:29:28.450 it would be like well it's too late all this 00:29:28.450 --> 00:29:30.750 work's been done this is what's happening we're 00:29:30.750 --> 00:29:32.789 just letting you know or like yeah we can take 00:29:32.789 --> 00:29:34.670 that on board a little bit maybe we can change 00:29:34.670 --> 00:29:38.670 it um so i want the athletes to be involved in 00:29:38.670 --> 00:29:41.609 those conversations from the very start and to 00:29:41.609 --> 00:29:44.839 have input and constantly remind everyone around 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:48.000 that the sport only exists if the athletes are 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:49.819 performing on the stage, you know, like that 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:52.819 is what the sport is. So yeah, that's been my 00:29:52.819 --> 00:29:55.859 main push and my main focus is to get that voice 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:59.480 within every commission. But I think it'd be 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:02.940 so cool to have athletes sat on the board, not 00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:05.279 as athlete representative, as president, vice 00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:08.480 president. like continent representatives yeah 00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:11.619 to have more voices in those spaces so yeah the 00:30:11.619 --> 00:30:14.319 kind of career element really comes into play 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:17.000 there yeah and backtracking real quick for anyone 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:19.339 who's like not super familiar with athletes commission 00:30:19.339 --> 00:30:21.539 does um can you give like a brief overview of 00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:24.599 that and i guess also like what are some of like 00:30:24.599 --> 00:30:27.000 the main top of mind issues right now that you 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:29.579 guys are tackling so the international federation 00:30:29.579 --> 00:30:34.160 of sport climbing is the body for all of sport 00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:40.119 climbing and that sits as its own entity and 00:30:40.119 --> 00:30:44.339 then the national federations are kind of part 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:48.839 of the international federation so The International 00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:52.299 Federation has an athlete commission where two 00:30:52.299 --> 00:30:54.259 members of that commission, so the chair and 00:30:54.259 --> 00:30:57.279 vice chair, sit on the executive board. So that's 00:30:57.279 --> 00:31:01.220 two of 11 spots, which we have full voting rights 00:31:01.220 --> 00:31:05.420 as well, I will say. So although I think climbing 00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:09.039 has a lot of improvements to make still, I really 00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:12.000 am proud of the fact that our federation has 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:15.019 two athletes with voting rights. on the executive 00:31:15.019 --> 00:31:17.880 board that's not very common in sport at all 00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:20.180 so we have gender equality on that as well so 00:31:20.180 --> 00:31:22.420 it's one male and one female and the athlete 00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:25.039 commission is responsible for being the voice 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:27.180 between the international federation and the 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:30.200 athletes and there's a lot of work that's done 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:34.359 on every single sphere that you can imagine in 00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:37.680 terms of topics that have been most relevant 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:41.480 i think the one that comes up most frequently 00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:44.680 and the one that is we're incredibly passionate 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:46.640 about as a commission and as a sport is athlete 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:50.420 health and well -being um so there's a lot of 00:31:50.420 --> 00:31:54.480 work been done on red s testing and climbing 00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:56.980 is actually the first sport to bring in any form 00:31:56.980 --> 00:32:00.779 of red s testing yeah it's it's really interesting 00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:03.460 other sports have tried and this is the first 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:07.240 any any red s testing but actually has a repercussion 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:11.819 sorry so wow in a certain circumstance an athlete 00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:15.500 could be removed from competition yeah um that's 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:17.279 a whole other topic but again we could probably 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:20.019 do an entire podcast on to explain but there's 00:32:20.019 --> 00:32:22.960 been a lot of push and voice from the athletes 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:26.460 um to get this to where it is and yes it's not 00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:30.220 perfect and it is in a phase where it's coming 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:33.079 into the sport and there's a lot more work to 00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:35.940 be done but I'd say that was kind of the topic 00:32:35.940 --> 00:32:38.660 that's reoccurring and then there's a lot of 00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:40.880 discussion on route setting always of course 00:32:40.880 --> 00:32:45.500 and calendars and a big huge one has been the 00:32:45.500 --> 00:32:48.359 Olympics the disciplines and the medals that 00:32:48.359 --> 00:32:51.279 we'll have so we'll find out in April what the 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:54.559 number of medals is and how many athletes and 00:32:54.559 --> 00:32:57.400 then also the Paralympics too so the athlete 00:32:57.400 --> 00:33:01.819 commission have been really supportive of the 00:33:01.819 --> 00:33:04.640 paralympic kind of climbing bid but that has 00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:08.859 all been solely the para climbing committee who 00:33:08.859 --> 00:33:11.359 fronted that work and the athlete representatives 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:14.960 on the para climbing committee there um so yeah 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:20.000 they work tirelessly to make the bid for the 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:23.539 la paralympics which we'll find out in december 00:33:23.539 --> 00:33:26.400 if that's accepted so we're definitely in it's 00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:30.140 just how it will look so how many how many classifications 00:33:30.140 --> 00:33:32.220 are not trying to scare you there they are in 00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:34.079 it's the classifications and how that's all going 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:37.099 to look and what numbers so they've worked super 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:40.259 hard on that and then we're trying to make it 00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:42.940 as cohesive as possible and figure out the best 00:33:42.940 --> 00:33:46.339 way for the para climbing committee to work best 00:33:46.339 --> 00:33:48.519 with the athlete commission to feed back to the 00:33:48.519 --> 00:33:51.599 executive board but yeah i'd say our biggest 00:33:51.599 --> 00:33:53.960 challenge is always communicating with the athletes 00:33:53.960 --> 00:33:58.839 so one of my big Goals aside from getting athletes 00:33:58.839 --> 00:34:01.599 on every commission is to have every National 00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:04.500 Federation have an athlete representative In 00:34:04.500 --> 00:34:07.980 an ideal world you'd have every National Federation 00:34:07.980 --> 00:34:10.239 have an athlete on their board Which doesn't 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:13.219 seem like a big ask if the International Federation 00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:17.840 has to yeah But some of our federations are covering 00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:20.239 multiple different sports. So snow sports or 00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:25.889 mountaineering Outdoor climbing. Yeah So yeah, 00:34:25.929 --> 00:34:28.369 even getting one athlete name, like a representative, 00:34:28.570 --> 00:34:31.309 is tricky at times. Okay, makes sense. Yeah, 00:34:31.369 --> 00:34:33.550 there's a lot of spinning plates. Yeah, there 00:34:33.550 --> 00:34:35.809 was a lot of, I guess, issues you had mentioned 00:34:35.809 --> 00:34:38.909 as well in terms of like, yeah, like Red S2. 00:34:39.469 --> 00:34:41.510 One of the audience questions that had come in 00:34:41.510 --> 00:34:43.489 was, does it feel like you're actually moving 00:34:43.489 --> 00:34:46.750 the needle with this? Or is it like more so just 00:34:46.750 --> 00:34:48.949 like a lot of frustration or like deadlocks? 00:34:49.750 --> 00:34:52.769 No, it does feel like, I mean, there's change 00:34:52.769 --> 00:34:58.369 that has happened, right? It is moving. My question 00:34:58.369 --> 00:35:01.429 that I posed publicly and to the International 00:35:01.429 --> 00:35:03.730 Federation, to the Medical Commission, is that 00:35:03.730 --> 00:35:08.289 if we're saying we're testing and we're looking 00:35:08.289 --> 00:35:11.429 at whether or not athletes are healthy or not, 00:35:11.530 --> 00:35:14.429 and we are saying our testing has come in, it 00:35:14.429 --> 00:35:16.929 works well, are we saying everyone that goes 00:35:16.929 --> 00:35:19.449 out and competes is healthy and that is the image 00:35:19.449 --> 00:35:21.949 we are happy to portray for our sport, or are 00:35:21.949 --> 00:35:25.599 we saying our testing doesn't work? because right 00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:28.639 now it's the former so we're saying we're testing 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:32.719 and this works and this is great but there's 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:34.300 obviously a reason we've brought this testing 00:35:34.300 --> 00:35:38.440 in so my fear is that we could be causing more 00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:41.199 damage by saying everyone's healthy everyone's 00:35:41.199 --> 00:35:44.039 fine when it might not look that way to the outside 00:35:44.039 --> 00:35:50.010 community but ultimately the testing they can 00:35:50.010 --> 00:35:52.030 only pull someone out of competition if they 00:35:52.030 --> 00:35:54.349 are at risk in that very moment when they do 00:35:54.349 --> 00:35:58.429 that test and I think it's like a fatal risk 00:35:58.429 --> 00:36:01.530 in that in that moment so there's a lot of nuance 00:36:01.530 --> 00:36:04.730 to the way the testing works and I think there's 00:36:04.730 --> 00:36:08.090 a lot better communication that needs to happen 00:36:08.090 --> 00:36:11.590 so that we can all understand what the testing 00:36:11.590 --> 00:36:14.440 is and how it works. Because, you know, I was 00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:16.519 that kid that watched climbing comps and saw 00:36:16.519 --> 00:36:19.280 thin athletes and got disordered eating because 00:36:19.280 --> 00:36:21.760 of watching comp athletes. Like I was literally 00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:24.380 that kid. So it's not. I didn't know about that 00:36:24.380 --> 00:36:27.139 part. Oh, yeah. I haven't talked about it much 00:36:27.139 --> 00:36:29.980 publicly. And I think I will at some point. But 00:36:29.980 --> 00:36:33.059 it's been very relevant in these topics, in this 00:36:33.059 --> 00:36:37.539 topic, because when we talk about protecting 00:36:37.539 --> 00:36:39.699 the athletes and the well -being of the athletes 00:36:39.699 --> 00:36:42.659 that are on that platform, on that stage, that's. 00:36:43.269 --> 00:36:45.929 so important and that's why this work is being 00:36:45.929 --> 00:36:48.789 done but it stems so much further than that it 00:36:48.789 --> 00:36:52.349 stems to the little kid watching or every single 00:36:52.349 --> 00:36:54.909 individual that's watching you know we're inspiring 00:36:54.909 --> 00:36:57.730 not just a generation but an entire community 00:36:57.730 --> 00:37:02.050 of climbers all around the world so yeah i think 00:37:02.050 --> 00:37:05.710 that we are making steps and the medical commission 00:37:05.710 --> 00:37:09.389 has had some changes recently and I think that 00:37:09.389 --> 00:37:12.210 there's some incredibly passionate caring individuals 00:37:12.210 --> 00:37:17.030 that are working so hard and I just hope it keeps 00:37:17.030 --> 00:37:19.110 improving because I think there's always going 00:37:19.110 --> 00:37:21.269 to be teething pains right when things come in 00:37:21.269 --> 00:37:24.989 and it's new so yeah my role is up in September 00:37:24.989 --> 00:37:29.789 for the international Federation athlete chair 00:37:29.789 --> 00:37:33.550 role. So hand the reins over to the next person 00:37:33.550 --> 00:37:35.550 to continue this workout. You're not going to 00:37:35.550 --> 00:37:37.389 do it again? No, I'm not going to do it again. 