The Testpiece Podcast

This is the episode to learn everything about one of, if not the, most important parts of our climbing kit — chalk! The real topic here is how to maximize friction between your hands and the holds, which is crucial for sending your hardest.Kevin Brown joins the pod and goes deep on the science of how to get the best friction on holds. He talks about the chemical make up of the best chalk, what it has, what it doesn’t have, the pH of chalk and why that matters. He also shares the history of chalk (and pof!), some of the potential future advancements in chalk, and how to prepare best prepare your skin and holds for each attempt.Kevin knows this area so well because he’s the founder of Friction Labs. Kevin is also a lifelong climber who climbs into the V double digits and has contributed to the climbing community in a bunch of ways. Not only is he the founder of Friction Labs, he also helped found the Denver Bouldering Club which was one of the first real gyms in that area.SHOW NOTES:Friction Labs WebsiteFriction Labs InstagramCarlo’s Dark Side EpisodeAthletic HandsLiquid ChalkJoin Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

Professional climber, coach, routesetter, and frequent Testpiece podcast guest, Tim Kang, is on the pod this week to share his thoughts about the Paris 2024 Olympics.Tim may be best known for his highball ascents that culminated in the film Focus, but Tim is also a seasoned competition climber with multiple World Cups under his belt. Tim loves competition climbing and studies in deeply. Hear his thoughts on the most important climbing competition ever. In this episode, Tim and Josh dive into how fair the results were, what the routesetters tested, the grades of those routes, and what we might see in LA 2028 Olympic Games.SHOW NOTES:Nathaniel Coleman Testpiece EpisodeJesse Grupper Testpiece EpisodeSean Bailey Testpiece EpisodeJoin Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

Tom O’Halloran is arguably the best climber in Australia. He’s an Olympian, he’s climbed 15a and v14, and done FA’s nearly up to those grades as well.But the reason we wanted to have him on the podcast is because of the amazing YouTube content he puts out. He dives into the nuances of hard climbing in a way that actually helps people climb hard. Tom shares his knowledge in an open and honest way that doesn’t sugar coat the process or make it seem simple or “black and white”.In this podcast Tom goes deep on the important things, like how to do hard moves, what mental progression actually looks like day-to-day, and how to apply your board climbing to sending equally hard outdoors.SHOW NOTES:Board climbing is KILLING your outdoor climbing How to do hard moves. Olympians simple techniqueTape fingers the RIGHT wayJoin Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

Ethan Salvo is back on the podcast! Ethan's first episode (linked here) was a fan favorite so when Josh visited Squamish for a few days they met up do an impromptu live/in-person recording.Since the last recording, Ethan has climbed arguably the hardest climb in Squamish, The Singularity. The experience he had on it was fascinating and made him question everything he knew about hard climbing and grades.This has changed Ethan's approach to climbing and helped him find more joy and learn the lessons he needed the most.SHOW NOTES:Ethan on Kodama (V11)Ethan on The Singularity (V15)Join Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

Noah Wheeler and Benn Wheeler represent the next generation of climbers. At 21 and 19, they are some of the strongest board climbers in the world and their styles reflect that. They also are bring a unique point of view to the world of climbing content with their YouTube channel, Wheel Rock.These brothers have climbed up to V16 outdoors, FA’d up V14 (in the first 3 months of climbing outdoors!), and FA’d or climbed the hardest board climbs the world has ever known.In their short time in the climbing world they have climbed with the best, and cemented themselves as some of youth to keep your eye. In this podcast they share their take on hard climbing, how we too can go from good to great, and whats it store for the future.SHOW NOTES:Wheel Rock YouTube ChannelTop Board Climbs named:Jellyfish (Kilterboard)Kitten Paws (TB1)Franconian Sky (Kilterboard)Black Beauty (Moonboard, 2016)Project 2 (Moonboard, 2016)Hardest Board Climbs:Drunks Unlimited (Benn, Kilterboard)Extend Clip (Benn, TB2)Hardest Board Move:Blockland 1st MoveJellyfish 2nd MoveSiamang 1Join Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

