The Nugget Climbing Podcast

World-class climber and coach Justen Sjong discusses mastering climbing techniques, the four stages of technique, sending faster, and his goal of climbing 9a before 60. He coaches on floating using the drop-drive-stop method and shares insights on reflection, confidence, and optimizing climbing movements.

In this episode, I crack open a beer with Tony Bell and David Bress, the two founders of Revival Climbing Coalition. The two of them installed my dream home wall in 2.5 hours and I was blown away by the craftsmanship and elegance of the design. We talked about their backgrounds, how they bootstrapped a climbing wall business, what sets their products apart, the biggest surprises they faced, sustainability challenges, future products and innovations, and more! Revival’s Adjustable Climbing Walls:revivalclimbing.com/adjustable-climbing-wallRevival’s Landing Systems:revivalclimbing.com/custom-matsrevivalclimbing.com/standard-matsShow Notes:  thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/revival-climbing-coalitionNuggets:00:00:00 – Intro00:01:45 – Breakfast banter00:04:06 – David’s background00:09:06 – Mount Moran00:13:09 – Tony’s background00:16:24 – Getting into the climbing wall industry00:21:09 – The birth of Revival Climbing Coalition00:25:00 – What sets Revival apart00:33:01 – The cost of the wall00:36:45 – The board00:39:10 – Turkeys00:40:25 – Bootstrapping and outsourcing00:45:12 – Biggest surprises00:47:37 – What sets their board apart00:52:49 – Engineered lumber00:56:38 – Sustainability01:00:36 – Ease of installation01:02:38 – Gym partners and shipping01:04:40 – The future of Revival01:08:45 – More about landing systems01:09:50 – What’s next for Revival01:13:31 – Wrap up

Jana Švecová is a professional rock climber from the Czech Republic who has emerged as one of the top female boulderers in the world. We talked about her upbringing and her early success in competitions, her pivot to outdoor bouldering, her inspiration for choosing ‘Terranova’ 8C+/V16 as a project, making the first ascent of ‘Nova’ 8C/V15, using her finger injury as an opportunity, current training, and much more!Watch the Video Interview of this episode:EP 224: Jana Švecová — Uncut VideoBecome a Patron - 7 Day Free Trial!patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing PhysiVantage SUMMER SPECIAL!physivantage.com/discount/NUG20Use code "NUG20" at checkout for 20% off your next order of collagen or protein!Check out Crimpd!crimpd.comOr download the Crimpd app for free!Check out Tindeq!tindeq.comUse code “nugget” for $10 off your order!Check out KAYA!kayaclimb.comUse code "NUGGET" at checkout for 20% off your first year of KAYA PRO! We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:Michael Roy, Craig Lee, Mark and Julie Calhoun, Yinan Liu, Zach Emery, Alex Pluta, and Matt WalterShow Notes:  thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/jana-svecovaNuggets:(00:00:00) – Intro(00:02:44) – Jana’s upbringing(00:07:18) – Quitting her job to climb full time(00:08:38) – What inspires her about ‘Terranova’ 8C+/V16(00:12:39) – Climbing has it all(00:18:08) – A natural talent(00:22:20) – Discovering outdoor bouldering(00:25:57) – Childhood best friends(00:30:04) – Sharing successes(00:33:04) – ‘Nova’ 8C/V15(00:47:56) – The frustrations of projecting(00:50:46) – The next steps for ‘Terranova’(00:54:02) – Using her finger injury as an opportunity(00:58:22) – Working with her coach(01:03:23) – Improving her shoulder strength(01:08:09) – How her training has changed(01:11:58) – Building a climbing wall in a second apartment(01:15:18) – Building my own home wall(01:17:55) – Training for ‘Terranova’(01:30:02) – Motivation and side projects(01:35:18) – Self-belief(01:37:46) – Coordination and muscle memory(01:40:37) – Harry Potter museum(01:43:21) – Hand tattoos(01:44:39) – Favorite post-climbing food(01:46:15) – Ultimate achievement(01:48:51) – Best decision(01:53:17) – Bug snacks(01:56:00) – Happiest moment(01:58:58) – Silver linings(02:03:11) – Proudest of(02:06:47) – Favorite rock type(02:07:22) – Go-to climbing shoes(02:11:27) – Wrap up

Aidan Roberts, a top boulderer, discusses professional climbing and media, new challenging boulders proposed, and reflections on podcasting. Topics include transitioning to a home base, balancing passion with livelihood, navigating climbing media and sponsorships, exploring climbing narratives and social media challenges, challenging climbs and training experiences, rediscovering a fresh approach to climbing, embracing the flow of climbing, and reflecting on climbing projects and grading.