00:37:37.530 --> 00:37:41.130 No, I feel ready to pass that baton. Okay. And 00:37:41.130 --> 00:37:43.809 I guess going back to, I mean, when you were 00:37:43.809 --> 00:37:46.250 saying that you also kind of went into that eating 00:37:46.250 --> 00:37:49.269 disorder route, if you're comfortable. Yeah, 00:37:49.269 --> 00:37:52.789 it's fine. Did you, were you like aware that 00:37:52.789 --> 00:37:56.239 that was, I guess, happening? Because I think 00:37:56.239 --> 00:37:58.639 some people don't even realize that they're like... 00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:01.760 Yeah, no, I looked at who was... So when I was 00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:03.739 a teenager and I wanted to be a pro climber, 00:38:03.800 --> 00:38:05.719 I looked at who was at the top. They looked a 00:38:05.719 --> 00:38:08.460 certain way and that's what I thought was needed 00:38:08.460 --> 00:38:10.800 to be successful. Like I would print pictures 00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:14.860 out of skinny climbers and stick them on my mirror 00:38:14.860 --> 00:38:16.380 to be like, right, I don't want to eat. And I 00:38:16.380 --> 00:38:18.519 would try hard not to eat. Like I was very aware 00:38:18.519 --> 00:38:20.800 of what I was doing. And then I broke my leg 00:38:20.800 --> 00:38:23.739 because my bone density was low. Wow. So I was... 00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:27.440 significantly damaging my health at this point. 00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:29.320 And then I started working with a coach and a 00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:32.119 nutritionist and they helped me build back up. 00:38:32.460 --> 00:38:35.000 Yeah, so I think if I hadn't have been lucky 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.340 enough to break my leg, the irony, then I could 00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:42.179 have gone down like a damaging path. And I had 00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:46.039 struggles with disordered eating over like having 00:38:46.039 --> 00:38:48.179 an eating disorder. I don't think I actually 00:38:48.179 --> 00:38:53.369 was, I don't think I was unlucky. sorry i think 00:38:53.369 --> 00:38:56.230 i was lucky to meet the right people at the right 00:38:56.230 --> 00:38:59.289 time to pull me out of it and not go too far 00:38:59.289 --> 00:39:01.690 um but it's something that i still struggle with 00:39:01.690 --> 00:39:03.550 today like i still have to be very conscious 00:39:03.550 --> 00:39:05.869 about it and i still have kind of trauma from 00:39:05.869 --> 00:39:11.670 that and that is because of what image our sport 00:39:11.670 --> 00:39:14.769 was promoting at that time yeah and i guess i've 00:39:14.769 --> 00:39:17.650 heard stories that even like amongst athletes 00:39:17.650 --> 00:39:19.650 it would just be like a normal thing to talk 00:39:19.650 --> 00:39:23.519 about like how little you're eating and Did you 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:25.139 feel like that was the case for you at the time? 00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:27.780 Yeah, for sure. We are in a power to weight sport. 00:39:28.079 --> 00:39:30.639 And I think that weight isn't a topic we're going 00:39:30.639 --> 00:39:32.920 to get away from. So it's the narrative around 00:39:32.920 --> 00:39:35.139 that. And I think we need to shift the narrative 00:39:35.139 --> 00:39:38.900 from weight to health. And I think even still 00:39:38.900 --> 00:39:41.769 now, you know, like... If I speak to athletes, 00:39:41.869 --> 00:39:44.710 there's pride in saying how light you are. Really? 00:39:45.170 --> 00:39:50.789 Yeah, it's hard. But also there's a lot of fear 00:39:50.789 --> 00:39:53.610 around saying your weight if you find it too 00:39:53.610 --> 00:39:57.650 heavy. And I was one of the heavier climbers 00:39:57.650 --> 00:40:00.050 on the World Cup circuit, and my husband's a 00:40:00.050 --> 00:40:05.989 heavier climber, you know? So we're very familiar 00:40:05.989 --> 00:40:09.690 with... becoming comfortable with that but even 00:40:09.690 --> 00:40:11.289 the fact that I'm sat here saying we're heavier 00:40:11.289 --> 00:40:13.269 climbers you know that's kind of part of the 00:40:13.269 --> 00:40:15.989 damaging narrative that that's creating because 00:40:15.989 --> 00:40:18.610 we're not super heavy people right but we are 00:40:18.610 --> 00:40:23.090 in like the pro climber scene um and I don't 00:40:23.090 --> 00:40:25.969 know how we get away from that narrative because 00:40:25.969 --> 00:40:30.690 of being in a power to weight sport but I do 00:40:31.550 --> 00:40:35.369 wish for a healthier world that our sport exists 00:40:35.369 --> 00:40:39.710 in. Yeah, it's kind of scary, I think. Well, 00:40:39.809 --> 00:40:42.329 I would say like from an outsider's perspective, 00:40:42.550 --> 00:40:45.210 like someone who's not involved in the elite 00:40:45.210 --> 00:40:50.739 parts of climbing, I don't... Like I feel like 00:40:50.739 --> 00:40:52.739 the narrative is kind of changing. It does feel 00:40:52.739 --> 00:40:55.000 like that. Shifting. Hearing about it on social 00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:57.360 media and stuff. People are kind of more aware 00:40:57.360 --> 00:40:59.639 about what they're saying. Careful about what 00:40:59.639 --> 00:41:02.440 they're saying in terms of like weight. So I 00:41:02.440 --> 00:41:05.139 think it's okay. Yeah. No, I think it's good. 00:41:05.260 --> 00:41:07.800 And I remember being stood on a World Cup podium 00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:12.079 and it was me, Miho and Yanya. And we all had. 00:41:12.440 --> 00:41:16.400 biceps. We were all like stacked. And I looked 00:41:16.400 --> 00:41:19.420 at those girls and I was like, this is the healthiest 00:41:19.420 --> 00:41:22.739 podium I've seen in a World Cup in terms of the 00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:25.559 image presented to the outside world. And I'm 00:41:25.559 --> 00:41:27.679 not saying anyone who looks skinny isn't healthy, 00:41:27.800 --> 00:41:29.920 not by any means. We don't know anyone's backstory. 00:41:30.300 --> 00:41:33.239 We don't know what their natural body form is. 00:41:34.280 --> 00:41:37.079 We can sit back and question everything and it's 00:41:37.079 --> 00:41:38.900 easy just like, you know, the keyboard warriors 00:41:38.900 --> 00:41:41.679 who love to comment on Yeah, especially women's 00:41:41.679 --> 00:41:46.000 weight, you know, I find that hard but yeah, 00:41:46.079 --> 00:41:49.159 I I'm also guilty of it because when I saw it 00:41:49.159 --> 00:41:51.300 was me Miho and Janja and I was like this is 00:41:51.300 --> 00:41:53.139 inspiring This is cool. Like all those little 00:41:53.139 --> 00:41:55.300 girls that are in the front row of this competition 00:41:55.300 --> 00:41:59.840 see three healthy looking athletes like that 00:42:00.409 --> 00:42:02.809 for me was a really cool moment in the sport 00:42:02.809 --> 00:42:05.710 especially where I'd come from and what I'd seen 00:42:05.710 --> 00:42:08.769 in my time in like the pro comp circuit to be 00:42:08.769 --> 00:42:11.429 like ah this is changing like this is impressive 00:42:11.429 --> 00:42:16.030 yeah um but yeah I hope that continues to kind 00:42:16.030 --> 00:42:19.289 of get better in the future yeah yeah and I I 00:42:19.289 --> 00:42:22.429 definitely um I think I resonate with what you're 00:42:22.429 --> 00:42:24.489 saying about just like the keyboard warriors 00:42:24.489 --> 00:42:28.119 too oh gosh It's just, yeah, it's not great to 00:42:28.119 --> 00:42:31.860 comment on anyone, even if you're, like, concerned. 00:42:32.139 --> 00:42:35.019 Because people, I don't know, naturally settle 00:42:35.019 --> 00:42:36.780 at any kind of weight. So you don't necessarily 00:42:36.780 --> 00:42:39.420 know just from looking if they're healthy or 00:42:39.420 --> 00:42:42.500 not. Yeah. So, yeah, that can be pretty damaging 00:42:42.500 --> 00:42:45.940 as well. Yeah. I mean, there's a whole host of 00:42:45.940 --> 00:42:49.199 nuance to the testing that goes on as well. So 00:42:49.199 --> 00:42:53.900 I think although it can... kind of looked like 00:42:53.900 --> 00:42:56.400 the international federation saying everyone's 00:42:56.400 --> 00:42:58.840 healthy if they're competing that's not actually 00:42:58.840 --> 00:43:02.099 the case necessarily because there will if an 00:43:02.099 --> 00:43:04.500 athlete shows up in a certain zone then the national 00:43:04.500 --> 00:43:08.480 federation will be notified and then ultimately 00:43:08.480 --> 00:43:11.000 the responsibility for the athlete's well -being 00:43:11.000 --> 00:43:13.500 falls to the national federation but that's not 00:43:13.500 --> 00:43:16.300 to say that isn't happening we just aren't privy 00:43:16.300 --> 00:43:19.300 to that information okay like as the public so 00:43:20.079 --> 00:43:23.119 yeah there could be athletes who are under concern 00:43:23.119 --> 00:43:25.360 but you won't find that information out and you 00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:28.000 shouldn't right like that is that private yeah 00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:30.710 exactly yeah Okay. Well, thank you for sharing 00:43:30.710 --> 00:43:33.389 your story. I know that can be like kind of difficult 00:43:33.389 --> 00:43:36.449 sometimes. That's okay. So switching gears here 00:43:36.449 --> 00:43:39.409 a bit into, I guess, dare I say the word retirement? 00:43:39.929 --> 00:43:42.269 Yeah, we've talked about this. Please excuse 00:43:42.269 --> 00:43:44.489 this brief intermission, but if you're interested 00:43:44.489 --> 00:43:46.510 in deleted scenes from this episode where we 00:43:46.510 --> 00:43:48.590 talk about her experience commentating at the 00:43:48.590 --> 00:43:51.670 Paris Olympics and strengthening her climbing 00:43:51.670 --> 00:43:54.769 through pelvic floor exercises, do consider helping 00:43:54.769 --> 00:43:57.389 support this podcast on Patreon. Some of the 00:43:57.389 --> 00:43:59.320 perks include a membership. a pin shipped to 00:43:59.320 --> 00:44:01.739 you after two months, prioritize guest questions 00:44:01.739 --> 00:44:04.559 or the ability to submit video questions, and 00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:07.440 more to come. The proceeds go back into the podcast, 00:44:07.619 --> 00:44:09.599 help me break even, and they help me improve 00:44:09.599 --> 00:44:12.300 the experience of the guests. If you'd like to 00:44:12.300 --> 00:44:14.940 help out non -monetarily, liking, commenting, 00:44:15.039 --> 00:44:17.539 and sharing helps a great deal as well. Back 00:44:17.539 --> 00:44:19.800 to the show. Yeah, what is it like transitioning 00:44:19.800 --> 00:44:22.159 from comp climbing to rock? And I guess what's 00:44:22.159 --> 00:44:25.000 your issue with retirement? Yeah, I just, the 00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:28.460 word retirement. saying I retired is my biggest 00:44:28.460 --> 00:44:31.820 regret in my career and that's not to say you 00:44:31.820 --> 00:44:34.099 shouldn't use it it's just because I said I retired 00:44:34.099 --> 00:44:36.000 so then everyone assumed I was done with climbing 00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:38.340 I wasn't going to be elite and then because I 00:44:38.340 --> 00:44:40.559 had a baby during that time too I was literally 00:44:40.559 --> 00:44:42.719 like written off as an elite climber in a lot 00:44:42.719 --> 00:44:46.380 of spheres I think or especially outside of the 00:44:46.380 --> 00:44:50.659 climbing community and because when was coming 00:44:50.659 --> 00:44:52.920 back from having my baby and wanting to transition 00:44:52.920 --> 00:44:54.780 to becoming a rock climber there was a lot of 00:44:54.780 --> 00:44:56.800 change going on so I was kind of battling a lot 00:44:56.800 --> 00:44:59.860 of other things and I think people genuinely 00:44:59.860 --> 00:45:02.860 assumed I was like done with climbing outside 00:45:02.860 --> 00:45:07.119 of the sport and that's I think partly because 00:45:07.119 --> 00:45:11.000 we've become Olympic so in a lot of traditional 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:13.860 Olympic sports your sport is your job you retire 00:45:13.860 --> 00:45:16.920 and then you never do that again. Really? In 00:45:16.920 --> 00:45:18.880 a lot of sports, yeah, as I've learned. You know, 00:45:18.920 --> 00:45:21.900 like, if you think... I know Jess Ennis, who's 00:45:21.900 --> 00:45:26.239 a heptathlete. She's an Olympian, a British Olympian, 00:45:26.239 --> 00:45:28.860 won multiple medals. She doesn't go and do the 00:45:28.860 --> 00:45:33.199 heptathlon every weekend, right? And... I mean, 00:45:33.219 --> 00:45:35.500 that's a bit different. It's like a conglomeration. 