Board Talk #14 with Adam Shahar — Crushing Slopers, Bigger Boards, and Adam’s 9A Double Clutch

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Have you done the move more than once?

SPEAKER_00 0:03

No, actually. I've only done it once. And when I did it, it felt really easy, which is the crazy part about it. It's just insanely low percentage. You have to hit the speed perfectly right. In my video, I have multiple tries that are super, super close. That's about as close as you can get. If you're any closer, you're doing it.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Welcome to the Test Piece podcast. This podcast is about all things high-level climbing. How to go from good to great. I'm your host, Joshua Horsley. I've been climbing for over 30 years. We recently updated our Patreon, and now you get exclusive content from the guests that you love. You get your episodes before everyone else, and they're ad-free. Try it out now at patreon.com/slash test piece with a free seven-day trial. Okay, let's start the show. Alan Char. Welcome back, dude. But this time, board talk. How's it going, dude?

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Yeah, thank you, man. Uh it's going good uh out here in Denver and uh big killing.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Uh yeah, you are at Noah Wheeler and Quinn Spafora's house, which is freaking hilarious because literally every podcast I've been doing these days seems to have people on their couch or on their living room, on their Wi-Fi. And I already told Noah it's okay because I'm part of their patron. In fact, this episode is sponsored by Wheel Rock, and I'm a patron, and I pay $5 a month for his Wi-Fi so that all of his freaking guests can come on. So thank you, Noah and Ben. No, no, just Noah Wheeler. Actually, just Noah Wheeler. Ben just Noah and Quinn.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Noah and Quinn.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Noah and Quinn. Thank you, Noah and Quinn. Um, and they lent you these headphones too, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:58

They did, yes. Thank you for to them for that.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Uh, dude, I thought you were going to be back east. I I actually assumed I was going to make a joke about how I'm glad you're not in Denver at Noah's house because everyone is, but here you are. Did you go home first, or have you just been in Denver like for days now?

SPEAKER_00 2:18

No, so I was in Denver like uh start of June, and then I took two weeks off, went to Austin, Texas to go visit my girlfriend. Uh, and then I just got back like four or five days ago. So uh I took took like a two-week, two-week break from from Colorado. Are you still based in Salt Lake or are you just on the road? Um based in Salt Lake, yeah, but on the road. But yeah, that that's the base, that's the home base. I'm paying rent there, so yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

I think like the first time we did uh episode, I want to say you were in the dorms. Are you still still going to school?

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Uh no. Well, I I'm on a gap year, but uh I I have plans to go back. I'm just not sure exactly when, but not not right now. I'm not no.

SPEAKER_02 2:59

I'm not trying to ask you about big life choices. Don't worry, dude. I just want to talk about climbing.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Uh just gotta let gotta let the mom know, you know, she's listening.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Yeah, there's so many. I remember Tim Tim Kang. Uh he dropped out of high school. There's all these like times we talk about school, and then yeah, I was talking to Noah, and I made fun of him for graduating. I said, I'm not impressed with you graduating, I'm impressed with you climbing V17. So, I mean, basically the same to you, you know, like I'm not impressed with your schooling, I'm just impressed with your climbing.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Valid.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Uh well, tell me about the last trip. You were there with Austin. It seemed like big Northeast crew. Um, did you flash Topnotch? Is that was that one of the highlights there?

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Yeah, yeah, definitely. Probably the highlight of my whole trip so far. But that actually happened on the very first day of the trip. Me, Noah, and Austin went up to Upper Chaos, and then yeah, I've had this the goal to try and flash top notch for a while now, at least like a couple years since uh it kind of got super popular. Uh it's like five, six years ago, maybe. And uh I remember then that's kind of like I had already developed this sort of jumpy style, and so I knew that was a boulder I'd eventually want to try and flash. And so yeah, very, very psyched I was able to execute that.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Am I right that you also flashed Rostamand vibration? Do I remember that correctly?