The Climbing Physio, Paul Houghoughi, discusses bulletproofing knees, shoulder injury prevention, neck and back strengthening, and common body changes as climbers age. Tips cover knee exercises for heel hooks, wrist widgets, hamstring lifts, Nordic exercises, and shoulder strength training with kettlebells. The episode also addresses managing neck and back pain from carrying crash pads, distinguishing good pain from bad pain in load management, and enhancing climbing technique for better performance.

Keenan betrays his mustache by revealing its deepest secrets, and then talks about his experience with 'Insomniac' V16, his trips to Japan, what stood out to him about the Japanese climbing culture, favorite anime, home wall dreams, footwork tips, and his nearest misses while highballing and how they changed his feelings about future highballs.Become a Patron to get access to the full episode! The full version is 57:20.patreon.com/thenuggetclimbingWatch the Video Interview:EXTRA: Keenan Takahashi — Uncut VideoNuggets:(00:00:00) – Mustache Q&A Part 1(00:07:38) – Sticky climber(00:09:00) – Finger strength(00:13:29) – Aesthetics(00:15:56) – Insomniac(00:17:42) – Japanese climbing culture(00:25:32) – Logistics of traveling to Japan(00:26:33) – Anime(00:27:07) – Realizing his potential(00:32:23) – Home wall dreams (00:35:20) – Ethan and Lucas(00:37:19) – Mustache Q&A Part 2(00:39:09) – Best climbing years(00:42:12) – Footwork tips(00:45:39) – Benchmark Berkeley(00:46:14) – Shoutout(00:46:26) – Fast food(00:47:20) – A Little Life and highballing(00:50:09) – Doomsday(00:54:37) – Future highballs

Keenan Takahashi is one of the top boulders in the world. We talked about the origin story of his clothing company ANTIGRAV, the importance of carving out space for creativity, establishing his latest V15 FA ‘The Gold Standard’, watching Sean Bailey send ‘Devilution’, unclimbed king lines in Bishop, shifting his focus to meaningful hard climbs, his stubbornness, why trying limit moves makes him a better climber, learning the macro from the micro, accessing try hard, why he started training, upcoming goals, and much more! I’ve wanted to talk to Keenan since the very beginning of the podcast, and this turned out to be one of my all-time favorite interviews.Become a Patron - 7 Day Free Trial!patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing Check out Arc'teryx!Shop for my favorite approach shoesCheck out KAYA!kayaclimb.comUse code "NUGGET" at checkout for 20% off your first year of KAYA PRO!Check out Rhino Skin Solutions!rhinoskinsolutions.comUse code “NUGGET” at checkout for 20% off your next order!The Nugget is sponsored by BetterHelp!betterhelp.com/NUGGETUse this link for 10% off your first month! We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:Michael Roy, Craig Lee, Mark and Julie Calhoun, Yinan Liu, Zach Emery, Alex Pluta, and Matt WalterShow Notes:  thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/keenan-takahashiNuggets:(00:00:00) – Intro(00:02:47) – Kalkoentjie(00:06:22) – Buried in admin(00:09:48) – What Keenan’s life looks like(00:15:25) – Taking space(00:18:08) – The origin story of ANTIGRAV(00:28:02) – Selling an emotion(00:32:47) – Making a climbing pant(00:34:12) – Creating value(00:37:56) – Exclusive brands(00:42:12) – The small drop model(00:47:48) – Committing(00:49:50) – Climbing better than ever(00:55:15) – The Finnish Line(01:00:13) – Jimmy Webb’s development in Tahoe(01:02:00) – Chasing dream lines(01:03:20) – Satisfaction(01:07:57) – 10 more things(01:10:23) – Devilution(01:15:51) – Unclimbed projects in Bishop(01:18:23) – The Gold Standard(01:43:47) – Stubbornness(01:46:20) – Learning from one limit move(01:49:33) – Learning the macro from the micro(01:51:52) – What he learned from Spectre(01:53:52) – Surrounding himself with stronger climbers(01:55:12) – V15 at 50, and working weaknesses(01:58:30) – Trying hard(02:08:11) – Passion and relinquishing obsession(02:10:22) – Cultivating fun(02:14:47) – Measuring progress(02:20:52) – The Dark Side(02:23:47) – Ireland plans(02:28:38) – Wrap up