00:45:35.659 --> 00:45:39.460 It is. So I was chatting to a track cyclist when 00:45:39.460 --> 00:45:42.420 I was in Paris. I was on the studio show for 00:45:42.420 --> 00:45:45.559 Eurosport. And we were sat chatting. We had the 00:45:45.559 --> 00:45:47.239 Eiffel Tower twinkling in the background. We 00:45:47.239 --> 00:45:49.519 were all glammed up. And she was like, so what 00:45:49.519 --> 00:45:51.400 do you do now? Is this what you do? Commentating. 00:45:51.400 --> 00:45:53.500 And I was like, no, no, I'm a pro climber. She 00:45:53.500 --> 00:45:54.940 was like, yeah, you used to be, but what do you 00:45:54.940 --> 00:45:57.000 do now? And I was like, no, I'm a professional 00:45:57.000 --> 00:45:58.480 rock climber. And she was like, sorry, what? 00:45:59.139 --> 00:46:02.340 I was like. What do you mean what? And she was 00:46:02.340 --> 00:46:06.280 like, how does that work? I climb rocks. And 00:46:06.280 --> 00:46:07.679 honestly, when I said it out loud, I was like, 00:46:07.739 --> 00:46:10.280 yeah, how does that work? I climb rocks. Sounds 00:46:10.280 --> 00:46:13.719 very strange. But she couldn't fathom that I 00:46:13.719 --> 00:46:16.579 could continue my professional career within 00:46:16.579 --> 00:46:20.960 the sport outside of competition. She genuinely 00:46:20.960 --> 00:46:23.400 couldn't grasp it. The more I explained it, the 00:46:23.400 --> 00:46:27.059 less sense it made to her. And she's a professional. 00:46:27.920 --> 00:46:30.739 ex -professional athlete too, you know? So I've 00:46:30.739 --> 00:46:33.300 come across that kind of resistance quite a lot 00:46:33.300 --> 00:46:38.079 in that world outside of the sport. So that's 00:46:38.079 --> 00:46:41.500 my issue with the word retirement. Transition 00:46:41.500 --> 00:46:44.619 is a great word from compathlete to rock climber 00:46:44.619 --> 00:46:48.920 with the hiatus of having a baby. But yeah, it 00:46:48.920 --> 00:46:53.550 feels like a different sport. any like difficulties 00:46:53.550 --> 00:46:56.489 there going from yeah i had a baby okay yeah 00:46:56.489 --> 00:47:00.550 that's true yeah yeah i think um it's i get asked 00:47:00.550 --> 00:47:03.510 a lot like how different is comp climbing to 00:47:03.510 --> 00:47:05.349 rock climbing and what the transition was like 00:47:05.349 --> 00:47:09.170 um but because i had pregnancy postpartum recovery 00:47:09.170 --> 00:47:13.150 yeah in the middle of that phase and i did that 00:47:13.150 --> 00:47:15.840 kind of during the olympic dip that everybody 00:47:15.840 --> 00:47:18.539 goes through and especially with tokyo because 00:47:18.539 --> 00:47:21.280 it was climbing's first time everyone was a first 00:47:21.280 --> 00:47:26.179 -time olympian no one was ready for the circus 00:47:26.179 --> 00:47:31.239 and wildness that comes with going to the games 00:47:31.239 --> 00:47:36.360 um i think everyone struggled literally everyone 00:47:36.360 --> 00:47:38.929 i know that went to Tokyo and I spoke to afterwards 00:47:38.929 --> 00:47:41.690 struggled whether they were there as a coach 00:47:41.690 --> 00:47:45.110 or a physio or if they won gold or came 20th, 00:47:45.130 --> 00:47:47.250 you know, like everyone had some sort of dip 00:47:47.250 --> 00:47:50.949 after. Just like the crash from... Yeah, it's 00:47:50.949 --> 00:47:55.489 so intense and the build -up with then the delay. 00:47:56.299 --> 00:47:59.199 And the whole surrounding of, will it happen? 00:47:59.340 --> 00:48:01.280 Won't it happen? Will you test positive for COVID 00:48:01.280 --> 00:48:03.599 and not get to go? Or won't you? You know, you 00:48:03.599 --> 00:48:05.460 sat in the airport when you got there and did 00:48:05.460 --> 00:48:07.119 this COVID test. You just sat in a conference 00:48:07.119 --> 00:48:09.480 room with a mask on, waiting for someone to come 00:48:09.480 --> 00:48:11.219 and give you a little positive or negative card. 00:48:11.320 --> 00:48:12.739 It's like, are you going to get turned around 00:48:12.739 --> 00:48:16.880 on the flight? Go straight home? This seems like 00:48:16.880 --> 00:48:20.719 some weird sci -fi movie now. Yeah. I think it 00:48:20.719 --> 00:48:24.760 was in the past, kind of. Yeah. So for me, going 00:48:24.760 --> 00:48:27.489 from... literally the olympics it's a pregnancy 00:48:27.489 --> 00:48:31.130 to then climbing outdoors feels like maybe it's 00:48:31.130 --> 00:48:35.449 not the usual transition phase there um i guess 00:48:35.449 --> 00:48:38.449 maybe this one will be a bit more relevant than 00:48:38.449 --> 00:48:41.010 um one of the audience questions how do you deal 00:48:41.010 --> 00:48:43.389 mentally with things that used to work well climbing 00:48:43.389 --> 00:48:45.849 training and performance wise but now or are 00:48:45.849 --> 00:48:48.090 not or at least in the past temporarily we're 00:48:48.090 --> 00:48:51.110 not um either because of getting older or having 00:48:51.110 --> 00:48:54.170 less time because of family or yeah maybe um 00:48:56.140 --> 00:49:02.699 I have let go of my expectation of my pre -partum 00:49:02.699 --> 00:49:08.260 self. So I have a lot of postpartum PBs, I call 00:49:08.260 --> 00:49:14.800 them, like a PPPB. So I think for me, I've just 00:49:14.800 --> 00:49:19.079 had to accept my new body and a new way of training. 00:49:20.519 --> 00:49:22.940 You know, I went from the most intense cycle. 00:49:23.500 --> 00:49:30.440 of my entire life to growing a human birthing 00:49:30.440 --> 00:49:33.420 a human and recovering from that and now I have 00:49:33.420 --> 00:49:36.960 a lot less time so it's just wildly different 00:49:36.960 --> 00:49:40.900 it doesn't feel like I have any expectation lingering 00:49:40.900 --> 00:49:45.980 anymore from who I was in terms of physicality 00:49:46.750 --> 00:49:50.769 before I had a baby but also I guess because 00:49:50.769 --> 00:49:53.889 I wasn't just training for bouldering it doesn't 00:49:53.889 --> 00:49:56.530 feel as relevant so because I was training speed 00:49:56.530 --> 00:49:59.250 climbing and rope climbing and bouldering a little 00:49:59.250 --> 00:50:02.809 bit now I can just train bouldering and focus 00:50:02.809 --> 00:50:07.530 solely on that and the actual specifics of training 00:50:07.530 --> 00:50:10.489 for rock climbing are so minimal compared to 00:50:10.489 --> 00:50:13.289 training for just comp bouldering alone let alone 00:50:13.289 --> 00:50:17.360 all three disciplines So yeah, I'd say I've just 00:50:17.360 --> 00:50:19.639 let go of the expectation that I had before and 00:50:19.639 --> 00:50:23.039 I have new goals that are specific to who I am 00:50:23.039 --> 00:50:26.099 and what I want to achieve now. And I've allowed 00:50:26.099 --> 00:50:29.840 myself to shift into this new expectation and 00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:33.179 be content with that. When I say allowed, I've 00:50:33.179 --> 00:50:35.400 had a lot of support to help me get to that stage 00:50:35.400 --> 00:50:39.019 because it's not been easy, especially because 00:50:39.019 --> 00:50:41.219 we have two boards in our basement and I have 00:50:41.219 --> 00:50:45.239 climbs that I could do. pre -Frankie. Well, one 00:50:45.239 --> 00:50:47.059 of them we reset, which was the best thing we 00:50:47.059 --> 00:50:49.199 could have done. But the right board we kept 00:50:49.199 --> 00:50:52.739 has been the same for 13 years, I think. So, 00:50:52.780 --> 00:50:54.619 you know, I'm like, oh, I used to be able to 00:50:54.619 --> 00:50:57.320 do that. Yeah. And I've just managed to let go 00:50:57.320 --> 00:51:00.099 of that. Yeah. Yeah. We set in the left board 00:51:00.099 --> 00:51:02.800 was good, though. OK. Yeah. It seems like letting 00:51:02.800 --> 00:51:05.599 go of expectations is like a big thing within 00:51:05.599 --> 00:51:07.820 comps in general. Like I hear a lot of athletes 00:51:07.820 --> 00:51:10.980 say that. they go into a comp with no expectations 00:51:10.980 --> 00:51:12.840 and that's when they do that. I don't know if 00:51:12.840 --> 00:51:14.780 I believe that they mean that though. Oh, really? 00:51:15.019 --> 00:51:17.320 Yeah, I wonder. I feel like I've said that and 00:51:17.320 --> 00:51:19.380 I've not actually meant it. I've thought that 00:51:19.380 --> 00:51:22.139 I meant it. Why are you there if you don't have 00:51:22.139 --> 00:51:24.460 expectations? Well, along the lines of that, 00:51:24.539 --> 00:51:26.820 a lot of people say, oh, I'm just here to have 00:51:26.820 --> 00:51:29.559 fun. Yeah, but you look at athletes' faces out 00:51:29.559 --> 00:51:31.519 on the mat and tell me how often you think they're 00:51:31.519 --> 00:51:34.489 having fun. Did you ever lie about that? I don't 00:51:34.489 --> 00:51:36.530 think I actually said that I was there to have 00:51:36.530 --> 00:51:39.110 fun. Maybe I did lie about that. If I said that, 00:51:39.210 --> 00:51:41.309 then I was lying. It's like type two fun though, 00:51:41.409 --> 00:51:42.989 you know? Like in it, you're not really having 00:51:42.989 --> 00:51:47.469 fun. Unless it goes well. Yeah. Yeah, you know? 00:51:47.550 --> 00:51:49.489 People always say it. Oh, like I was just there 00:51:49.489 --> 00:51:51.889 to have fun and then they won. And it's like, 00:51:51.949 --> 00:51:54.369 well, did you win because... Would you have said 00:51:54.369 --> 00:51:57.010 that if you were like just missed out on finals 00:51:57.010 --> 00:51:59.730 by slipping up matching the last hole? That wouldn't 00:51:59.730 --> 00:52:02.590 be so fun, right? I don't know. I do think that... 00:52:02.960 --> 00:52:05.699 People say things because it's almost like the 00:52:05.699 --> 00:52:08.219 right thing to say especially like I'm just there 00:52:08.219 --> 00:52:11.719 to have fun I question that a lot or like I enjoy 00:52:11.719 --> 00:52:14.119 it I'm like, do you actually enjoy that? Like 00:52:14.119 --> 00:52:16.280 I'm not sure how much of being out on the mats 00:52:16.280 --> 00:52:18.780 and it not going well I enjoyed yes when it was 00:52:18.780 --> 00:52:20.940 going great and I was like flashing boulders 00:52:20.940 --> 00:52:24.840 and it feels wonderful But even that adds a new 00:52:24.840 --> 00:52:27.420 layer of pressure and I don't know I think as 00:52:27.420 --> 00:52:32.900 well athletes who gain some success that just 00:52:32.900 --> 00:52:36.320 piles that pressure on even more you know winning 00:52:36.320 --> 00:52:38.820 my first world cup was incredible but it was 00:52:38.820 --> 00:52:42.059 also like bittersweet because then suddenly it's 00:52:42.059 --> 00:52:44.960 like oh the only way from here is to maintain 00:52:44.960 --> 00:52:47.440 yeah otherwise it's disappointment like when 00:52:47.440 --> 00:52:49.480 I won my first world cup and people like flitted 00:52:49.480 --> 00:52:51.460 in to congratulate me and I got all these messages 00:52:51.460 --> 00:52:54.639 and flowers and people were super psyched and 00:52:54.639 --> 00:52:57.719 then by like a few if I came second at the next 00:52:57.719 --> 00:53:00.699 comp people like oh yeah like whatever you know 00:53:00.699 --> 00:53:02.320 like no one cares anymore and then winning a 00:53:02.320 --> 00:53:05.179 few more suddenly it's only i guess it's like 00:53:05.179 --> 00:53:07.179 outdoor climbing you know i climbed a v14 the 00:53:07.179 --> 00:53:09.440 other day and no one cared at all and i was like 00:53:09.440 --> 00:53:13.269 okay Thanks, guys. Oh, I'm impressed. A few V14s 00:53:13.269 --> 00:53:15.889 ago, everyone cared. I got my flowers, but never 00:53:15.889 --> 00:53:18.489 mind, not anymore. I'm impressed. Congrats on 00:53:18.489 --> 00:53:21.150 the V14. I appreciate that. But yeah, I guess 00:53:21.150 --> 00:53:23.929 it's relative, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, thanks 00:53:23.929 --> 00:53:25.789 for the honesty there, because I've always wondered. 