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

Was this the first flash of top notch?

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Uh I think, yeah, it was. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:27

Dude, look at you just like seeing popular climbs from back in the day and then being like, I'm not just gonna do them, I'm gonna flash them. What what made you think that top notch was flashable?

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Mostly just that like middle red point crux jump that like is such like a popular type of move nowadays where you're just like jumping and holding something bent arm, one arm, and that it is like kind of you know the epitome of my style. So I knew it would go, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Is that a board style? Is that could we?

SPEAKER_00 4:58

I would say it falls into a board style, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

How hard would that move be on a board?

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Uh the move itself is close to maybe uh one move nine or ten, I would say, or one movie ten. I wouldn't say it's anything too too insane. Yeah, and pretty easy to actually replicate, I would say.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

All right. I'm looking for there's there's those funny comments. I've seen those on some of the the sends like looking forward to uh Kilterboard replica that's four grades easier for this time. So dude, you should set it.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Just yeah, maybe Adam's top notch.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

Uh I want to say Austin said that you flashed don't get too greedy, but then you didn't get like video of it, and then you tried to repeat it and then you couldn't do it. Am I remembering that right?

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Yeah. I mean that's that's a very Austin way to put it, but uh like I flashed it and then gave it one more try to try and get on video and then fell like on the swing and was just like, okay, why why would I try and repeat it for another? I kind of realized uh the video is not very important. Like uh it's been flashed in the past. Um the experience is not the same when I'm repeating it for the video, you know. So I kind of just quickly realized there was no point in doing it again for the footage.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

Well, I think it came up because we did some like massive ethics segment on good temps about like, should you have to video all your things or record all your things if you're a pro?

SPEAKER_00 6:21

I saw that, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Yeah, so did you then I don't remember because I wasn't paying attention. So did you like make it public that you did it but then didn't have the video? Like what what was your approach to that?

SPEAKER_00 6:31

I didn't even make it public. Maybe told some friends who have asked if I tried it or whatever, but kind of yeah, just kept it on the low, I guess. I mean, yeah, if I had video, I would have posted it, but uh I kind of just realized there's no point in doing like posting repeat footy wouldn't be the same either way.

SPEAKER_02 6:47

So uh that's hilarious. Uh I don't know, just I just thought it was funny. Uh somehow it's like more funny because you've done all these other hard climbs that it's like you tried to repeat it and didn't even get it, and you're like, screw this. Like I don't know, something about that makes it an even better story than if you had just flashed another V13, which seems to be seems to be easy for you these days. Um also you sent Jade um or did you not? I just remember seeing a video of you cutting feet on Jade, and to me that was more impressive than actually doing Jade. But how how'd that go for you?

SPEAKER_00 7:21

Yeah, so that that day I ended up actually punting or like falling on the the V10 a couple times, yeah. Uh, and I was pretty disappointed about that. Just kind of like like, why is this part hard? Like it shouldn't be hard. Uh, but I figured out pretty quickly why it was hard. I was just super tired that day. But I did come back day two and just did it first try, which was a very cool feeling. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

So what are you back visiting to do now? Any anything you got your sight set on?

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Kind of. It's uh so I I had been trying Blade Runner my first half of the trip. Uh it was going super well, like very, very well. And then my last couple of days before I left uh Austin, Texas, uh, were pretty rough. It started it started to get like pretty hot and humid around here. And so I've just been regressing on that one, which has been uh a bit rough, but I think I'll try and give it one more effort before before leaving. But uh definitely like a two 2 a.m. type of type of mission.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Were you the reason that Austin was late to good temps? Were you guys out there at like three in the morning? Because I don't know if you saw yeah, Austin like didn't show up. We were supposed to do a recording and then he like was out at Upper Chaos until like three in the morning or something.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

No, no, I don't think that was me. Uh, because I wasn't on the late, late night stuff yet. I haven't started that. I because I I've been going during the day, but it's just been heinously hot. And uh that one being like primarily kind of like a friction crux, uh, is not the best one to be trying in the heat. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:47