Alannah Yip is a professional climber from Canada who competed at the Tokyo Olympics. We talked about getting diagnosed with alopecia and the emotional journey of losing her hair, taking back her power, preparing for the Olympic Qualifying Series, lessons from Tokyo, mantras for slab boulders, her involvement with IFSC policies to prevent eating disorders and RED-S, her eating disorder as a teenager, why she plans to retire from comps, rock climbing goals, and much more!Become a Patronpatreon.com/thenuggetclimbing Watch the Video Interview:EP 220: Alannah Yip — Uncut Video!Check out Crimpd!crimpd.comOr download the Crimpd app for free!Check out PhysiVantage!physivantage.com (link includes 15% off coupon)Use code "NUGGET15" at checkout for 15% off your next order!Check out Arc'teryx!Shop for my favorite approach shoesThe Nugget is sponsored by BetterHelp!betterhelp.com/NUGGETUse this link for 10% off your first month! We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:Michael Roy, Craig Lee, Mark and Julie Calhoun, Yinan Liu, Zach Emery, Alex Pluta, and Matt WalterShow Notes:  thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/alannah-yipNuggets:(00:00:00) – Intro(00:02:11) – Alopecia(00:07:31) – Identity crisis(00:11:33) – Deciding to shave her head(00:12:55) – Taking back her power(00:19:55) – Setting it on the back burner(00:25:33) – Training camps(00:30:23) – Alannah’s coaches(00:33:47) – Training for Paris vs. Tokyo(00:39:26) – Feelings about Tokyo(00:42:08) – Lessons from Tokyo(00:44:06) – Training with other women(00:46:52) – Working on slab(00:50:10) – The Olympic Qualifying Series(00:55:00) – Olympic vs. World Cup lead style(00:59:27) – Why she quit comps during college(01:02:10) – Making the jump to World Cups(01:04:35) – Reexamining her relationship with climbing as an adult(01:08:54) – Engineering & coaching(01:11:28) – Excited to retire from comps(01:18:24) – IFSC policies to prevent eating disorders & RED-S(01:30:05) – Self-reporting & BMI(01:35:39) – Alannah’s eating disorder as a teenager(01:41:53) – The turning point(01:43:50) – Dealing with hard moments(01:45:30) – Conflicted feelings about food(01:48:13) – Alannah’s PSAs(01:50:15) – My PSA(01:53:03) – Mutual appreciation(01:55:05) – What’s next(01:56:24) – Rapid fire Qs(02:01:21) – Occasionally on Instagram(02:04:49) – Wrap up

Fitz Cahall, creator of The Dirtbag Diaries and Climbing Gold, discusses early internet days, podcasting in 2007, storytelling, virtual reality, meaningful time management, unglamorous work, choosing stories, and his new book States of Adventure.

Mat Wright returns to the podcast to talk about his send of ‘Rhapsody’! We talked about the emotional dip after a hard send, the power of letting things come to you, making your own luck, patience as a tactic, top-down projecting, feeding our internal climbing algorithms, his process and how it felt to send, his next project, learning how to take the pressure off, and much more! Get coaching from Mat!matwrightcoaching.comCheck out Kletterkalk UK!kletterkalk.co.ukMat's go-to chalk, and a great option for folks in the UK and Europe! We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:Michael Roy, Craig Lee, Mark and Julie Calhoun, Yinan Liu, Zach Emery, Alex Pluta, and Matt WalterShow Notes:  thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mat-wright-returnsNuggets:(00:00:00) – Intro(00:03:16) – Catch up and self-coaching(00:08:58) – The dip after a hard send(00:11:57) – Letting things come to you(00:15:28) – His approach to ‘Rhapsody’ E11(00:21:33) – Mindset and preparation(00:24:22) – Making your own luck(00:27:01) – Patience as a tactic(00:31:51) – Top-down projecting(00:36:15) – Feeding the climbing algorithm(00:39:57) – Self 1 and self 2(00:41:37) – The send(00:44:54) – The process(00:51:17) – The emotions after the send(00:54:57) – Mat’s next project(00:59:09) – Not taking it quite so seriously(01:03:08) – Taking the pressure off(01:11:00) – Taking time off(01:18:37) – Less vs. more(01:24:07) – Wrap up