00:53:26.150 --> 00:53:28.889 So then I guess looking back on your time in 00:53:28.889 --> 00:53:32.420 the comm circuit, does any... like do you miss 00:53:32.420 --> 00:53:35.139 anything about it or like not miss anything about 00:53:35.139 --> 00:53:37.659 it and do you remember anything or do you like 00:53:37.659 --> 00:53:39.760 remember any amazing moments where you didn't 00:53:39.760 --> 00:53:42.840 win yeah i have so many amazing moments where 00:53:42.840 --> 00:53:47.219 i didn't win um because for me i wanted to go 00:53:47.219 --> 00:53:50.239 out and give my very best performance and i genuinely 00:53:51.389 --> 00:53:53.949 If someone else did better and I walk, so what 00:53:53.949 --> 00:53:56.010 I would do is I'd walk off the mats and I'd try 00:53:56.010 --> 00:53:59.590 really hard to analyze whether I was happy with 00:53:59.590 --> 00:54:02.369 my performance and satisfied. And if I was, then 00:54:02.369 --> 00:54:04.250 I'd try really hard not to be disappointed if 00:54:04.250 --> 00:54:07.030 I didn't win the gold medal, which didn't always 00:54:07.030 --> 00:54:09.269 work. And yeah, there were tears and yeah, it 00:54:09.269 --> 00:54:12.809 was hard. But that's what I always really tried 00:54:12.809 --> 00:54:16.049 to do. I never wanted to go out and be. Miho 00:54:16.049 --> 00:54:18.570 like I wasn't there to beat the person I wouldn't 00:54:18.570 --> 00:54:22.670 ever have wanted them to fall off For me to get 00:54:22.670 --> 00:54:24.809 gold, you know, like I wasn't there willing someone 00:54:24.809 --> 00:54:26.730 to fall I was like, I want you to give your best 00:54:26.730 --> 00:54:28.590 performance like I want to beat you on your best 00:54:28.590 --> 00:54:33.070 day Not you have a bad day so I can win. I don't 00:54:33.070 --> 00:54:37.530 know that was always where I wanted to be and 00:54:37.530 --> 00:54:39.349 some of my like fondest memories are competing 00:54:39.349 --> 00:54:41.630 with Janya is she was coming through and super 00:54:41.630 --> 00:54:43.610 young and this little kid that was like fiery 00:54:43.610 --> 00:54:46.309 and you could see she was going to be the best 00:54:46.309 --> 00:54:49.730 like we've ever seen you could tell that pretty 00:54:49.730 --> 00:54:53.070 early on so to have a couple years where I could 00:54:53.070 --> 00:54:55.670 beat her a little bit was quite fun but it was 00:54:55.670 --> 00:54:57.969 like very clear it was Janya's era that was coming 00:54:57.969 --> 00:55:01.130 and I was like waiting for it and we all knew 00:55:01.130 --> 00:55:05.670 but there's some really fond memories of competing 00:55:05.670 --> 00:55:09.710 with her but also competing alongside Anna Storr 00:55:09.710 --> 00:55:12.710 who was a total legend of the sport who came 00:55:12.710 --> 00:55:16.570 kind of before me and I started competing towards 00:55:16.570 --> 00:55:19.650 the end of her career and then obviously Akio 00:55:19.650 --> 00:55:22.230 Noguchi who competed throughout my entire career 00:55:22.230 --> 00:55:26.889 so seeing them win world cup seeing my peers 00:55:26.889 --> 00:55:31.440 my friends win a deserved victory I probably 00:55:31.440 --> 00:55:34.719 meant as much to me as my gold medals. I think 00:55:34.719 --> 00:55:37.119 there was a time where there were five of us 00:55:37.119 --> 00:55:39.679 that would always make every single World Cup 00:55:39.679 --> 00:55:44.219 final. It was so fun in terms of being there 00:55:44.219 --> 00:55:46.079 with your friends and actually fun. You know, 00:55:46.119 --> 00:55:48.460 you're like, oh, like we're good friends. Being 00:55:48.460 --> 00:55:51.039 out on the mats may be not fun always because 00:55:51.039 --> 00:55:52.920 some of the times it would go your way, some 00:55:52.920 --> 00:55:57.239 of it wouldn't. But that was a really cool experience 00:55:57.239 --> 00:56:00.829 to live. and be an athlete during that time and 00:56:00.829 --> 00:56:05.469 to have those relationships and to be part of 00:56:05.469 --> 00:56:07.250 something that felt really important for the 00:56:07.250 --> 00:56:09.449 sports progression like we were all pushing each 00:56:09.449 --> 00:56:11.170 other yeah and there were five of us and then 00:56:11.170 --> 00:56:13.150 we'd see like oh who's going to come into finals 00:56:13.150 --> 00:56:15.030 this time like who's going to be the number six 00:56:15.030 --> 00:56:17.969 and then to create a space that felt welcoming 00:56:18.880 --> 00:56:21.860 And bring people in. And I remember really distinctly 00:56:21.860 --> 00:56:25.519 my first World Cup final. An athlete called Mina 00:56:25.519 --> 00:56:27.980 Markovic came up to me in ISO and was like, hey, 00:56:28.019 --> 00:56:30.440 welcome to finals. What do you need? Do you know 00:56:30.440 --> 00:56:31.880 what you're doing? Do you understand what's going 00:56:31.880 --> 00:56:33.579 to happen? We're all going to go up here and 00:56:33.579 --> 00:56:34.900 warm up. Then we're going to do this. Then they're 00:56:34.900 --> 00:56:36.219 going to come take us. They'll take us quite 00:56:36.219 --> 00:56:39.239 early. So make sure that you have everything 00:56:39.239 --> 00:56:41.139 you need. And like talked me through the whole 00:56:41.139 --> 00:56:44.900 thing. And I was so nervous. And she just made 00:56:44.900 --> 00:56:47.460 it feel like a space that was so comfortable. 00:56:48.320 --> 00:56:50.280 And I wanted to try and give that to athletes 00:56:50.280 --> 00:56:53.159 that came through into the sport. And I remember 00:56:53.159 --> 00:56:56.059 Oceana McKenzie's first World Cup final and like 00:56:56.059 --> 00:56:58.260 what it meant to her and to her country for her 00:56:58.260 --> 00:57:01.019 to be in that final was so cool to be part of. 00:57:01.800 --> 00:57:04.639 Yeah, I have a lot of fond memories there. In 00:57:04.639 --> 00:57:07.219 fact, I... I don't remember many of my World 00:57:07.219 --> 00:57:09.719 Cup wins thinking about it. I remember those 00:57:09.719 --> 00:57:12.000 moments way more than... I'm trying to actually 00:57:12.000 --> 00:57:15.219 pull into my brain a World Cup win. Oh, I did 00:57:15.219 --> 00:57:17.739 one full flash final in Munich that was cool. 00:57:18.159 --> 00:57:20.639 Finals? Yeah, I flashed all four in finals. That 00:57:20.639 --> 00:57:22.719 was cool. But I don't really remember any others. 00:57:23.019 --> 00:57:24.840 Okay. I'll have to take a look. Yeah, and there's 00:57:24.840 --> 00:57:29.000 like 11 of them. Yeah. Okay. Well then, conversely, 00:57:29.039 --> 00:57:35.440 what do you not miss about competing? It's funny 00:57:35.440 --> 00:57:39.960 because there's not a lot that I'm like, oh. 00:57:40.639 --> 00:57:43.019 That's good. Yeah, I don't know. I loved what 00:57:43.019 --> 00:57:45.159 I did. I found it hard to travel and be away 00:57:45.159 --> 00:57:48.300 from my other half so much. But also I knew that 00:57:48.300 --> 00:57:51.659 it was temporary. But my career was, I knew I 00:57:51.659 --> 00:57:54.420 wanted a baby at some point. And I didn't want 00:57:54.420 --> 00:57:56.320 to come back to comp climbing after having a 00:57:56.320 --> 00:57:58.960 baby. I don't miss the politics. Okay. Yeah, 00:57:59.000 --> 00:58:01.920 I really don't miss the... As an athlete? Yeah. 00:58:02.059 --> 00:58:05.300 Huh. Yeah. So the National Federation politics, 00:58:05.539 --> 00:58:09.820 I do not miss that. I don't envy athletes having 00:58:09.820 --> 00:58:14.460 to navigate selection. And I think it's so hard 00:58:14.460 --> 00:58:18.659 as an athlete to be able to be honest and to 00:58:18.659 --> 00:58:24.519 have an opinion that you can speak out loud because 00:58:24.519 --> 00:58:26.980 we're in the position where some selections are 00:58:26.980 --> 00:58:32.869 subjective, where you can't. kind of your career 00:58:32.869 --> 00:58:34.429 is so short right you don't want to jeopardize 00:58:34.429 --> 00:58:37.170 your opportunity to get to perform on the biggest 00:58:37.170 --> 00:58:40.730 of stages so yeah i don't envy athletes navigating 00:58:40.730 --> 00:58:43.730 the politics at all right now yeah yeah that's 00:58:43.730 --> 00:58:46.559 always of course And then you also mentioned, 00:58:46.619 --> 00:58:49.460 again, wanting to have a baby and wanting to 00:58:49.460 --> 00:58:52.300 do that. So I guess we can kind of transition 00:58:52.300 --> 00:58:54.300 into that portion. I'm not trying to bring that 00:58:54.300 --> 00:58:56.699 up all the time. I mean, it's a very literally 00:58:56.699 --> 00:58:59.760 the biggest problem. Yeah. And it's a very important 00:58:59.760 --> 00:59:03.420 part of your life. And you also like climbed 00:59:03.420 --> 00:59:06.199 throughout your pregnancy. How did you manage 00:59:06.199 --> 00:59:08.400 that? Like, was it ever scary for you, especially 00:59:08.400 --> 00:59:10.460 like kind of being in the public eye and doing 00:59:10.460 --> 00:59:13.460 it? It was never scary for me climbing while 00:59:13.460 --> 00:59:16.199 pregnant. It felt very natural. I always knew 00:59:16.199 --> 00:59:19.400 I would climb as long as it felt good. I climbed 00:59:19.400 --> 00:59:21.980 until the day before Frankie was born. I was 00:59:21.980 --> 00:59:25.079 climbing at 7pm on the Sunday and she was born 00:59:25.079 --> 00:59:27.860 at 7am on the next Monday morning. I was talking 00:59:27.860 --> 00:59:30.300 about this earlier actually because... a few 00:59:30.300 --> 00:59:32.519 of the mums at the clinic I ran were asking me 00:59:32.519 --> 00:59:35.380 a few questions. Yeah, I remember climbing on 00:59:35.380 --> 00:59:37.400 this slab and I tried to do a cross through with 00:59:37.400 --> 00:59:39.519 my foot and I couldn't get my foot through. And 00:59:39.519 --> 00:59:41.480 I'd done this climb already and I was like, why 00:59:41.480 --> 00:59:44.019 can't I get my foot through? So my husband was 00:59:44.019 --> 00:59:45.920 like, I guess you need to match feet. And I was 00:59:45.920 --> 00:59:47.820 like, no, I could do this a few days ago. But 00:59:47.820 --> 00:59:50.539 yeah, it was quite literally Frankie's head in 00:59:50.539 --> 00:59:53.260 the way. It's like, oh, OK, you were ready to 00:59:53.260 --> 00:59:56.579 come out. And I did the sideways dyno. I jumped 00:59:56.579 --> 00:59:58.159 across and I was like, oh, that felt different. 00:59:58.260 --> 01:00:02.889 Yeah. But no, for me, climbing felt super safe 01:00:02.889 --> 01:00:05.849 and really comfortable because it's something 01:00:05.849 --> 01:00:07.769 I know so well. It felt safer than walking down 01:00:07.769 --> 01:00:11.030 the street. And it was because I was in control, 01:00:11.170 --> 01:00:14.650 not the other people driving, right? The thing 01:00:14.650 --> 01:00:17.250 that was totally wild was the internet's reaction 01:00:17.250 --> 01:00:19.329 to me climbing. Yeah, that's what I'm wondering. 01:00:19.889 --> 01:00:22.969 Yeah, so navigating that was challenging for 01:00:22.969 --> 01:00:26.269 me and my manager and my whole team. It was very 01:00:26.269 --> 01:00:33.920 intense. I don't think that I regret sharing 01:00:33.920 --> 01:00:36.780 or climbing at all. I think it's really important 01:00:36.780 --> 01:00:40.099 for people to understand that it's a woman's 01:00:40.099 --> 01:00:43.880 choice to do what she wants with her body when 01:00:43.880 --> 01:00:46.340 she's pregnant and that her risk assessment will 01:00:46.340 --> 01:00:48.980 be relative to her. The thing I struggled most 01:00:48.980 --> 01:00:54.000 with wasn't the hate. I know the internet's... 01:00:54.280 --> 01:00:57.360 a negative place at times I know people write 01:00:57.360 --> 01:01:00.659 things and yeah I try my very best to never bite 01:01:00.659 --> 01:01:03.179 I think I bit once during my pregnancy there's 01:01:03.179 --> 01:01:05.599 one time I replied to a comment I was like ah 01:01:05.599 --> 01:01:07.860 I just don't remember no I don't actually I was 01:01:07.860 --> 01:01:09.460 trying to remember what that was I'm sure I could 01:01:09.460 --> 01:01:13.460 find it But I had so many people rush into my 01:01:13.460 --> 01:01:16.219 defense, which was wonderful. But it was mostly 01:01:16.219 --> 01:01:19.039 the narrative of she's a professional athlete, 01:01:19.159 --> 01:01:21.519 back off. She's an Olympian, back off. She's 01:01:21.519 --> 01:01:24.159 won World Cup medals, back off. And I was like, 01:01:24.199 --> 01:01:26.739 no, any woman who chooses to climb during her 01:01:26.739 --> 01:01:29.139 pregnancy, that is okay. It doesn't matter if 01:01:29.139 --> 01:01:30.980 she's a V3 climber. It doesn't matter if she's 01:01:30.980 --> 01:01:34.579 a V0 climber or a V14 climber. It doesn't matter. 01:01:34.739 --> 01:01:36.679 They're choosing to climb while they're pregnant. 01:01:36.920 --> 01:01:39.360 They're choosing to ride their bike while they're 01:01:39.360 --> 01:01:43.150 pregnant. do whatever it is that feels right 01:01:43.150 --> 01:01:47.030 to them, that is okay. So actually it was the 01:01:47.030 --> 01:01:50.289 defense narrative that I was trying to help shift 01:01:50.289 --> 01:01:55.429 as opposed to the negativity. But I still today 01:01:55.429 --> 01:01:59.530 get weekly, sometimes daily messages from women 01:01:59.530 --> 01:02:04.210 who are pregnant or postpartum who were inspired 01:02:04.210 --> 01:02:08.820 to keep climbing during pregnancy or... And often 01:02:08.820 --> 01:02:10.639 it's not because they didn't feel like they could, 01:02:10.739 --> 01:02:12.500 it's because they were struggling with the narrative 01:02:12.500 --> 01:02:15.820 that was surrounding it and the negativity. And 01:02:15.820 --> 01:02:18.239 I never once had anyone come up to me in person 01:02:18.239 --> 01:02:20.559 and say anything, and I wish they did, because 01:02:20.559 --> 01:02:22.320 I would genuinely love to have that conversation. 