The rock still has something to teach me.

When I was 17, I blew out my knee bouldering, and I wasn't able to climb for a year. It was hard for me to have to stay away from what I love and what makes me happy. But it was a wake-up call to take care of my body and not be too reckless.

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 have done a fair bit of meditation practice, but I think through climbing it's definitely an easier way for me to tap into that mental state of being present and in the moment, very in tune with your body. But not in an intellectual way. Just really responding to the moment, where you don't have time to think.

I would like to be myself in life - my real self. My ego, though, is powerful and not necessarily working in my best interest all the time. Even when climbing I can't escape the clutches of my ego. The reason why I started climbing was because I could be free from myself.

Every climb is different, has its own unique set of movements and body positions. Climbing and my appreciation for nature are totally intertwined.

Climbing is an amazing, unique sport, and I want to share that with as many people as possible. I want to be an ambassador for the sport and raise the profile. I try to take advantage of any opportunity to share climbing with the world.