A glimpse into everything behind world of competition climbing.
Hear from setters, organizers, athletes, and everyone in between to learn about this fast-growing sport!
For further discussion, check out the comp climbing Discord at https://discord.gg/QTa668g8zp.
Eddie is an ex-IFSC photographer, who worked with them from 2014-2020. In this episode, we’ll get his thoughts on the ethics and purpose of photojournalism, hear about the chaos behind the scenes traveling around for world cups, and discuss ideas on how to get athletes better paid. Guest links: Instagram Reference links: Vail triangle pose Mia Krampl Koper incident Learn more about the podcast at www.thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast.com Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast Join the FREE community in Discord! https://discord.gg/QTa668g8zp If you're able to help support the podcast, you can "buy me a chalk refill" :) current proceeds are going toward a webcam! www.buymeacoffee.com/compclimbing Timestamps of discussion topics 0:00 - Intro/The great photographer race 13:31 - Comp background + injury 16:29 - Starting photography 24:53 - Becoming a professional photographer 31:36 - IFSC freelance employment only 34:23 - Photography itself is a competitive sport 38:46 - Azerbaijan comp disaster 46:45 - Strange historical US comp scoring 50:30 - IFSC scoring, bringing back 4+ min 57:47 - The importance + difficulty of commentary 1:05:49 - Are there too many photographers? 1:15:20 - Demeaning athlete posing 1:17:55 - Behind the scenes portrait chaos 1:20:48 - Youth climber dating distractions... 1:23:34 - Climbers under RED-S pressure 1:32:19 - Photographing athletes in vulnerable moments 1:39:25 - Photojournalism + variety 1:41:55 - Mia Krampl Koper Incident 1:43:32 - “Losers” in sport 1:51:10 - Pro comp climbers after retirement 1:55:23 - Comparing climbing to disc golf 1:59:03 - Ways to fix athlete funding 2:06:22 - The fall of comp climbing? 2:21:35 - Discord Q: Could/should there be an alternative to IFSC? 2:23:36 - Olympics hatred 2:33:21 - Discord Q: Differences between comp climbing vs outdoor climbing photography 2:39:19 - Being more famous than Will Bosi 2:43:48 - Where to find Eddie
Chloé is a boulder and lead climber competing in the world cup circuit for the Belgian team! This is my first time talking to a Belgian climber, so in this episode we’ll learn a lot about their fairly newly established national team and how funding works, and we also talk about body image with being a more muscular climber, as well as the difficulties that come with being a female climber. Guest links: Instagram Reference links: Master of Fire Competition Team Boulder Arena (Competition w/ Stasa) Charlotte de Witte Learn more about the podcast at www.thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast.com Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast Join the FREE community in Discord! https://discord.gg/QTa668g8zp If you're able to help support the podcast, you can "buy me a chalk refill" :) current proceeds are going toward a webcam! www.buymeacoffee.com/compclimbing Timestamps of discussion topics 0:00 - Introduction/China stress 3:35 - Going into simulation 6:50 - Climbing beginnings 10:39 - Transitioning from youth to senior circuit 12:31 - Favorite discipline 17:44 - Training with dad vs. with the Belgian team 23:05 - Training with male athletes 27:31 - Does the Belgian team train together? 31:36 - Belgian athlete funding 34:01 - Gaining strength too easily 40:03 - Body image 44:27 - Being the only woman on the Belgian team 49:32 - Training with Stasa 58:06 - Machismo in the climbing gym 1:03:02 - 2024 goals 1:04:32 - Discord Q: Are there any language difficulties within team Belgium? 1:06:16 - Discord Q: What do you do in isolation? 1:07:28 - Discord Q: What kind of music do you listen to? 1:09:32 - Where to find Chloé