01:02:22.880 --> 01:02:26.719 Not to kind of bite at them, just to be super 01:02:26.719 --> 01:02:29.400 curious as to why they think that's a risk. Wow, 01:02:29.559 --> 01:02:32.510 yeah, I got some really bad comments. Yeah. Like 01:02:32.510 --> 01:02:35.690 people saying they were going to call child services 01:02:35.690 --> 01:02:38.630 on me and that I was going to be a bad mom and 01:02:38.630 --> 01:02:41.050 I already was because I was risking my daughter's 01:02:41.050 --> 01:02:44.030 life and I didn't deserve to be a mom because 01:02:44.030 --> 01:02:46.329 I was doing these risky things. I was like, wow, 01:02:46.449 --> 01:02:49.010 your perception of risk is interesting. You think 01:02:49.010 --> 01:02:52.869 that me climbing a V5 when I'm pregnant is risky, 01:02:52.989 --> 01:02:56.230 but okay. Yeah. Interesting. Did you like go 01:02:56.230 --> 01:02:58.190 back and forth with your team? Like they were 01:02:58.190 --> 01:03:00.489 suggesting that you didn't post about it or was 01:03:00.489 --> 01:03:05.050 that? No, my team, I don't have a huge team surrounding 01:03:05.050 --> 01:03:07.369 me in terms of like that side of things for the 01:03:07.369 --> 01:03:10.610 Olympics. I had an amazing team of support physically, 01:03:10.869 --> 01:03:16.289 but my manager and I would talk a lot about what 01:03:16.289 --> 01:03:19.730 I was sharing, but I've never been kind of questioned 01:03:19.730 --> 01:03:22.389 on whether or not to share something. I do all 01:03:22.389 --> 01:03:27.159 my own social media. it's kind of my space and 01:03:27.159 --> 01:03:29.860 also i knew that i would keep sharing my life 01:03:29.860 --> 01:03:33.400 which is what i choose to do on social and i 01:03:33.400 --> 01:03:36.019 was pregnant and i was climbing so i wasn't gonna 01:03:36.019 --> 01:03:40.460 hide it yeah um yeah this was a fun one yeah 01:03:40.460 --> 01:03:42.980 that's for sure i just feel like i would be terrified 01:03:42.980 --> 01:03:45.559 because i mean like miscarriages are terrible 01:03:45.559 --> 01:03:47.980 they can happen for any reason and like not be 01:03:47.980 --> 01:03:50.139 related to like your exercise or what you're 01:03:50.139 --> 01:03:53.130 doing at all and so i'd be terrified that something 01:03:53.130 --> 01:03:56.909 bad would happen and then it would be misconstrued 01:03:56.909 --> 01:03:59.510 oh of course that's what that yeah like you were 01:03:59.510 --> 01:04:01.929 doing this yeah that would be terrifying for 01:04:01.929 --> 01:04:04.630 me yeah i think i always just try to be honest 01:04:04.630 --> 01:04:08.289 and share my honest kind of appraisal of where 01:04:08.289 --> 01:04:14.409 i'm at and what i'm doing um and if i were to 01:04:14.409 --> 01:04:16.369 have a miscarriage then i would communicate that 01:04:16.369 --> 01:04:20.269 and i'd choose how much i wanted to share around 01:04:20.269 --> 01:04:27.059 the the narrative of it. But I think for my mental 01:04:27.059 --> 01:04:29.500 health and my physical health, climbing was far 01:04:29.500 --> 01:04:34.699 superior to any of the risk it felt of not climbing 01:04:34.699 --> 01:04:38.260 because of the judgment of it. You know, like 01:04:38.260 --> 01:04:41.480 I needed to keep climbing if I could. I was going 01:04:41.480 --> 01:04:43.739 to stop if I felt like I needed to. I know my 01:04:43.739 --> 01:04:45.840 body so well. I've been through so many injuries. 01:04:46.019 --> 01:04:49.159 I also wasn't falling at the time because I had 01:04:49.159 --> 01:04:52.530 a knee injury. um not to say you can't fall whilst 01:04:52.530 --> 01:04:55.170 climbing when pregnant some people choose to 01:04:55.170 --> 01:04:57.630 i've also had a lot of knee injuries previously 01:04:57.630 --> 01:05:00.730 where i know for a fact i can climb on a wall 01:05:00.730 --> 01:05:04.570 without falling my ability to risk assess is 01:05:04.570 --> 01:05:10.269 incredibly good after a lot of injuries um so 01:05:10.269 --> 01:05:12.570 yeah i think for me it was just where i was at 01:05:12.570 --> 01:05:15.150 and it was what i was doing and i'm really glad 01:05:15.150 --> 01:05:17.369 i was able to climb i had a great birth i had 01:05:17.369 --> 01:05:21.940 a pretty simple recovery. Frankie was born at 01:05:21.940 --> 01:05:26.559 home in a couple of hours. Yeah, and although 01:05:26.559 --> 01:05:28.159 it was definitely the hardest and most painful 01:05:28.159 --> 01:05:31.619 thing I've ever done, I feel really lucky that 01:05:31.619 --> 01:05:34.760 it went very smoothly. Yeah, who's to say that's 01:05:34.760 --> 01:05:37.659 because I climbed, but it didn't have a negative 01:05:37.659 --> 01:05:41.300 impact for me personally. I'm glad that went 01:05:41.300 --> 01:05:46.280 super well. Yeah, that can always be scary. How 01:05:46.280 --> 01:05:48.880 soon after giving birth did you get back into 01:05:48.880 --> 01:05:52.179 climbing? So my women's health physio wanted 01:05:52.179 --> 01:05:55.179 me to wait six weeks because that's the guidance 01:05:55.179 --> 01:05:58.760 in the UK. I waited five, which I think is pretty 01:05:58.760 --> 01:06:02.380 good because I felt like I could climb the day 01:06:02.380 --> 01:06:05.800 after, to be honest. I felt fine. So I did try 01:06:05.800 --> 01:06:09.010 to wait six weeks, but I made it five. Did you 01:06:09.010 --> 01:06:12.230 feel any pressure to heal as quickly as possible 01:06:12.230 --> 01:06:15.590 because of like the content grind? No, no I didn't 01:06:15.590 --> 01:06:20.309 actually. I knew I had goals but first and foremost 01:06:20.309 --> 01:06:24.769 my goal was to be the best mum that I could be. 01:06:25.670 --> 01:06:28.909 I really wanted to breastfeed if I could. I was 01:06:28.909 --> 01:06:32.510 lucky in that journey and was able to. So I was 01:06:32.510 --> 01:06:35.610 pretty tired. from lack of sleep and breastfeeding 01:06:35.610 --> 01:06:39.550 in the early days. I also knew I needed knee 01:06:39.550 --> 01:06:41.949 surgery, so I had double knee surgery at six 01:06:41.949 --> 01:06:46.909 months postpartum. The only pressure I felt... 01:06:47.719 --> 01:06:50.579 to kind of get strong again was because I really 01:06:50.579 --> 01:06:53.400 wanted to be part of the Red Bull dual ascent 01:06:53.400 --> 01:06:56.059 experience and they asked me I knew I wasn't 01:06:56.059 --> 01:06:58.119 gonna be ready to compete I was five months postpartum 01:06:58.119 --> 01:06:59.679 but they asked if I wanted to do the first ascent 01:06:59.679 --> 01:07:02.320 so I put pressure on myself to get fit for that 01:07:02.320 --> 01:07:04.960 which was really fun okay not bad pressure I 01:07:04.960 --> 01:07:08.639 love pressure I love a goal And when I think 01:07:08.639 --> 01:07:10.219 about the fact that I climbed that thing at five 01:07:10.219 --> 01:07:13.000 months postpartum, it blows my mind. Like I do 01:07:13.000 --> 01:07:16.619 not know how I did that. But it was a fun challenge 01:07:16.619 --> 01:07:18.440 and it was rope climbing. So I knew there was 01:07:18.440 --> 01:07:20.219 no impact because I couldn't take impact on my 01:07:20.219 --> 01:07:22.960 knees still at that point. And it was just a 01:07:22.960 --> 01:07:25.139 nice way to try and do a bunch of rope climbing, 01:07:25.219 --> 01:07:27.539 gain some fitness ahead of having double knee 01:07:27.539 --> 01:07:31.199 surgery, which, yeah, at six months postpartum, 01:07:31.199 --> 01:07:33.760 I probably wouldn't recommend doing. But I needed 01:07:33.760 --> 01:07:36.340 it doing so. Okay, makes sense. Another like 01:07:36.340 --> 01:07:38.039 audience question kind of related to this. What 01:07:38.039 --> 01:07:40.260 was the most helpful postpartum training tip 01:07:40.260 --> 01:07:44.579 or exercise that you did? My most helpful postpartum 01:07:44.579 --> 01:07:48.079 training tip would be the breath work that I 01:07:48.079 --> 01:07:52.579 got from Joy. So really connecting with expanding 01:07:52.579 --> 01:07:56.579 the rib cage and all the breath work to connect 01:07:56.579 --> 01:07:59.679 with my body again. Because I think it's really 01:07:59.679 --> 01:08:02.980 easy to... get sucked into core strength training 01:08:02.980 --> 01:08:06.380 and get into a rhythm of doing stuff but actually 01:08:06.380 --> 01:08:10.239 is taking time to do breath work and really expand 01:08:10.239 --> 01:08:14.139 our thoracic and like open up here is so useful 01:08:14.139 --> 01:08:16.439 to allow for like lots of healing to go on and 01:08:16.439 --> 01:08:19.180 lots of connection to happen and i feel like 01:08:19.180 --> 01:08:24.920 the postpartum healing is quite natural um i'd 01:08:24.920 --> 01:08:29.000 say it wasn't until probably a year that i actually 01:08:29.000 --> 01:08:32.199 felt like i was starting to make gains again 01:08:32.199 --> 01:08:35.920 and i was starting to recover um every month 01:08:35.920 --> 01:08:37.760 i'd be like oh i'm recovered now i need to start 01:08:37.760 --> 01:08:39.739 training again to get stronger and i wouldn't 01:08:39.739 --> 01:08:41.600 train and then i'd get stronger and i was like 01:08:41.600 --> 01:08:45.420 oh my body is still healing okay um so it was 01:08:45.420 --> 01:08:47.380 probably like a year to 18 months where i felt 01:08:47.380 --> 01:08:51.399 like okay i can start building from here as opposed 01:08:51.399 --> 01:08:55.039 to just trying to recover my body um but yeah 01:08:55.039 --> 01:08:57.659 the breath work was the biggest tip that i didn't 01:08:57.659 --> 01:09:01.449 think about before pregnancy Okay. Helpful information. 01:09:01.630 --> 01:09:04.029 I just, I feel like I personally have a lot of 01:09:04.029 --> 01:09:07.250 fear with like pregnancy and like climbing. And 01:09:07.250 --> 01:09:09.130 so when I grew up, I watched a ton of videos 01:09:09.130 --> 01:09:11.949 about pregnancy, like giving birth. No way. So 01:09:11.949 --> 01:09:14.569 yeah, this is just, this is all very fascinating. 01:09:14.810 --> 01:09:18.130 I mean, I can talk, I could do 10 podcasts on 01:09:18.130 --> 01:09:20.710 pregnancy and giving birth. And I think I didn't 01:09:20.710 --> 01:09:23.069 have any fear. I wasn't scared about pregnancy. 01:09:23.229 --> 01:09:24.909 I wasn't scared about climbing while pregnant. 01:09:25.069 --> 01:09:27.289 I wasn't scared about giving birth. I was super 01:09:27.289 --> 01:09:31.569 excited about it. as well like I watched a lot 01:09:31.569 --> 01:09:34.550 of videos on stuff and I read a lot of birth 01:09:34.550 --> 01:09:39.729 stories and I really wanted to have like an unmedicated 01:09:39.729 --> 01:09:44.109 home birth if I could which is what I did. Especially 01:09:44.109 --> 01:09:46.350 with your epidural experience. Exactly there 01:09:46.350 --> 01:09:49.609 was no way I was having an epidural no no possible 01:09:49.609 --> 01:09:53.710 way and I know that I always said I had birth 01:09:54.109 --> 01:09:56.630 preferences over a birth plan right i know things 01:09:56.630 --> 01:09:59.050 don't go to plan and i honestly really thank 01:09:59.050 --> 01:10:02.449 my competition days for how kind of structured 01:10:02.449 --> 01:10:05.250 i could be around how i wanted my birth to look 01:10:05.250 --> 01:10:07.729 but also how i was able to adapt with the flow 01:10:07.729 --> 01:10:09.949 of things not changing and shifting because that 01:10:09.949 --> 01:10:12.170 is literally what comp i make like because like 01:10:12.170 --> 01:10:14.069 you're like this is the plan oh this here's a 01:10:14.069 --> 01:10:16.890 curveball his go on his thoughts and it's just 01:10:16.890 --> 01:10:19.869 a bit like parenting actually yeah yeah best 01:10:19.869 --> 01:10:22.670 easy but parenting is a whole different ball 01:10:22.670 --> 01:10:25.050 game How do you balance the training and turns? 01:10:25.390 --> 01:10:29.229 I don't know yet. But still bigger than that, 01:10:29.229 --> 01:10:32.770 so I'll call that a hat. It's really fun, but 01:10:32.770 --> 01:10:34.930 it's definitely a challenge. And I think that 01:10:34.930 --> 01:10:38.130 there's been a few sweet spots where it's been 01:10:38.130 --> 01:10:40.569 easier, but now Frankie's getting a little older. 01:10:41.069 --> 01:10:44.310 She's so inquisitive and intelligent and curious, 01:10:44.409 --> 01:10:47.949 and I want to embrace that as much as possible. 01:10:48.250 --> 01:10:51.050 But it means that more and more of my time of 01:10:51.050 --> 01:10:54.270 training and... Lessa climbing, she's great at 01:10:54.270 --> 01:10:57.750 the crag, but training, I need to have my time 01:10:57.750 --> 01:11:00.970 and space to do that. So I need to protect space 01:11:00.970 --> 01:11:04.729 and time away so that I can really focus because 01:11:04.729 --> 01:11:07.029 otherwise I just end up chatting to her about 01:11:07.029 --> 01:11:09.149 why I want to use crimps over undercuts because 01:11:09.149 --> 01:11:11.289 she's genuinely that curious. And she'll make 01:11:11.289 --> 01:11:14.430 boulders and she'll be engaged in what I'm doing, 01:11:14.489 --> 01:11:17.350 which I love and I want to embrace that, but 01:11:17.350 --> 01:11:21.050 I need time away to be able to focus on it. So 01:11:21.050 --> 01:11:22.869 I'm still trying to figure out how that looks 01:11:22.869 --> 01:11:26.430 because the past kind of year or so, it's been 01:11:26.430 --> 01:11:28.449 fine for her to be around and she's been easily 01:11:28.449 --> 01:11:32.970 entertained doing drawing or reading or she stopped 01:11:32.970 --> 01:11:35.130 taking naps. Actually, that's been the trickiest 01:11:35.130 --> 01:11:40.810 bit. She stopped taking naps. So yeah, I feel 01:11:40.810 --> 01:11:43.609 like you figure out one thing when you have a 01:11:43.609 --> 01:11:46.029 kid and then something else changes. So yeah, 01:11:46.130 --> 01:11:47.630 that's the thing that's changed right now is. 01:11:48.109 --> 01:11:50.109 squeezing everything because my husband trains 01:11:50.109 --> 01:11:52.510 too yeah we'll have a great nanny she's with 01:11:52.510 --> 01:11:55.449 us three days a week but i'm like oh kind of 01:11:55.449 --> 01:11:57.569 wish i had nanny five days a week say maybe we 01:11:57.569 --> 01:12:00.270 need to find more jogger yeah every year brings 01:12:00.270 --> 01:12:03.909 haystack every year every day okay every hour 01:12:03.909 --> 01:12:09.850 um i think you kind of uh we're getting into 01:12:09.850 --> 01:12:12.970 this earlier and the answer is no but does the 01:12:12.970 --> 01:12:14.770 thought ever creep in that you should pull like 01:12:14.770 --> 01:12:18.680 a giant can and return to kappa no No way. If 01:12:18.680 --> 01:12:20.420 I could maybe compete for a different country, 01:12:20.579 --> 01:12:23.659 I'd be interested. No. Because I wouldn't go 01:12:23.659 --> 01:12:26.399 anywhere near GB climbing ever again because 01:12:26.399 --> 01:12:30.119 of the politics. I think for my own mental health. 