So when you dip out, are you heading back to Salt Lake or are you going back east for that uh project? It must be actually so freaking hot back east too.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Yeah, so I'm not gonna be going home for that project for a little bit. I'll I will be going back in early September, just visit family, uh hang out. But uh in the next month, uh coming up, I'm going to LA to go visit the Mad Rock um headquarters, which should be fun. And um just kind of chilling in Salt Lake until yeah, I go back home to visit family.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

I got bad news. It's very, very hot in LA. It's very, very hot in Salt Lake.

SPEAKER_00 9:21

I think it's just hot everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Except for South Africa. My my feed has suddenly become just a bunch of people in South Africa.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Well, funny enough, even there, like uh I I've been seeing people post it's like 68, 70 degrees, uh, just not we had a couple of those days last year, but it seems like this year's definitely even there, it's a hotter, some hotter summer, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

Yeah, when I went, it was actually pretty freaking hot also, and I thought it was gonna be winter, and it was cold at night, but just like during the day, it was still hot, and it's it's a bummer for me. Now I kind of like my main travel time with family is a lot easier in the summer because of summer break and everything. But I'm like, where do I go? Like, where the hell do I go? Like Za is kind of far to I don't know, like that's not just like a easy jaunt with a full family, like that's a full freaking mission, and like I don't really know what to do in the summer now. Like, uh yeah, I just don't even know where to climb.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Yeah, it seems like there's not there's pretty unless you're sport climbing, which who wants to be doing that, uh, there's not not the most options. Uh I was talking about this with my dad actually, because he was like, Are you gonna go back to Rocklands? Like, it seems like you're not having as much fun this summer, which I am. I'm in I'm loving the Alpine, but uh I I am having less fun than in Rocklands, you know. And so we were talking, there's like obviously South America. I bet there's there's some stuff to be done there. Um, but I think Australia seems very cool uh to me going there one day, one of these summers, their winters, you know. Um I think that would be very cool.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

Didn't some stuff get closed? I I'm just trying to remember like Grampiance, like, wasn't there a bunch of closures?

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah, there are I know there are a bunch of closures. I know there's yeah, the climbing there with access isn't the easiest, but uh I've talked a little to this uh guy that I've met, and uh seems like he has a lot of cool projects lined up for his season next year. And uh he said there's some really hard ones, so there's definitely stuff out there, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

You should go and try a flash that thing that Dave Graham put up. I can't remember like the wave or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

That that's a lifelister. I do know what you're talking about, the really long one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:27

But it looked like super cruxy, like first move or two, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Like if I remember like the first face is the hard part, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Ah man, just when you said Australia, that's like what comes. It's funny how like the same thing comes to your mind when you're talking about that place. It's like, oh, what about that climb? Like it it's just funny how we've all seen those same media, and like that's the life, you know, you add that to the TikTok.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

And that's exactly the thing. There hasn't been much media to come out of there. So that's another cool part, is uh, or there there obviously has, but uh there's a lot of lot of room for projects and you know whatnot.

SPEAKER_02 12:00

Dude, that's a that's a good point. It's funny how places just go in vogue and uh become super popular. And then like the trope, like Will was saying this, Will Englin, it's kind of true. I don't want to say negative things, but it's like I'm kind of tired of seeing videos of the same you know, 15 boulders in Rocklands. Like, and I'm not saying like I've been there and those boulders we're talking about are freaking incredible. So I don't want to discourage people from going and doing those climbs because they're really, really world class. But it's also like, okay, guys, like maybe we should go to Australia, which is was a pretty big mission, also, dude.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

I don't know how long it takes to get there, but longer, longer than the Rocklands, which is long. So are you serious?

