I'm a rock climber. I really specialize in doing first ascents, and finding new routes outside, as opposed to doing competitions. I focus my energy on going out into nature and finding these new climbs. For me, it's not just this athletic pursuit - it's a really creative, artistic thing of finding these amazing formations out in nature, and mixing that with this high level of athleticism.

Climbing is an artistic, creative thing; it's about being spontaneous, traveling, seeing the world, hanging out. It's a balance of setting goals while enjoying the process, being ambitious without being too competitive.

When you do hard routes, you have to try hard. They're not easy routes. You have to give everything you have. You have to get totally animalistic. When you're super pumped, I have to yell to bear down. [...] It's like martial arts. When Bruce lee threw a punch, he had to mean it. Haahhh! Like that. When you're doing a hard move, there is this excess energy you have to let out. Air explodes out of you.

I'm going to be climbing for my whole life.

I had a bad knee injury when I was about seventeen. I wasn't able to climb for about six months. It was kind of like a transformative time for me, because it was really hard for me not to be able to climb. It forced me to appreciate things without just climbing.

I really learned to approach climbing not just with a pure athletic mentality, but also to appreciate all these beautiful places we get to go to.

There are strong people who aren't able to climb. It's about reading the rock, knowing how to position your body and having the tenacity to not let go.