Our Top Ten Podcast Episodes of 2020

We hit our 5th birthday as the calendar changed to 2021, and most of us weren’t exactly sad to see 2020 go. It was a tough year in many ways for many people, but one that has ushered in some (hopefully lasting) change. Assuming we keep working for it, that is.

Many of you know that I’ve been hoarding episodes for quite a while, and since we were on lockdown for much of 2020, many of those conversations in the vault finally saw light. We also released more Board Meetings, as Nate and I figured out a way to record remotely without sacrificing audio quality. Frankly, some of the Board Meetings that made this list are some of my favorites we’ve ever done.

The three conversations that made this list are all special. A quickly rising humble professional, a mythical Canadian climber with legendary strength, and the kid from the “I’m gonna die, Brad,” video, who tries harder than anyone you’ve ever met.

Let’s get into it.

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#10: Episode 163: Board Meetings | Why Bouldering May Not Help Your Sport Climbing

I certainly made these mistakes when I was a sport climber, and luckily I eventually came to my senses. Not all bouldering is created equal, and I guarantee many of you are still making some of these mistakes. Me too.

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#9: Episode 169: Board Meetings | Granny Shot: Do You Follow the Crowd?

Nate and I discuss some lessons learned after listening to Episode 3 of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast Revisionist History, “The Big Man Can't Shoot.” Malcolm discusses Granovetter's theory of the “Threshold Model of Collective Behavior” through the lens of shooting free throws, but we work through it in terms of climbing. 

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#8: Episode 162: Board Meetings | Popular Climbing Trends We Like

Honestly, I’m not even sure when we recorded this, but it held up well enough to put out. Climbing trends fluctuate - sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. These are the ones we think are for the better.

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#7: Episode 165: Board Meetings | The Art of Learning Climbing

Maybe my favorite Board Meeting ever. Nate and I discuss some of the our takeaways learned from listening to Episode 412 of the Tim Ferriss podcast, in which author Josh Waitzkin is interviewed. Waitzkin is the author of The Art of Learning, one of our favorite books, and has a great approach to the learning process. We try to apply the same questions and perspectives to climbing.

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#6: Episode 161: Board Meetings | Why Am I Still Getting Pumped?

Every year, as soon as the outdoor season starts to take off, the messages start pouring in:

"Why am I still getting pumped? The training didn't work! I wasted all that time!"

Not to mention, so many coaches regularly preach that you should never get pumped while training. So when sport climbers everywhere find themselves pumped, they just don’t understand. In this episode, Nate and I discuss this strange phenomenon.

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#5: Episode 158: Board Meetings | Top 5 Reasons You Abandon the Training Plan

It’s happened to all of us. We think it isn’t working, or something shifts our focus - and BAM, we’ve suddenly abandoned the plan. Then we wonder why it didn’t work. Nate and I discuss the top 5 reasons so that we can all recognize it before it’s too late.

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#4: Episode 175: Board Meetings | Top 6 Training Myths

This one is from the vaults. Nate and I sat down outside of the Red River Gorge with our fellow Power Company Coach Paul Corsaro to discuss the top 6 myths we see persisting in the climbing training industry. We may have been drinking, which may or may not surprise you.

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#3: Episode 156: Troy Fauteux | Try Harder

This interview is one of the reasons I love making this podcast. I had never met Troy Fauteux before this, and we had a very small window to try to make this happen, but I’m so glad that it did. Troy tries harder than you do. Murder Face. Trust me.

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#2: Episode 157: Yves Gravelle | For the Love of Training

I’m so fortunate to be able to get connected to people while I’m traveling who I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach. This is definitely one of those episodes. Yves Gravelle is a legendary Canadian strongman, but also a father, husband, business owner, youth coach, world record holder, and prolific first ascentionist. How does he find the time? He LOVES it.

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#1: Episode 160: Matt Fultz | A New Breed

Matt Fultz crushes everything he touches. He is also one of the few pro climbers who’s not at all shy about his training habits - even going beyond the extremely climbing specific training that most pros will allow to be seen. We sat down a week before his annihilation of the annual Hueco Rock Rodeo for a wide ranging discussion on training, grades, weight loss, and more.

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Special thanks goes to the patrons - who have supported this thing from the beginning and allowed it to continue to grow. We’re consistent and commercial free because of their support. I can travel for interviews because of their support. The patrons get extra Board Meetings each month, and I feel like we’ve finally hit our stride and found a good formula to give them the value they deserve. If you’re so inclined, you can become a patron below.