Paul Robinson is one of the top boulderers in the world and has been climbing at a V15 level for more than a decade. We talked about building his new house, recovering from neck surgery, his recent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, climbing 1000+ V11s or harder, his analogy of climbing as a book, hardest FAs, trying to climb V16, travel routines, filmmaking, and much more.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/paul-robinson
Nuggets:
0:06:18 – Designing and building his house
0:10:56 – How Paul got into filmmaking
0:13:10 – Feature films vs. YouTube, and Hueco Dailies
0:15:14 – The Road to Recovery film series
0:17:48 – Paul’s neck injury
0:24:00 – Leg injury
0:26:25 – Being back to 90%, and finding new ways to improve
0:28:09 – Hope, optimism, and a new perspective on finding challenges in climbing
0:32:33 – Going through the stages of grief with an injury, getting older, and hoping to continue climbing at 60 years old
0:35:29 – John Sherman
0:36:32 – Paul’s 8a.nu account, and his goal to climb 1000 boulders 8A (V11) or harder
0:40:38 – Running out of things to climb, and getting psyched on finding new boulders
0:43:14 – What Paul’s drive alive, and his goals for his Hueco trip
0:46:38 – The uniqueness of climbing, being a perfectionist, and seeking mastery
0:49:57 – Climbing as a book, and whether Paul is still getting better at climbing
0:52:24 – Why we don’t often repeat things we’ve done, and Paul’s story about flashing Nagual and repeating it for the Rock Rodeo
0:55:56 – Does V16 feel important?
1:01:41 – How Paul is thinking of training for ‘Box Therapy’ V16, and why Paul tries to maintain a baseline of endurance for bouldering
1:08:36 – Paul’s projecting tactics
1:13:10 – ‘Lucid Dreaming’
1:25:01 – Dave Graham, ’Spectre’, and ’Total Eclipse’
1:30:40 – Patron question from Nick: If you could only climb one boulder for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
1:31:27 – Fontainbleau
1:32:43 – Opening up about being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and some of the symptoms Paul experiences
1:38:32 – OCD tendencies, Paul’s outfits, touch, social anxiety, and hyper-focus
1:43:34 – Stuck laying on the couch, and opening up conversations
1:50:35 – Routines that help Paul feel grounded
1:53:53 – Challenging the clothing norms, and decision fatigue
1:59:47 – Paul’s go-to climbing shoes
2:02:37 – Toe hooking, and customizing his Solutions for ‘The Story of Two Worlds’
2:04:29 – Patron question from André: Any plans to try ‘Burden of Dreams’ V17?
2:07:13 – The challenge of living in the desert and trying to climb in humid environments
2:09:33 – Bugalisen
2:10:48 – Patron question from André: Which one of your FA’s do you think is the hardest one?
2:11:58 – Paul’s project in the South Platte, CO, and how he names his boulders
2:13:46 – ‘Karoshi’
2:14:28 – Patron question from Ana: What areas does Paul think have the most remaining potential? Where is the next frontier for bouldering?
2:18:30 – Paul’s favorite rock type
2:20:37 – Patron question from Prithipal: How strong are Paul’s fingers?
2:23:51 – Tiny crimps, and why you don’t need to be able to do one-arm pullups to climb V16
2:26:58 – Meeting Paul back in 2013, and what’s next