01:12:31.239 --> 01:12:34.000 Is that something you want to get into? I think 01:12:34.000 --> 01:12:36.239 it's just complicated and I actually can't really 01:12:36.239 --> 01:12:37.920 get into the state of where it's at right now 01:12:37.920 --> 01:12:40.260 because I genuinely don't know. I've pulled away 01:12:40.260 --> 01:12:44.789 from that. But... It just wasn't a healthy place 01:12:44.789 --> 01:12:48.829 for me to be as an athlete in terms of the way 01:12:48.829 --> 01:12:52.430 it was structured and what was coming. And maybe 01:12:52.430 --> 01:12:55.510 it's got better. I genuinely don't know. So I 01:12:55.510 --> 01:12:59.010 can't speak for what it's like now. But yeah, 01:12:59.090 --> 01:13:03.229 for my own sake, no. I don't know. Every now 01:13:03.229 --> 01:13:07.289 and then there'll be a team training at the gym. 01:13:07.569 --> 01:13:09.350 Oh, maybe I'll jump on the boulders and have 01:13:09.350 --> 01:13:11.699 a try. And sometimes I do and I'm... usually 01:13:11.699 --> 01:13:16.340 pleasantly surprised but i'm still just i just 01:13:16.340 --> 01:13:19.579 not a fan of the circus dinos and now they've 01:13:19.579 --> 01:13:22.739 got slippery too right i'm like no thank you 01:13:22.739 --> 01:13:26.060 i i do not need to fling myself across a wall 01:13:26.060 --> 01:13:30.239 to a slippery volume to eat on my face like i 01:13:30.239 --> 01:13:33.180 don't want to like i i dug my time getting work 01:13:33.180 --> 01:13:36.590 last show yeah um Many of Tristan like the no 01:13:36.590 --> 01:13:38.470 -text holds. That's what I mean. You know, like, 01:13:38.510 --> 01:13:39.770 when they're, like, flinging themselves across 01:13:39.770 --> 01:13:41.649 the walls, like, catching no -text hold with 01:13:41.649 --> 01:13:44.270 a toe hook and do a little backflip and land 01:13:44.270 --> 01:13:46.350 on their face. I'm like, no, I'm good, Albert. 01:13:46.489 --> 01:13:49.189 I'll talk about it. That's great. It's great. 01:13:49.270 --> 01:13:51.489 I love watching. It's great entertainment on 01:13:51.489 --> 01:13:54.550 this side. But, no, it was fun at the Olympics 01:13:54.550 --> 01:13:56.310 to, like, go down the front, chat through all 01:13:56.310 --> 01:14:01.899 the beta, or beta, as we say here. and i can 01:14:01.899 --> 01:14:04.020 still read all the boulders and i spied a few 01:14:04.020 --> 01:14:06.739 different nuances of maybe you could use this 01:14:06.739 --> 01:14:09.020 and do that and do this and the setters sometimes 01:14:09.020 --> 01:14:10.960 hadn't thought about it and then the climbers 01:14:10.960 --> 01:14:12.720 would do i was like yes i've still got that like 01:14:12.720 --> 01:14:16.500 edge of what they might do um and again i feel 01:14:16.500 --> 01:14:19.039 like that brings so much to commentary of that 01:14:19.039 --> 01:14:21.659 competition mindset of like where an athlete 01:14:21.659 --> 01:14:25.300 might go and what they might try um just from 01:14:25.300 --> 01:14:28.409 being out there and doing it and I still feel 01:14:28.409 --> 01:14:30.789 like I have that connection to the comps, despite 01:14:30.789 --> 01:14:33.670 it being a while back. But, well, I'm doing a 01:14:33.670 --> 01:14:36.250 board comp next week. Does that make sense? It'll 01:14:36.250 --> 01:14:38.810 be my first comp. Well, how was the KSSE comp? 01:14:39.029 --> 01:14:44.449 I know, it's a start. In Chattanooga, the Expo. 01:14:44.689 --> 01:14:47.390 Yeah, Mad Rock asked me to do a board comp, so 01:14:47.390 --> 01:14:49.729 I thought it might be fun. Okay, good luck there. 01:14:49.829 --> 01:14:52.289 Maybe it'll spark the excitement and you'll make 01:14:52.289 --> 01:14:56.409 a return. No, I think, especially with the sport, 01:14:57.000 --> 01:14:59.579 still being very much a two -discipline sport, 01:14:59.680 --> 01:15:03.859 or it was when I was coming back to climbing, 01:15:04.079 --> 01:15:06.840 and we didn't actually know how many medals we 01:15:06.840 --> 01:15:09.859 had and the uncertainty around that. I think 01:15:09.859 --> 01:15:13.159 it's difficult for the athletes on the circuit 01:15:13.159 --> 01:15:15.960 right now to have that uncertainty. Here we're 01:15:15.960 --> 01:15:20.319 in 2025, and LA is in 28, and we still don't 01:15:20.319 --> 01:15:24.000 know what athletes are training for. And a three 01:15:24.000 --> 01:15:26.979 -year cycle. sounds like a long time but i don't 01:15:26.979 --> 01:15:32.420 think it is um but yeah i don't i definitely 01:15:32.420 --> 01:15:34.920 don't think i could come back to bouldering yeah 01:15:34.920 --> 01:15:36.899 i guess it is a little harder like specifically 01:15:36.899 --> 01:15:38.840 for bouldering compared to league climbing to 01:15:38.840 --> 01:15:41.359 like get back into it yeah and i'd love to see 01:15:41.359 --> 01:15:45.479 like a mum climber make it to the olympics and 01:15:45.479 --> 01:15:49.340 you know jay and kim was so painfully close oh 01:15:49.340 --> 01:15:52.859 my goodness oh i was devastated for her she is 01:15:52.859 --> 01:15:57.189 such a badass and an inspiration. Yeah, it'll 01:15:57.189 --> 01:16:00.609 be really cool to see Eugenia Kazbekova's transition 01:16:00.609 --> 01:16:03.590 into becoming a mom and see whether she wants 01:16:03.590 --> 01:16:08.569 to take on LA. Wouldn't it be so cool? And that's 01:16:08.569 --> 01:16:11.310 super inspiring to me. But at the same time, 01:16:11.310 --> 01:16:13.890 for me, I always knew I was going to go rock 01:16:13.890 --> 01:16:16.670 climbing at some point. I always knew I was going 01:16:16.670 --> 01:16:18.989 to quit comps. So my goal was to win a World 01:16:18.989 --> 01:16:21.890 Cup. Just one. And I won one. I was like, maybe 01:16:21.890 --> 01:16:24.250 I could try to win the overall. And then I did 01:16:24.250 --> 01:16:28.029 that. And then I really hurt my shoulder at the 01:16:28.029 --> 01:16:31.489 last comp of that year. So 2016, I had a huge 01:16:31.489 --> 01:16:34.590 shoulder injury in the finals. So I couldn't 01:16:34.590 --> 01:16:36.630 lift my trophy in the air on the podium of the 01:16:36.630 --> 01:16:38.210 overall. And I was like, oh, this is my goal. 01:16:38.329 --> 01:16:40.430 And I wanted that picture, like holding the trophy 01:16:40.430 --> 01:16:42.329 up. So I was like, cool, I'm going to try to 01:16:42.329 --> 01:16:44.210 win it again so that I can hold my trophy up. 01:16:44.250 --> 01:16:46.229 Because I kind of didn't know what else to do. 01:16:46.289 --> 01:16:48.390 I achieved my goal way quicker than I expected. 01:16:49.279 --> 01:16:52.020 And then I won it again in 2017. This was like, 01:16:52.039 --> 01:16:53.699 oh, shit, that kind of happened quicker than 01:16:53.699 --> 01:16:56.800 I planned. Got my trophy held up from the other. 01:16:57.640 --> 01:17:01.060 And then the only reason I did the Olympics or 01:17:01.060 --> 01:17:04.920 tried to qualify was because a new airways transferred 01:17:04.920 --> 01:17:08.039 to rock farming at some point. But I also wanted 01:17:08.039 --> 01:17:12.659 to have a baby if I could. My husband, or my 01:17:12.659 --> 01:17:15.060 boyfriend at the time, I guess, was like, you 01:17:15.060 --> 01:17:16.619 should do the Olympics. You should try to qualify. 01:17:16.920 --> 01:17:19.750 Really? Like, you comps are pretty intense. This 01:17:19.750 --> 01:17:21.829 is as hard for us as it is for me to compete. 01:17:22.090 --> 01:17:24.029 Like, it's a lot of strain on the relationship. 01:17:24.149 --> 01:17:26.270 It's a lot of support from him. It's demanding 01:17:26.270 --> 01:17:28.869 for us both. The Olympics is only going to intensify 01:17:28.869 --> 01:17:31.609 that. And he was like, yeah, but, you know, four 01:17:31.609 --> 01:17:33.970 more years, no babies. And I was like, oh, fuck, 01:17:34.109 --> 01:17:36.630 okay. Okay, I was like, if I do the Olympics, 01:17:36.750 --> 01:17:38.390 then we can have a baby. And it was like, okay, 01:17:38.430 --> 01:17:40.130 yeah, that's the plan. Like, try to do the Olympics, 01:17:40.189 --> 01:17:42.390 then have a baby, then rock fine. So, you know, 01:17:42.430 --> 01:17:44.310 I'm kind of doing exactly what I planned. Okay, 01:17:44.430 --> 01:17:47.649 perfect. Yeah. kind of weird that you didn't 01:17:47.649 --> 01:17:49.750 want to do the olympics just because it's the 01:17:49.750 --> 01:17:53.529 olympics like i didn't it was a three discipline 01:17:53.529 --> 01:17:56.270 sport so you know i think if it was bouldering 01:17:56.270 --> 01:17:58.449 then yeah i would have been like oh my god i 01:17:58.449 --> 01:18:00.510 want to try and do the olympics at school but 01:18:00.510 --> 01:18:04.609 it didn't feel like anyone could have that enthusiasm 01:18:04.609 --> 01:18:08.609 behind it because it was like who like who the 01:18:08.609 --> 01:18:10.569 fuck knows where anyone's going to be i'm actually 01:18:10.569 --> 01:18:12.350 thinking you know what because nobody did it 01:18:12.350 --> 01:18:15.359 so Like, no one knew how fast Adam Ondra was 01:18:15.359 --> 01:18:17.579 in speed. Yeah. Like, was he going to qualify? 01:18:17.720 --> 01:18:21.180 He almost didn't qualify, you know? No one knew 01:18:21.180 --> 01:18:23.279 who was going to win or how it was going to work. 01:18:23.520 --> 01:18:27.479 So when it was announced, there was a buzz, but, 01:18:27.560 --> 01:18:30.359 like, this kind of disconcerted, confused buzz, 01:18:30.420 --> 01:18:33.140 like, oh, yay, how's this going to work? Who's 01:18:33.140 --> 01:18:36.979 going to be where? Like, no one could have called, 01:18:37.079 --> 01:18:40.739 like, the men's podium, for example, in Tokyo. 01:18:41.460 --> 01:18:45.380 And I think... It's great that our sport was 01:18:45.380 --> 01:18:50.159 showcased, but it didn't feel like a pathway 01:18:50.159 --> 01:18:53.239 you could have chosen. I don't think anyone was 01:18:53.239 --> 01:18:54.819 confident that they were going to make it to 01:18:54.819 --> 01:18:56.560 the other pit games, maybe other than Rania. 01:18:57.840 --> 01:19:00.880 She's kind of our own lead. But everyone else, 01:19:00.899 --> 01:19:02.979 it was like, ooh, are we going to make it? And 01:19:02.979 --> 01:19:04.880 a lot of countries were competing for spots against 01:19:04.880 --> 01:19:08.760 each other. So there was so much tension there. 01:19:10.130 --> 01:19:12.289 So when I qualified super early, that was great. 01:19:12.470 --> 01:19:15.189 But we really didn't think that I was going to 01:19:15.189 --> 01:19:17.909 be like way up there making a medal performance 01:19:17.909 --> 01:19:22.210 in 2019. So when I say I wasn't super excited 01:19:22.210 --> 01:19:24.470 to do the Olympics, it's not because I was like, 01:19:24.489 --> 01:19:27.770 eh. It was because I was like, oof, like bolder 01:19:27.770 --> 01:19:30.569 lead and speed. Like, I don't know who I am as 01:19:30.569 --> 01:19:34.149 an athlete across those disciplines. So, yeah, 01:19:34.189 --> 01:19:37.810 it just felt so far -fetched and far removed 01:19:37.810 --> 01:19:40.689 from who I was at the time. Like I knew I could 01:19:40.689 --> 01:19:42.390 win Boulder World Cups and I could keep doing 01:19:42.390 --> 01:19:47.369 that for a while maybe. But yeah, to transition 01:19:47.369 --> 01:19:51.329 into a three -discipline athlete felt just so 01:19:51.329 --> 01:19:53.970 unknown, you know. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. 01:19:54.090 --> 01:19:56.010 That's pretty interesting because I feel like 01:19:56.010 --> 01:19:58.630 as a viewer, I was kind of just like, well, I 01:19:58.630 --> 01:20:00.630 wonder, I want to see like how fast these like 01:20:00.630 --> 01:20:03.430 random athletes are doing speed. Yeah, and that's 01:20:03.430 --> 01:20:04.909 what it felt. It felt like we're a random athlete 01:20:04.909 --> 01:20:07.500 here in speed. We won't speak like this. Like, 01:20:07.500 --> 01:20:09.460 some of these transition really well in speed 01:20:09.460 --> 01:20:11.600 and could be pretty good, but they're... Wait, 01:20:12.960 --> 01:20:15.020 I thought I heard that you did pretty well in 01:20:15.020 --> 01:20:18.359 speed, because I talked to Tom Greenall. So, 01:20:18.399 --> 01:20:20.800 like, oh, you did, like, your bouldering transition 01:20:20.800 --> 01:20:24.220 really well to speed. No, I don't think so. Yeah. 01:20:24.319 --> 01:20:29.979 I mean, maybe he's talking about... tokyo um 01:20:29.979 --> 01:20:33.600 pachioji at the qualifier uh i got super lucky 01:20:33.600 --> 01:20:36.140 so i got a really good speed result in final 01:20:36.140 --> 01:20:38.739 which helped me get the bronze medal but my time 01:20:38.739 --> 01:20:41.659 wasn't good and i i mean no i don't think i was 01:20:41.659 --> 01:20:44.119 very good so you kind of won't return to kai 01:20:44.119 --> 01:20:46.899 prime unfortunately so if not that what are you 01:20:46.899 --> 01:20:49.220 working towards now what's your next goal right 01:20:49.220 --> 01:20:55.970 now my main goals are just to explore how much 01:20:55.970 --> 01:20:58.369 I can push myself on rock and where my boundaries 01:20:58.369 --> 01:21:02.569 lie. I think in the past year, I've climbed, 01:21:02.630 --> 01:21:06.149 I think, five V14s. I don't think any of them 01:21:06.149 --> 01:21:08.970 have taken me more than two days. Wow. Okay. 01:21:09.109 --> 01:21:11.590 I don't actually think... Yeah. So maybe I need 01:21:11.590 --> 01:21:16.210 to try a little harder. I am not someone who 01:21:16.210 --> 01:21:19.409 wants to sit under a boulder for a crazy amount 01:21:19.409 --> 01:21:24.119 of sessions and kind of really... Push in that 01:21:24.119 --> 01:21:26.300 kind of style. So I want to train I want to push 01:21:26.300 --> 01:21:28.140 myself physically and find something that I find 01:21:28.140 --> 01:21:29.880 challenging and that feels at the right level 01:21:29.880 --> 01:21:33.680 Yeah, and I don't know what that is right now 01:21:33.680 --> 01:21:35.539 I have a lot of boulders that I want to do that 01:21:35.539 --> 01:21:38.220 I want to finish off There's climbs that are 01:21:38.220 --> 01:21:40.920 easier than kind of the top grade that I've climbed 01:21:40.920 --> 01:21:43.819 in the UK that I want to finish off like v13s 01:21:43.819 --> 01:21:47.199 That are just super hard for me. Yeah, you know 01:21:47.199 --> 01:21:50.340 the style but I want to do them for the history 01:21:50.340 --> 01:21:55.489 and kind of lure. And then there's a couple of 01:21:55.489 --> 01:21:57.289 routes that I'd be interested in putting some 01:21:57.289 --> 01:22:01.529 time into too. But yeah, I'm just excited to 01:22:01.529 --> 01:22:05.050 be a professional climber and go climbing. Not 01:22:05.050 --> 01:22:07.369 have any surgeries. That is my main goal, to 01:22:07.369 --> 01:22:09.850 have no more surgeries. I had shoulder surgery 01:22:09.850 --> 01:22:13.729 last year. Yeah, it was the year before I had 01:22:13.729 --> 01:22:16.390 double knee surgery. So I'm just good with surgeries. 