Charlie is a broadcaster and writer who preceded Matt Groom as an IFSC commentator and EpicTV host. In this episode, we’ll learn about his rough start to IFSC commentating in 2016, ways that he thinks the IFSC could improve competitions, and get some insight into what it’s like traveling around with athletes. He also shares his unique story about traveling to North Korea! Guest links: Website Reference links: Learn more about the podcast at www.thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast.com Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast Join the FREE community in Discord! https://discord.gg/QTa668g8zp If you're able to help support the podcast, you can "buy me a chalk refill" :) current proceeds are going toward a webcam! www.buymeacoffee.com/compclimbing Timestamps of discussion topics 0:00 - Introduction/giving some love to North America 8:59 - Kicking IFSC's door in for a job 14:25 - Hardest year: 2016 commentary 18:02 - A trip to North Korea 26:21 - Improving IFSC Production 31:42 - Charlie's biggest commentary mistakes 37:51 - Repetitive Commentary 43:42 - The handoff to Matt Groom 46:23 - Why he left IFSC 51:03 - Post-IFSC work 52:50 - What it's like traveling around with climbers 56:40 - Dirtbag vs serious pro climbers 1:07:12 - Ideas to make competitions more entertaining to watch 1:13:18 - Secret beef between climbers?! 1:18:16 - Discord Q: What changes would you like to see for comps/broadcasting? 1:20:47 - Discord Q: Get Rid of ISO? 1:23:03 - Discord Q: How could IFSC grow the sport? 1:30:44 - Where to find Charlie
Cloe is a French/American boulderer who has competed for team USA in the international youth and elite circuit. In this episode, we’ll learn about how she “accidentally” ended up competing in lead world cups, the difficulties of trying to make it onto a highly competitive US national team, and we give some love to good old gym climbing and plastic pulling! Guest links: Cloe’s Instagram Reference links: La Puissance song rec Learn more about the podcast at www.thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast.com Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast Join the FREE community in Discord! https://discord.gg/QTa668g8zp If you're able to help support the podcast, you can "buy me a chalk refill" :) current proceeds are going toward a webcam! www.buymeacoffee.com/compclimbing Timestamps of discussion topics 0:00 - Introduction/preparing for team trials 5:45 - Cloe’s relatively late climbing start 10:41 - Training in France 16:37 - Accidentally become a World Cup lead climber 24:56 - Transitioning from youth to adult circuit 31:09 - What impacts performace - MAKE SOME NOISE!! 34:21 - Feeling insecure climbing with teammates 37:44 - Disappointing 2023 season 42:53 - Concussion troubles 48:26 - My Soapbox: everyone try a head spa! 49:22 - Gym climbing is the best climbing 52:22 - Being in the IFSC commentary box 54:38 - Crushing at every local competition 57:00 - How amateurs can improve at comp climbing 1:02:40 - Coaching endeavors 1:08:07 - Cross-sport skills 1:13:48 - Discord Q: Benefits vs downsides of competing for the USA 1:17:29 - Discord Q: Unhinged stories living in the Powerhouse with Cece and Quinn? 1:19:28 - Discord Q: Why French rap? 1:21:57 - Discord Q: How does training with friends impact you? 1:24:34 - Where to find Cloe
Tyler is a fellow competition climbing nerd and podcaster, who has been involved in the space much longer than I have, and you may be familiar with his channel, Plastic Weekly! In this episode, we’ll talk about what it’s like MCing at a world cup, commiserate on the hardships that come with climbing podcasting, go over some climbing HOT TAKES, and talk about the upcoming 2024 season! Guest links: Tyler’s Instagram Plastic Weekly IG Plastic Weekly Youtube Reference links: Learn more about the podcast at www.thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast.com Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thatsnotrealclimbingpodcast Join the FREE community in Discord! https://discord.gg/QTa668g8zp If you're able to help support the podcast, you can "buy me a chalk refill" :) current proceeds are going toward a webcam! www.buymeacoffee.com/compclimbing Timestamps of discussion topics 0:00 - Introduction 1:15 - Intro + gym experience 7:16 - MCing and commentating at world cups 13:35 - Beginnings of Plastic Weekly Podcast 17:31 - Starting The Debrief series with John Burgman 20:52 - Commiserating on highlights and lowlights of podcasting 30:36 - Competition hot take: GOAT is overused 42:09 - Hot take: Get rid of isolation? 48:29 - People don't care about the overall title anymore? 55:00 - NEOM games environmental impact 1:01:35 - IFSC's new RED-S Policy 1:05:54 - 2024 season predictions 1:13:14 - Olympic favorites 1:18:54 - Discord Q: Is there an absence of climbing media? 1:24:19 - Discord Q: Are gyms are good place to start climbing careers? 1:29:04 - Where to find Tyler