SPEAKER_02 12:42

It'd be longer.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Uh I think it's like a full day thing. Rocklands is maybe like 15 hours. Um, and then yeah, Australia, you've got maybe more than 20 hours, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:53

I just remember, so I'm I was coming from San Francisco and my crew flew to London, like we're going to ZA, and we fly a London. Let me tell you, like, that's a long trip. Like going from San Francisco to London. I remember we land there, we've got like a probably like a nine-hour layover, we go into you know the city, have a drink, and then we're like, okay, we're halfway there. Like because it was like another, I don't know, 12-hour flight or something, just yeah, that's crazy. Brutal. Of course, like we're just doing it as cheap as possible, like sitting in the back of the plane in many scenes. Um okay, uh, well, you know what you can do? You can uh train on the boards while you're um yeah, while you're waiting. And uh one of the reasons I reached out to you, Adam, is because I saw that video. What'd you call that YouTube video that's been kind of popping off about your your project back east? What was it called? What clicked?

SPEAKER_00 13:51

We did like the I did like the three little testing things, but I think the ones that stuck was East Coast first V17. Uh very clickbaity, I know, but uh gotta do what you gotta do, you know.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Should have just put V18 like question mark, question mark, question mark, exclamation mark, yeah, emoji. Uh well, last time I talked to you, you were in your car in Yosemite and you were telling me about this project, and I liked uh someone's comment on your video was like, Oh, I heard you talk about this on the test piece podcast. I thought it was gonna be dumpy or something like that. I thought this looks actually really good. Um, so yeah, dude, that video did make it look like a banger project.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yeah, yeah, I was super psyched with uh I went out there with my homie Evan. Uh he's the one who put uh filmed and edited the whole video. I think he did a really good job of showcasing it for what it is. But yeah, I also found that pretty hilarious because you know, ever since I started trying it in my head, it's been like the coolest thing in the world and like where all my psych is at. And then you always think those things, like no one's gonna be as psyched as I am. But it was funny, like you said, seeing that comment, like they really had no idea how cool it was. Like in my head, this is the sickest thing ever. And they're listening to me talk about it, and they're like, can't be that cool until they see it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

And it was that cool.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Uh it was that it is that cool, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

So I remember like you hadn't done the big move, like, so it seems like it kind of boils down to one hard, big, dynamic move to that good flake, which ends up being almost like a double clutch, too, like onto that like a little crimp. Um, you hadn't even done that move when I talked to you uh last time, but not long after I think you did that move. And I'm curious why you aren't kind of like saying, Hey, I did this one as a stand start, it's you know dope, and now there's a low start project to it. Like, how come you've it seems like you kind of decided to make the full line, you know, like the full line?

SPEAKER_00 15:50

Yeah, I think it comes down to a couple things. Uh the first thing, which actually got me thinking about it in general, is right after doing it, I was kind of planning on calling it something, and then I couldn't think of a name, and so I was like, oh, if I can't think of a name, I might as well just chill and think about it for a little while. Um, and as I was thinking about a name, I started thinking about just the full line in general. Because you know, if I'm thinking about a stand start name, I have to think about the low start name, or that's how in my head it works, at least. I want them to be related. And so kind of what I took away from it is that I'm just not ready to name it anything or give it anything, or I kind of don't really think I should. I think although it's like it is an individual start that's like pretty obvious with two uh opposing holds and then just one really hard move. But yeah, to me, I it just uh feels a lot more pure and just sicker if I if I were to just do it from the bottom and call it one line rather than uh these two yeah, two lines, because I think the stand start would be more of yeah, a link. Like you did the move, like it's it that is the move, but you don't necessarily get like a pat on the back with some V points for it. You kind of just that gets you ready to try the bottom.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

Yeah, like the you know, for you the vision starts where it starts, like you just gotta acknowledge like this was always the line to me. I mean, it's it's this debate that we've had before where it's like well, if you do something from like an obvious stand start, is that like a new climb? And it's like, well, if the first ascensionist didn't claim that as a climb, and then they do the low, like you can't like establish something that never existed. But it's just funny, like thinking about it like what if someone went and climbed it, like repeated that stand start after you you did, and then like called a stand. I don't know, it doesn't matter. Um, I'm sure you just be psyched to have more people getting on it with you.