AJ has been competing at the highest level for decades. She has won multiple Bouldering World Cups and she climbs just as hard outdoors with her iconic send of The Swarm (v13/14) in Bishop which was recently featured in Reel Rock.AJ also coaches some of the top up and coming Youth Athletes (one of her athletes recently won Nationals), through her business Delphi Climbing.In this podcast AJ gives tons of tips on how to perform your best and the drills she runs her athletes through. She also shares her struggles of returning to competing after a major injury and how she got over the hurdle of competing again.Join Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

Drew Ruana is one of the strongest boulders in the world. Period. He over a hundred V14+ sends, and lots of then are V16. While some other climbers may have that amount of blocs under their belt, no one has accumulated this many in such a short time.Drew goes into his infamous “Send Colorado” journey, which is his goal to send all V14 and up boulders in CO (nearly 200!). He shares some of the ones that are left giving him trouble (e.g. Megatron, V17). And he goes into some finer points of grading, including the difference between V14 and V16.Drew also loves to share the knowledge he’s gained, and he’s doing so by writing books and even replying to questions on Reddit!Drew talks about the most common mistakes he sees in climbers, the common plateaus climbers face, and his biggest tip — Play the long game and work your weaknesses!SHOW NOTES:Drew’s YouTube ChannelJoin Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

Felipe Camargo is one of the top climbers in our sport with sends up to 9b and V15. That’s impressive… But what’s more impressive is that he began climbing Brazil where there was no professional climbers, no routes past 8b+, and no modern training facilities.Felipe managed to send the iconic 50m 9a+ Papichulo by mainly training on a 3x3m spray wall at 85+ degrees! And even more incredible, is that he didn’t have other climbers of his caliber there to push him. He was the trail blazer.His story of going from unknown Brazilian kid to the first professional climber in South America is amazing and sounds almost like a fairy tale. But his hard work and passion is the real secret behind some of his “lucky” breaks.Over his career Felipe has gone on to establish Brazil’s first 8c, 8c+, 9a, and 9a+! You can see some of these in his latest film, a breakout hit, Tropical Lines. He also won the Netflix series Ultimate Beastmaster. He has taken his earnings and time and poured in back in the Brazilian community to help the next generation of climbers. To give them opportunities that he didn’t have. SHOW NOTES:El Bon Combat VideoTropical Lines VideoJoin Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

Tim Kang is a frequent guest on the podcast, but now you get to hear him do a more typical interview.Tim is a professional climber and coach that has competed at the World Cup level, won a Psicobloc competition, climbed v14 and 5.14d, but he is best known for his daring sends of the wildest highballs in Bishop which culminated in the popular film Focus.Tune in to hear Tim’s arc as a climber, from his early days when he struggled to keep up with everyone else, to his success in high pressure competitions and on death defying hard boulders.SHOW NOTES:FocusTim’s Best Day podcastTim’s ClassroomTestpiece ShirtsJoin Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE

 Greg Loh was one of the strongest boulders in the world during the mid 90’s and early 00’s. He traveled all over the world putting up FA’s of V13+ and climbing with the best. He competed in WC’s, the X-Games, and even won Nationals twice for speed climbing.  He is known for being one of the first people who truly embraced bouldering as a discipline in itself. This is back when bouldering was extra dangerous due to the lack of pads and Greg has 9 broken ankles to prove it! This also lead him to be known as perhaps the world’s best spotter, a job he took extremely seriously and caused at least 1 of those ankle breaks!  Greg also brought an aggression and intensity into climbing that hadn’t been seen before. His background in football and weightlifting, as well as larger than normal size, came out as an intense try hard that is now synonymous with hard climbing. Greg was the bouldering buddy you always wanted — strong enough to catch you on a big fall, committed enough to do so, and his infectious aggression brought out the intensity you needed to send.  SHOW NOTES: Greg on an easy lap of Midnight Lightning V8Peak Performance bookJoin Patreon: HERE Follow us on Instagram: HERE Visit our podcast page: HERE