When and how did you get into climbing and what kept you interested?
I started loving climbing after joining the Boulderdash climbing team in southern california. After
moving to Colorado, my love for climbing began to develop into a love for the outdoors. What
keeps me interested in climbing is not only the complexity of moving between holds on routes
and boulder problems, etc., but sharing the passion with other people in tight knit communities
and enjoying being outside.
Who was your childhood hero and do you consider yourself a role model now?
Chris Sharma was and still is my hero. His outlook on climbing and his easy-goingness is
admirable. He has helped shape the climber I am today. I can't deny that I influence other
people in my community. I know other people look up to me and want to climb like I do. This is
also a great responsibility because I have to act professionally, be accepting, and spread good
energy.
What were the most important milestones in your life so far, both in climbing and every day life?
Sure, climbing some difficult sport routes could be considered as my most important milestones
in climbing such as redpointing Zulu (14a) and more recently Waka Flocka (14b), both in Rifle,
CO. However, more recently I have been focused on loving the process of flowing effortlessly
up a rock climb. Learning different moves by practicing stretching routines, training weaknesses,
and being more in tune with my body as I move. I view this as a "milestone" but more so as a
mindset in my climbing career. If people can learn to shift their mindset on learning to love the
movement of climbing more than the achievement of climbing a hard grade, your life becomes
blissful.
What were your greatest failures/setbacks/injuries? How did you cope with them and how did
you come back from them?
Throughout my climbing career, I've suffered from multiple ankle injuries, tendonitis, and wrist
issues. The most important thing to do during this time period is not to dwell on what you can't
do. Ankle injury? Train fingers. Tendonitis, wrist, or finger injury? Focus on flexibility, core and
mobility with other parts of your body. Make a ticklist! Make training plans for when you're
healthy again. Pick up something else other than rock climbing! The possibilities are endless,
it's all about the mindset.
What is your favorite climbing related story/experience?
Before simuling up to the Hairstyles and Attitudes pitch in Eldorado Canyon in a group of 3
(myself being tied into the end), I was fumbling with my headlamp and all of a sudden it stopped
working and wouldn't turn on. I was forced to use my phone light and put it underneath the
headlamp's strap. I couldn't tilt my head even the slightest bit backward or it would fall off, so
climbing the whole approach pitch was very sketchy, haha.