SPEAKER_01 17:44

Um and yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Uh also wanted to point out that you totally stole that title from one of Austin's popular YouTube, which was like a roof. Like I remember he did Big Bad Wolf, that like first V15. And yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have anything to say about you claiming it's the East Coast first V17 when he made a video basically saying the same thing?

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Yeah, so Austin's line is actually the East Coast's first V18. That's the crazy part. And I'm not even bullshitting. Like, genuinely, his line is uh, and I didn't, I didn't, I kind of actually forgot it, like I didn't forget about his line and whatever, but when I was making these titles, I will be honest, I didn't necessarily think about the impact or like that it would like have on the image of his line and his video he made. Um but yeah, so uh that thing is really hard and not really having to do with how I titled my video, but it is actually genuinely V18, I think. Um kind of that next level that we know is possible, uh, but will take a very, very long time. So yeah, I think I will tell everyone here right now, Austin's gongs roof project is harder than the trap jump project for sure. A very different sound but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Dude, I was texting you about this where you had this video go kind of kind of viral um about this trap jump project to just talk about kind of putting that hey, I think it's probably a 17, and it looks good, dude. Like what V17 in the world looks as good as that? I'm just um before I go on, I'm just gonna put that out there. Like, can you think of any?

SPEAKER_00 19:18

I I can't. Oh well, I don't know. Alphain's pretty cool, but not no, it's more no, it kind of like traverses, no, dude. No, no, no. But the feature of rock and the grant, it's so pretty. I think it's a it's a pretty line. Yeah, I mean, I think you're right. I think the line is like like I I've felt this way since I started trying it, but I think it's the coolest line I've ever tried and will continue trying. So I I'm not sure which one would beat it.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

So the reason I put that out there was just I was saying to you, like, dude, when you plant a flag like that, you definitely encourage people from all over the world to come and try it. You know, you say, like, hey, this is dope, this is hard, and then you also just saying, Oh, by the way, there's like a V18 project that it goes because hasn't have you done all the moves or Austin do all the moves? Like, it goes, right? On the uh the big bad wheels.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

On the V18. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh I think we did every single move uh combined. So me and him together did every move. Uh like I did a move, he didn't, and then I didn't end like my real I've been battling this wrist injury, and Big Bad Wolf in general is pretty hard for me, so I didn't even get to try like those intro uh moves. So he did all those moves. There's one hard like bump move in the middle that I would say is probably the hardest individual move that I was able to do and he hasn't done yet. But yeah, every move's gone, but no one has done every move by themselves.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

Yeah, man. I'm just saying that you you guys like putting this media out there and that that uh big bad wolf roof uh project also looks really cool. I mean, I I don't know, maybe I think your trap jump project looks cooler, but like that doesn't look dumpy. It's not like a bad line. Uh the the other one. And so I just feel like you know, you're kind of like putting out media, uh, you're probably getting a bunch of interest all over the world instead of people going to the Alpine in Colorado and just posting more videos of flashing don't get too greedy or Jade, you know. Uh you want to see that that new. Um, so good on you guys for you know uncovering those gems. And uh yeah, I was psyched on good video too. Yeah, thank you. Also kind of board style. Just kind of I do I keep I'm trying to do it. Very board style.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

I mean, that's why that's why it inspires me so much. It just uh yeah, my style. Someone like I told someone my style and they they found this rock and they were like, here, we found the perfect one. It's literally you're never gonna find anything better. And uh yeah, there it is.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

It wasn't Dan Yagman, was it? It's like, don't you walk past it? Isn't that like trap jump project like really just right in the middle of everything?