01:22:16.630 --> 01:22:19.699 I'm done with them. keep getting stronger and 01:22:19.699 --> 01:22:23.220 healthier and then i guess i'm also a woman in 01:22:23.220 --> 01:22:25.579 my 30s so i have to decide if i want to have 01:22:25.579 --> 01:22:27.539 more children or not at some point soon which 01:22:27.539 --> 01:22:30.319 is a big question and i get asked all the time 01:22:30.319 --> 01:22:34.000 well and i don't know is the answer but i know 01:22:34.000 --> 01:22:36.359 i have to decide that and i would like to decide 01:22:36.359 --> 01:22:42.119 that soon because i yeah it feels like a huge 01:22:42.119 --> 01:22:45.340 thing to make a decision on um and i'm so torn 01:22:45.340 --> 01:22:49.220 but it's hard i don't think i would look to come 01:22:49.220 --> 01:22:54.100 back to the elite end of bouldering for sure 01:22:54.100 --> 01:22:58.039 after another baby so really um i wouldn't look 01:22:58.039 --> 01:23:00.479 to try and do that i don't think now is what 01:23:00.479 --> 01:23:03.239 i feel like maybe that change in the future why 01:23:03.239 --> 01:23:05.479 is that just because like because it's so hard 01:23:05.479 --> 01:23:08.739 yeah and it's like i don't think i had a tough 01:23:08.739 --> 01:23:11.560 time of it in terms of birth pregnancy pregnancy 01:23:11.560 --> 01:23:15.149 birth recovery i had a great run um but it was 01:23:15.149 --> 01:23:17.409 still so hard and you know what it's so often 01:23:17.409 --> 01:23:19.130 like guys that have kids are like are you gonna 01:23:19.130 --> 01:23:21.130 have another one you bounced back so quick last 01:23:21.130 --> 01:23:23.770 time and i'm like you i did not bounce back yeah 01:23:23.770 --> 01:23:27.529 like i grinded away and i pushed so hard and 01:23:27.529 --> 01:23:30.810 it wasn't easy and i do try to share that obviously 01:23:30.810 --> 01:23:33.289 not very well um because a lot of people think 01:23:33.289 --> 01:23:35.210 like oh your comeback was pretty smooth and it 01:23:35.210 --> 01:23:37.350 was pretty simple and i'm like no i did have 01:23:37.350 --> 01:23:39.800 a double knee surgery in there and it's like 01:23:39.800 --> 01:23:41.779 oh well that it's even smoother if you had that 01:23:41.779 --> 01:23:43.960 too and I'm like oh no it was really difficult 01:23:43.960 --> 01:23:47.779 and it takes so much strain and so much support 01:23:47.779 --> 01:23:51.359 from those around me that I don't think I'd want 01:23:51.359 --> 01:23:54.319 to do that again um in terms of coming back to 01:23:54.319 --> 01:23:58.739 the elite end of pushing and climbing hard consistently 01:23:58.739 --> 01:24:00.680 outdoors because that's something that I'm really 01:24:00.680 --> 01:24:03.300 proud of that I can do now is I can climb hard 01:24:03.300 --> 01:24:05.420 and I'm doing a lot of hard climbs outdoors too 01:24:05.420 --> 01:24:09.720 um But no, I don't know is the answer. Makes 01:24:09.720 --> 01:24:11.979 sense. To all of those questions. All right. 01:24:12.060 --> 01:24:14.100 I mean, everyone says they would love to be a 01:24:14.100 --> 01:24:16.600 parent if they get to be the dad, so. Oh, do 01:24:16.600 --> 01:24:19.439 they? Yeah. Oh, I love being a mum. Oh my gosh, 01:24:19.439 --> 01:24:22.500 being a mum is the best ever. It's all the effort 01:24:22.500 --> 01:24:24.800 you've got to put in. Yeah, it is so hard. It's 01:24:24.800 --> 01:24:29.779 exhausting. I have a whole new appreciation for 01:24:29.779 --> 01:24:34.170 the word tired and I feel... offended when teenagers 01:24:34.170 --> 01:24:36.590 tell me they're tired because I'm like, you don't 01:24:36.590 --> 01:24:41.229 know. But I was that teenager. So yeah, I wouldn't 01:24:41.229 --> 01:24:43.130 change being a mom for the world. I would never, 01:24:43.170 --> 01:24:46.810 ever wish my life to be different. I adore being 01:24:46.810 --> 01:24:51.250 a mom. It's the best thing ever. But it's exhausting. 01:24:51.970 --> 01:24:55.369 And yeah, I loved growing a human and I loved 01:24:55.369 --> 01:24:59.470 giving birth, even though it was savage. But 01:25:00.659 --> 01:25:03.840 The bond I have with my daughter and the goals 01:25:03.840 --> 01:25:06.479 I have around parenting. I feel really really 01:25:06.479 --> 01:25:11.300 fortunate to have that But yeah, it's not easy. 01:25:11.420 --> 01:25:14.039 Mm -hmm well excited to see what the whole future 01:25:14.039 --> 01:25:17.779 holds for you. Thank you Okay, so let's get into 01:25:17.779 --> 01:25:20.279 a few of the quick audience questions. We got 01:25:20.279 --> 01:25:23.819 three here. So in regards to Adidas trimming 01:25:23.819 --> 01:25:26.319 back on their climbing sponsorships, sorry that 01:25:26.319 --> 01:25:28.779 that happened. No, it's okay. What are your thoughts 01:25:28.779 --> 01:25:31.220 on sponsorship and how it differs between climbing 01:25:31.220 --> 01:25:33.199 niche brands, brands that are well represented 01:25:33.199 --> 01:25:36.539 in extreme sports and more mainstream fitness 01:25:36.539 --> 01:25:40.180 slash consumer brands? And do you think women 01:25:40.180 --> 01:25:42.859 climbers are in a better or worse position than 01:25:42.859 --> 01:25:45.229 in other sports for sponsorship? I feel like 01:25:45.229 --> 01:25:47.310 that's a lot of questions in one. It is. Which 01:25:47.310 --> 01:25:51.250 one do you want me to answer? I guess let's do 01:25:51.250 --> 01:25:55.689 how it differs between climbing specific brands 01:25:55.689 --> 01:26:00.670 versus extremes for its brands. I think I got 01:26:00.670 --> 01:26:04.149 a lot of views into how it differs between climbing 01:26:04.149 --> 01:26:07.210 specific brands in the mainstream world during 01:26:07.210 --> 01:26:09.250 the Olympics and working with different brands. 01:26:10.109 --> 01:26:12.750 I think our sport's in a big transition phase 01:26:12.750 --> 01:26:15.029 as we're coming into the Olympics and brands 01:26:15.029 --> 01:26:18.189 are becoming more interested. I guess in terms 01:26:18.189 --> 01:26:20.409 of climbing brands and more extreme sports brands. 01:26:21.050 --> 01:26:23.630 I'm not too sure who the extreme sports brands 01:26:23.630 --> 01:26:26.409 are, maybe Red Bull, like I worked with Red Bull 01:26:26.409 --> 01:26:28.810 and have done for a long time. They are by far 01:26:28.810 --> 01:26:32.189 the most supportive big brand I've worked with. 01:26:33.329 --> 01:26:37.350 I've had so much support from them in terms of 01:26:37.350 --> 01:26:42.510 physically and recovery wise surgeries and also 01:26:42.510 --> 01:26:46.210 they build a really great team around you and 01:26:46.210 --> 01:26:50.640 like an athlete team. Yeah, I absolutely adore 01:26:50.640 --> 01:26:53.479 working with Red Bull. They do so much for athletes 01:26:53.479 --> 01:26:57.180 that I genuinely get, like I want to put my cap 01:26:57.180 --> 01:26:59.659 on, like I want to represent them because they 01:26:59.659 --> 01:27:02.800 are such an important brand in helping you build 01:27:02.800 --> 01:27:05.520 up to get to where you want to be. They really 01:27:05.520 --> 01:27:09.539 align with you on your goals. And yeah, I'm incredibly 01:27:09.539 --> 01:27:12.539 proud to be a Red Bull athlete. I think it's 01:27:12.539 --> 01:27:14.600 really good that they're in climbing and they're 01:27:14.600 --> 01:27:18.779 pushing into different spheres too. to have that 01:27:18.779 --> 01:27:20.500 network and connection of different athletes 01:27:20.500 --> 01:27:24.000 from different sports is so privileged to be 01:27:24.000 --> 01:27:26.739 in that like kind of community of athletes you 01:27:26.739 --> 01:27:29.500 know Red Bull UK feels like a real family to 01:27:29.500 --> 01:27:32.819 me um so yeah I really love working with them 01:27:32.819 --> 01:27:35.460 um and then I've worked with a few different 01:27:35.460 --> 01:27:37.739 brands in the mainstream world but it's been 01:27:37.739 --> 01:27:40.239 quite fleeting because that's often the way with 01:27:40.239 --> 01:27:42.359 the Olympics you pick up Olympic sponsors and 01:27:42.359 --> 01:27:46.819 then that transitions and differs and right now 01:27:46.819 --> 01:27:49.779 I don't know who I'll look to work with next 01:27:49.779 --> 01:27:53.619 in terms of apparel or if I will I think it feels 01:27:53.619 --> 01:27:57.739 still quite raw and fresh to be navigating this 01:27:57.739 --> 01:28:02.000 space of like post adidas with the ending being 01:28:02.000 --> 01:28:10.899 not what I expected so yeah I think climbing 01:28:10.899 --> 01:28:15.180 specific brands are Trying to grow a lot at the 01:28:15.180 --> 01:28:17.119 minute with the way the sport is growing and 01:28:17.119 --> 01:28:19.000 I think that it's cool to see a lot Of sport 01:28:19.000 --> 01:28:21.239 for athletes, but it'd be nice to see more. Mm 01:28:21.239 --> 01:28:24.920 -hmm. Yeah, do you feel like the adidas thing 01:28:24.920 --> 01:28:28.060 kind of happened because of I guess like the 01:28:28.060 --> 01:28:32.880 pregnancy and birth and I have I don't know I 01:28:32.880 --> 01:28:36.739 still don't know the reason why they didn't continue 01:28:36.739 --> 01:28:43.680 my contract And it was quite unexpected. I was 01:28:43.680 --> 01:28:48.579 literally at an athlete camp in November in like 01:28:48.579 --> 01:28:51.579 HQ where the head of Terrax came and sat us down 01:28:51.579 --> 01:28:53.960 and said how important we are and how lucky we 01:28:53.960 --> 01:28:56.460 are to be part of the family. So yeah, to find 01:28:56.460 --> 01:28:58.460 out two weeks later that I wasn't going to be 01:28:58.460 --> 01:29:00.420 part of that family I was lucky to be part of 01:29:00.420 --> 01:29:05.340 was really not expected. Yeah, it's the most 01:29:05.340 --> 01:29:09.909 like... humiliated and uncomfortable I've ever 01:29:09.909 --> 01:29:13.270 been made to feel by a brand um and I'm just 01:29:13.270 --> 01:29:15.630 I'm disappointed but I just really hope that 01:29:15.630 --> 01:29:17.529 that doesn't happen to future athletes because 01:29:17.529 --> 01:29:21.109 like adidas's goal is through sport they have 01:29:21.109 --> 01:29:23.109 the power to change lives so I hope that they 01:29:23.109 --> 01:29:25.250 do that in a positive way and not a negative 01:29:25.250 --> 01:29:31.470 way um but for me now where I am I think it's 01:29:31.470 --> 01:29:33.890 just trying to align with brands who understand 01:29:33.890 --> 01:29:40.369 my values and are aligned with who i am as an 01:29:40.369 --> 01:29:43.989 athlete and yeah it's tricky because i think 01:29:43.989 --> 01:29:47.949 that being a mum is what people sometimes see 01:29:47.949 --> 01:29:50.729 first and i yeah i'm a professional athlete too 01:29:50.729 --> 01:29:53.170 you know i'm kind of pushing at the elite end 01:29:53.170 --> 01:29:57.649 of our sport and doing a lot of first female 01:29:57.649 --> 01:30:02.239 ascents All of the V14s I've climbed recently 01:30:02.239 --> 01:30:05.880 are first female ascents. So I'm like, guys, 01:30:06.119 --> 01:30:09.140 I feel like I'm still doing it as a professional 01:30:09.140 --> 01:30:11.279 athlete, not just a mum professional athlete. 