SPEAKER_00 21:44

I think it's right in the middle of everything. Uh I'm not sure if Dan found it before Bryce, but Bryce is the one who or like no one found it. Sorry. Like people have been going there for like a hundred twenty years, uh, or a hundred years, support climbing like five eight. Um But Bryce was the one who showed it to me and was like, I think the first person to really be like, this goes, like you should, you should put some time into it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

Can you I I know you did this during the the last pod we did, but for the three people who didn't listen to that, uh, can you describe that kind of cool ultimate crux move and and why you think it fits your style and why it's kind of like a board style climb as well?

SPEAKER_00 22:23

Yeah, so I'd say the one part of it that doesn't uh fall into board style in any way is the left hand is smaller than anything you'll ever find on a board, that's for sure. But the breakdown is kind of just the move ends up being a very powerful, um yet non-intuitive like coordination kind of jump almost. Uh so you're jumping off these two opposing holds, uh, one crimp and then one super flat, pretty good hold. And then yeah, just huge pogo, double clutching. It's uh I like to call it like a three-part move, kind of. It's like the pogo where you start reaching with the left and then forcing the right hand off the right start hold, which is kind of the hardest part, and then obviously the latch at the end. And the taking the right hand off and the latch are the parts that are like super not in like non-intuitive, it just feels wrong. So that took me a while to figure out. But very cool. I think the only time I've had to force out a beta that I I thought like new school beta. I've never like created new school beta like that before. I think Austin uh had mentioned it in the past about jumping like double clutch. At first, I was trying to just jump one arm and hold that, which is even I a more famous uh board move, I would say. But uh yeah, the the double clutch was was really cool to unlock and kind of like had uh a lot of this micro learning that was honestly actually you very unique to the boulder that I don't feel I get as much on boards, but uh just yeah, insane move. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

What was some of those micro things that helped you unlock? And and just so I understand, it was like the left hand is the super tiny, uh thin full crimp, and then are you and you're latching with the left hand as well? Yeah, and you're jumping with the left. Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Yeah, like leading, leading left, coming in with the right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

And so and so I'm guessing the pogo is with the left foot as well.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

Yeah, yeah, you're swinging, swinging your left leg, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

Well, even though that sounds like new school and weird, like that all makes sense, right? Like it's nice. Something that I hate when people set, because you know you can control this when you're actually setting something, is I hate when you have like a good or decent, say, right hand, a really bad left hand, and then they make you go with your right hand. Like it's telling you like let go of the good one and go to the next one. So like that sounds like it's kind of perfectly set, but yeah, what what was some of the micro things that you employed or unlocked that help you do the move?

SPEAKER_00 24:46

I think a lot of it was very mental with the commitment and like that, like the set second two parts of the move that I was kind of talking about. Um so very quickly trying it, like session four is uh when the double clutch like start like beta came to life. And uh I think then it kind of really became uh a problem of like forcing myself to move my right arm up with speed. That was like the biggest thing, the speed in which I can move my right hand up. Uh the distance kind of became like pretty simple and uh easy to do, but then yeah, it's just like latching, and then like I would literally have to like before getting on the wall, like yell at myself like like to go quick and like just like swing my arm in. Because probably like seven out of ten tries, I go left hand, feel really good, but then my right hand is just like lacking behind. Uh so it was kind of just a lot of yeah, forcing myself to like almost like a mental, like when I'm here on the outswing, that's when I have to like be super fast and bring the right hand in. So honestly, it was a lot of working with with speed, yeah. The speed in in which I have to come in with my right hand. It feels very non-intuitive because it's just like maybe it's because it's a move that's so hard, but like just yeah, it doesn't feel right. So it took a very long time to kind of force. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Quick break while I tell you about today's sponsor. Thank you to all the patrons who helped make this show possible. Join them so you can get episodes early before anyone else, and those episodes are ad-free. As a patron, you also get to submit questions for upcoming guests. The answers to those questions are only available to patrons. Follow the link in the show notes to join now. You also get access to a private Discord where you'll find me and other people who want to go from good to great. Okay, back to the pod. Have you done the move more than once?

SPEAKER_00 26:39

No, actually, I've only done it once, and when I did it, it felt really easy, which is the crazy part about it. It's just insanely low percentage. You have to hit the speed perfectly right. Um, in my video, I have multiple tries that are super, super close, and um that's about as close as you can get. If you're any closer, you're doing it. So uh yeah, I think the difference between like when I actually sent and like those tries in my video is uh yeah, just the speed and accuracy in which I was able to bring my right hand in.

SPEAKER_02 27:07

All right. Psych for you. Uh actually, yeah, one more question. How steep is it? How steep is the wall? It looks steep.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

It's uh it's 55 almost exactly. We measured it with uh the phone. So yeah, 55 about.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

Okay, one more question. Then uh how's the rock like that kind of flake that you're jumping to? Like, is it solid as can be?

SPEAKER_00 27:26

I I don't want to say solid as can be. I don't want to jinx it or anything, but uh it's it's it's very solid. I mean the rock is like uh I'm pretty sure it's like a volcanic, like pretty yeah, it's a hard rock, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

All right, dude. Well you just you just told the world that there are amazing, amazing lines up in the northeast. So uh hopefully one of the other B-17 climbers in the world goes, Oh, I want to go see what Adam's uh raving about. Well, they can look at your video, and if their video doesn't do it, yeah. Come visit you guys. Come world, come visit, and then when it gets hot, you can go to Australia and do the project there. Okay, uh, dude, sounds like you've been up to some fun stuff. Um on the theme of Austin, Austin Hoyt, he had this comment where he said that you had climbed with Do Hyun Lee maybe at like a World Cup or something, like maybe you just warmed up with him, and that you kind of had mentioned to Austin that he was maybe one of the most impressive people you'd seen on the boards, which is saying something because yeah, um, you're you're a board lord. You've you've competed against board lords, you you climb a lot on boards. Um you're you're sitting next to Noah Wheeler. I feel like he's pretty good on boards. Um can you tell us more about climbing with Dohyon and kind of what made you think that?

SPEAKER_00 28:49

Uh yeah, totally. So I was in yeah, Seoul, uh, Korea for the world championships like two years ago. Um and me uh with some other athletes went to go train. Um he actually has, I think his parents or himself owns a gym uh in Seoul, uh, which is really small, just a really cool spray wall with uh some sidewalls. So I didn't train with him on uh systemized board, but trained with him on yeah, a spray wall. And yeah, I uh he was just insanely impressive. That's all I gotta like. I think sometimes like you know, I I I know I'm strong and I usually love love to think that I'm the best or whatever, but uh that was like one of very few times where I I walk in and I'm climbing with someone, and I can't even tell myself that. Like it's not even it's not even close, you know. Um and this this went for like him compared to everyone who was there, and there this was some of the best climbers in the world, you know, uh training for the World Cup. Uh and there was just yeah, the clear, like there's levels to the shit, you know, like there like he genuinely was a cheer above everybody else, um, except for one boulder, which I remember I did that he didn't uh but for the most part, like it's just this like freakish ability to stick to open hand like slopers and even like just like the the way they like not they uh I like I was gonna lead into this. Chanjong Wan was also very impressive on the spray wall. Um but still Doy on Doyle had him by far. Yeah, just his ability to stick and how his like every muscle just seems like so it almost looks like like Zach Galla climbing, but just like on crack, if that even makes sense. Like you can't even imagine that, you know, but uh somehow more freakish. Yeah, it was it was just insane.