01:30:11.420 --> 01:30:13.939 And I think that navigating that space is a little 01:30:13.939 --> 01:30:16.560 tricky sometimes. Well, I'm sorry for that abrupt 01:30:16.560 --> 01:30:20.979 end. My gosh. Yeah, me too. well and i guess 01:30:20.979 --> 01:30:23.140 also like shout out to madrock for putting together 01:30:23.140 --> 01:30:25.840 this interview yeah and madrock have been incredible 01:30:25.840 --> 01:30:29.640 they've supported me so much and working with 01:30:29.640 --> 01:30:33.640 them is really fun um it feels still new and 01:30:33.640 --> 01:30:35.619 fresh but it's been a couple of years now and 01:30:35.619 --> 01:30:38.640 um i've worked with other brands in the climbing 01:30:38.640 --> 01:30:41.479 community um the climbing hangar who support 01:30:41.479 --> 01:30:45.359 me as well um they have been incredible too um 01:30:45.359 --> 01:30:50.130 and madrock's vision is so innovative and so 01:30:50.130 --> 01:30:52.850 unique that I feel like I'm still grasping the 01:30:52.850 --> 01:30:55.770 scope of it because they are really pushing into 01:30:55.770 --> 01:30:58.609 so many different areas and what they're doing 01:30:58.609 --> 01:31:01.670 with shoes and also looking into other areas 01:31:01.670 --> 01:31:03.289 I don't know how much I'm allowed to say so I'm 01:31:03.289 --> 01:31:05.710 like oh can I say things but um yeah it's just 01:31:05.710 --> 01:31:11.529 been so fun uh to be here in LA to hear what 01:31:11.529 --> 01:31:13.909 they're doing and why they're doing it and actually 01:31:13.909 --> 01:31:15.909 to feel a sense of community that they've built 01:31:15.909 --> 01:31:18.850 here and to be meeting some of the younger athletes 01:31:18.850 --> 01:31:22.170 on the team. And yeah, I'm really excited for 01:31:22.170 --> 01:31:25.149 my future with Medrock and I absolutely adore 01:31:25.149 --> 01:31:26.890 what they're doing and how they're doing it. 01:31:27.949 --> 01:31:30.390 I really want to work with brands that I align 01:31:30.390 --> 01:31:34.010 with and that want to work with me for me and 01:31:34.010 --> 01:31:38.170 share the vision that I have. So yeah, I feel 01:31:38.170 --> 01:31:41.020 lucky to be doing that now. It's very unique. 01:31:41.420 --> 01:31:44.680 Um, okay. So next one, how much do you emphasize 01:31:44.680 --> 01:31:47.079 being well -rounded as a climber now that you 01:31:47.079 --> 01:31:49.520 weren't competing anymore? So like, would you 01:31:49.520 --> 01:31:51.399 rather prioritize sending the hardest problems 01:31:51.399 --> 01:31:53.460 you can in your style or do you still try to 01:31:53.460 --> 01:31:56.300 do like, Oh gosh, that's a great question. Thank 01:31:56.300 --> 01:31:58.039 you to whoever asked that. And it's something 01:31:58.039 --> 01:32:00.079 that I actually talked to my husband about a 01:32:00.079 --> 01:32:04.220 lot because he. Tries to he wants to climb like 01:32:04.220 --> 01:32:07.439 the best -looking climbs and what he thinks of 01:32:07.439 --> 01:32:09.520 his cool lines So it doesn't matter too much 01:32:09.520 --> 01:32:12.159 on style for him He's like inspired by the line 01:32:12.159 --> 01:32:16.739 which I'm inspired by but also then as a shorter 01:32:16.739 --> 01:32:18.840 climber There's a lot that I can't do. Yeah, 01:32:18.920 --> 01:32:22.399 there's a lot of styles that I know don't suit 01:32:22.399 --> 01:32:28.899 me. I Think I try to train my weaknesses so that 01:32:28.899 --> 01:32:31.260 I can become a better climber but ultimately 01:32:31.949 --> 01:32:34.789 a lot of the hard climbs I've done are crimps 01:32:34.789 --> 01:32:37.670 on overhand because I know I'm good at it, it's 01:32:37.670 --> 01:32:40.850 kind of my wheelhouse. But then some of them 01:32:40.850 --> 01:32:42.789 are powerful and there's climbs that don't suit 01:32:42.789 --> 01:32:44.430 me that I'm like okay I'm gonna go try really 01:32:44.430 --> 01:32:46.770 hard on this and I want to climb it for this 01:32:46.770 --> 01:32:53.069 reason so yes and no. Okay. I think I steer towards 01:32:53.069 --> 01:32:55.829 climbs that make me feel good and I feel like 01:32:55.829 --> 01:32:58.430 I can try hard on but I also really want to climb 01:32:58.430 --> 01:33:03.039 as much as possible. Okay. and I recently did 01:33:03.039 --> 01:33:06.600 a v13 in the UK that's just this super huge powerful 01:33:06.600 --> 01:33:11.680 move on really bad feet and a guy commented on 01:33:11.680 --> 01:33:13.779 my Instagram like I did not have you down to 01:33:13.779 --> 01:33:15.760 do the second descent of this like this is like 01:33:15.760 --> 01:33:18.720 a burly like Jim Pope boulder and I was like 01:33:18.720 --> 01:33:21.060 I don't actually know what you mean by this like 01:33:21.060 --> 01:33:23.119 I don't know whether I should be complimented 01:33:23.119 --> 01:33:26.529 or offended and then I thought actually me neither 01:33:26.529 --> 01:33:28.510 like no I probably wouldn't have gone and tried 01:33:28.510 --> 01:33:30.289 this if I didn't have some encouragement because 01:33:30.289 --> 01:33:32.869 I'd almost written it off as like that is way 01:33:32.869 --> 01:33:35.430 too powerful for me that is such a huge move 01:33:35.430 --> 01:33:40.529 and such a weird box to fit in but I'm glad I 01:33:40.529 --> 01:33:42.149 tried it and it took me a couple of sessions 01:33:42.149 --> 01:33:46.369 and it was really satisfying to do so yeah hence 01:33:46.369 --> 01:33:49.050 why it's yes I don't know I do gravitate towards 01:33:49.050 --> 01:33:51.930 stuff that's in my style but I'm trying to do 01:33:51.930 --> 01:33:54.560 more in different styles okay But still avoiding 01:33:54.560 --> 01:33:57.399 the no -tanks indoor boulders. Yeah. Today a 01:33:57.399 --> 01:33:59.220 kid was like, can you show me this comp style 01:33:59.220 --> 01:34:01.960 dyno? And I was like, no, I don't have to do 01:34:01.960 --> 01:34:03.939 that shit anymore. I didn't swear at the child. 01:34:04.319 --> 01:34:06.319 But no, I just don't have to do that anymore. 01:34:06.420 --> 01:34:09.159 It's great. I'm like, no, I'm not going to show 01:34:09.159 --> 01:34:13.779 you. I can't do it and I don't want to. But yeah, 01:34:13.800 --> 01:34:16.039 at the gym, I generally, I'll make around an 01:34:16.039 --> 01:34:20.430 entire circuit. So in the gyms I climb up. all 01:34:20.430 --> 01:34:22.210 one color will be the same grade. So I'll go 01:34:22.210 --> 01:34:23.750 around the whole circuit and I'll try and do 01:34:23.750 --> 01:34:26.630 them all. And I will try and do the dinos as 01:34:26.630 --> 01:34:28.470 long as I don't feel like I'm going to land on 01:34:28.470 --> 01:34:32.029 my face. Okay. Makes sense. All right. Last question. 01:34:32.369 --> 01:34:35.090 What is one of your controversial or unpopular 01:34:35.090 --> 01:34:38.250 climbing opinions? Ooh, I feel like I should 01:34:38.250 --> 01:34:40.729 have been prepared for this. Oh, sorry. It used 01:34:40.729 --> 01:34:43.149 to be that I didn't like fun, but I do like it 01:34:43.149 --> 01:34:45.789 now. And that's because I just had so many trips 01:34:45.789 --> 01:34:48.250 where I sat in the rain. Yeah. So people used 01:34:48.250 --> 01:34:50.069 to think that I was ridiculous for not liking 01:34:50.069 --> 01:34:52.970 font. But then I went and had like a month of 01:34:52.970 --> 01:34:54.829 sun there when I was pregnant and I climbed all 01:34:54.829 --> 01:34:58.670 the easy stuff and it was glorious. Unpopular 01:34:58.670 --> 01:35:01.609 climbing opinions. I mean, that's a pretty good 01:35:01.609 --> 01:35:04.630 one. Yeah. I did change my mind. Okay. Yeah. 01:35:04.689 --> 01:35:08.449 So we need a new one. Yeah. Hmm. I don't know. 01:35:08.489 --> 01:35:10.210 I feel like. Any of my friends would probably 01:35:10.210 --> 01:35:12.689 pull up like 20 of them because I feel like I 01:35:12.689 --> 01:35:16.369 have a lot, but they're so normal for me. Yeah. 01:35:17.569 --> 01:35:20.609 Well, if you ever think of any. Yeah, I'll let 01:35:20.609 --> 01:35:22.310 you know. I'll have a little think about that. 01:35:22.470 --> 01:35:25.170 Yeah. Okay. I feel like I must have quite a lot, 01:35:25.210 --> 01:35:27.850 actually. Yeah, it's hard to think of in the 01:35:27.850 --> 01:35:30.909 moment. I was trying to like get at it a couple 01:35:30.909 --> 01:35:32.630 of days ago, but I think you said - Do you have 01:35:32.630 --> 01:35:37.220 anything? Oh, see? That's not fair. Yes, it is. 01:35:37.319 --> 01:35:39.979 That's not fair. I didn't think my answer for 01:35:39.979 --> 01:35:43.880 this. I mean, I feel like my most unpopular climbing 01:35:43.880 --> 01:35:47.159 opinion is just that I love comp climbing. And 01:35:47.159 --> 01:35:49.380 it's even, like, maybe unpopular amongst comp 01:35:49.380 --> 01:35:52.979 climbers. What, that they don't love comp climbing? 01:35:53.199 --> 01:35:56.079 Yeah. I just don't. I hate watching climbing. 01:35:56.699 --> 01:35:58.859 Like, I don't watch climbing films. I watch the 01:35:58.859 --> 01:36:01.859 comps sometimes. Like, I do watch the comps a 01:36:01.859 --> 01:36:05.239 bit. But you know, like climbing films, and I 01:36:05.239 --> 01:36:07.279 think I got into this a little bit recently. 01:36:07.859 --> 01:36:10.699 So basically outdoor climbing films, I just don't 01:36:10.699 --> 01:36:12.539 like watching. And I think because when I grew 01:36:12.539 --> 01:36:15.180 up, it was all white dudes with their tops off 01:36:15.180 --> 01:36:18.479 screaming. And I was like, why? As like a little 01:36:18.479 --> 01:36:20.579 seven -year -old kid, would I want to watch that? 01:36:20.760 --> 01:36:23.340 And I've been so off -put by the world of outdoor, 01:36:23.560 --> 01:36:27.060 like comp, like rock climbing films. I'm like, 01:36:27.100 --> 01:36:29.720 ugh, like no. I do watch the comps when they're 01:36:29.720 --> 01:36:33.710 at reasonable hour. but no rock climbing films 01:36:33.710 --> 01:36:36.369 i've just been so off -put by all the old -school 01:36:36.369 --> 01:36:42.229 screamy yeah dudes yeah with their tops off i 01:36:42.229 --> 01:36:44.149 guess that is true so maybe that's controversial 01:36:44.149 --> 01:36:48.289 okay i just don't like watching climbing that's 01:36:48.289 --> 01:36:52.609 pretty controversial yeah i get the outdoor yeah 01:36:52.609 --> 01:36:55.409 like rock climbing well i guess my thing is a 01:36:55.409 --> 01:36:58.729 little more specific in that i don't really Climb 01:36:58.729 --> 01:37:01.189 outside so I don't watch outdoor climbing in 01:37:01.189 --> 01:37:03.310 general. Yeah, I'm literally a professional rock 01:37:03.310 --> 01:37:05.210 climber who hates watching rock climbing Yeah, 01:37:05.229 --> 01:37:08.029 that makes sense. Okay. That's a good one. That's 01:37:08.029 --> 01:37:11.350 a good one to end on Okay, so that's all the 01:37:11.350 --> 01:37:13.489 questions I had. Thanks so much for joining me 01:37:13.489 --> 01:37:16.649 Any last -minute like words of wisdom you want 01:37:16.649 --> 01:37:21.010 to get out there? Um, I think my words of wisdom 01:37:21.010 --> 01:37:25.930 would be that you don't have to define who you 01:37:25.930 --> 01:37:30.229 are and how you're doing it you know there's 01:37:30.229 --> 01:37:32.529 so many different ways to do things and right 01:37:32.529 --> 01:37:36.670 now i'm a professional rock climber i've just 01:37:36.670 --> 01:37:39.189 launched a company with my husband we've just 01:37:39.189 --> 01:37:41.750 launched foxy i sit on the executive board for 01:37:41.750 --> 01:37:45.909 our international federation i worked as a trustee 01:37:45.909 --> 01:37:48.029 on a charity for 10 years climbers against cancer 01:37:48.029 --> 01:37:51.710 i ran the women's climbing symposium for 13 years 01:37:51.710 --> 01:37:55.649 and founded that event which has had So many 01:37:55.649 --> 01:37:57.310 different events that have brought women together 01:37:57.310 --> 01:37:59.770 across the community. We're about to launch another 01:37:59.770 --> 01:38:03.750 company with Frankie, our daughter, that is climbing 01:38:03.750 --> 01:38:08.069 specific, which will be coming soon. And I think 01:38:08.069 --> 01:38:10.850 that it's easy to get sucked into thinking you 01:38:10.850 --> 01:38:13.510 have to be one thing. And there are so many different 01:38:13.510 --> 01:38:18.470 ways to navigate the kind of world today. And 01:38:18.470 --> 01:38:21.390 you can be whoever. it is that you want to be 01:38:21.390 --> 01:38:24.130 there are so many options and i think from when 01:38:24.130 --> 01:38:26.529 i was younger i didn't realize that so much okay 01:38:26.529 --> 01:38:30.510 awesome great word to end on um anything else 01:38:30.510 --> 01:38:31.989 you want to shout out or let people know where 01:38:31.989 --> 01:38:35.329 they can find you um put links in the description 01:38:35.329 --> 01:38:37.590 too yeah i mean if you want to find me you'll 01:38:37.590 --> 01:38:40.689 find me i'm on instagram that's kind of the only 01:38:40.689 --> 01:38:44.369 place i post but no i think for me there's a 01:38:44.369 --> 01:38:46.489 lot that i'm getting up to and i feel like you 01:38:46.489 --> 01:38:48.989 know if you want to figure out and find me then 01:38:48.989 --> 01:38:51.470 you will but i don't know there's not much else 01:38:51.470 --> 01:38:54.789 to add well awesome thank you again it was amazing 01:38:54.789 --> 01:38:56.989 to talk to you oh thank you and it's really cool 01:38:56.989 --> 01:38:59.229 what you're doing with this good work thank you 01:38:59.229 --> 01:39:01.869 and i love the name yeah that's that that's the 01:39:01.869 --> 01:39:04.090 main thing that's like my main claim to fame 01:39:04.090 --> 01:39:06.250 yeah i think you have a great name for this podcast 01:39:06.250 --> 01:39:09.170 because yeah jumping around on slidey volumes 01:39:09.170 --> 01:39:12.949 it's not real climbing you either No, I'm going 01:39:12.949 --> 01:39:16.430 to leave that one in. Thanks. Thank you so much 01:39:16.430 --> 01:39:18.890 for making it to the end of the podcast. Don't 01:39:18.890 --> 01:39:20.909 forget to like and subscribe if you enjoyed. 01:39:21.109 --> 01:39:24.750 Otherwise, you are a super big climber. If you're 01:39:24.750 --> 01:39:27.189 listening on a podcasting platform, I'd appreciate 01:39:27.189 --> 01:39:29.890 if you rate it five stars and you can continue 01:39:29.890 --> 01:39:32.689 the discussion on the free competition climbing 01:39:32.689 --> 01:39:35.689 discord linked in the description. Thanks again 01:39:35.689 --> 01:39:36.149 for listening.