SPEAKER_02 30:35

I bet you it was just because you were on his home turf, dude. I feel like if he came climbed on your spray wall that you knew, uh maybe you would have uh no, I'm I'm just kidding. Uh he looks he looks incredible, and that must have been super fun. Did it seem like the holds that they were climbing on in general on that spray wall more was more geared towards open hand and less of like that kind of like bitey in-cut that I feel like is kind of typical of I feel like that's like the bitey small in cut crimping is what I think of when I think of like OG spray walls and probably what you grew up on back east.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Yeah. So that actually they they do a very good job of like making the spray walls like compy and like have uh fiberglass and stuff. So yeah, uh like you said, it was his home turf, and uh, he might have even set the spray wall himself. And there was a lot of like, yeah, sticking to stuff. Like the only boulders I was able to really perform on were the ones where that like had like in-cut crimps or whatever, but I think it was also because it was pre-world champs that people were like just climbing in a more World Champ specific style, um, trying to grab more slopers rather than crimps and stuff. And I think another thing is just like the humidity in Seoul is insane. And I think uh they're probably very well adjusted to that, and that definitely helps a lot in all their climbing, I reckon.

SPEAKER_02 31:53

What were those hold types or uh like what companies made those holds? Like were they all super new to you? Uh because you know, I feel like when you travel, you see hold types that are different from the ones that we typically climb on.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Uh actually I would say for the most part in South Korea, they had like yeah, the same holds we we do. I mean, it was flat holds, cheetahs, you know, 360s. Yeah, that they had I don't remember seeing any different holds. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Can we get those guys to come out and do a board lords over here?

SPEAKER_00 32:23

One day. They they have to, that's for sure. I mean, they would they would do insane. I don't like like I said, I'm not sure exactly how how good he would do on a tension board, but I can just tell based off of his like performance on that spray wall that he would be one of those people that, you know, like I had that one day where I could flash however many V12s or ABs. I wouldn't doubt he could flash 10 ABs in a session just pretty pretty easily, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:47

Well, they had that like Europe episode or that like primarily French episode uh with uh Simone also, you know, that other time. So maybe we can get them to do like a you know, like uh Asia episode or like have Korea or or Japan or some mix of that. That would be I would I would tune in. You dude, you're sitting like you're literally looking at Quinn right now. You should uh give him a little nudge and say, let's see the I will I will ask for this boardlords Asia edition. Um by the way, I do think there is Board Lords on the horizon. No, no spoilers, um, but looking forward to it. Just looking forward to we've we've been waiting a long time. They know, they know. Um, and yeah, what what was it like being on Boardlords, dude? Uh can you take me to when was the last time you did that?

SPEAKER_00 33:33

It was I think this past fall when I did it with Zach in uh Sung Tzu.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

Um yeah, there was a Korean there, dude.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

You had you had Sung Tzu. Yeah, yeah. We we had we had Sung Tzu in our episode, and that was yeah, that was really enjoyable. I love the Boardlords. It's a really good, like I know some people don't like it at all. They don't like the gamification of spray walls or whatever, but I think I think it's great and positive for board culture and whatnot. I mean, you see how much like engagement they get. It inspires so many people, you know. So uh yeah, screw those people.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

If they don't like board lords, then they don't like board talk either. Uh if you watch board lords and you think like this is terrible, like to me that's like that's peak indoor climbing media. If there is nothing that I want to see more than boardlords when I am seeing board content on my YouTube feed. So um I for whoever doesn't like seeing you and Sung Tzu and Zach uh swinging around the little crimps on the TB2, you're not my people.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

Yeah. But I I mean I love it. I I like uh I guess I've I've done two boardlords and both times they've been been a very enjoyable time. Kind of it's a cool uh middle ground of competitive and then very like I mean, you're in there just session with your friends. Uh I think naturally I have a a pretty good ability to like flip a switch whenever it is time to like perform. And uh obviously I I want to perform for the audience and do the best I can in these board lords, so and I'm pretty happy with how I've done that in the past two ones. So I love them. It's fun. It's like a little competition, even though it shouldn't be very competitive. Uh I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 35:06

I mean, but the truth is, is every board session with your buddies is a mini competition. It's just a friendly. Like I don't see what's wrong with that. Like, can't isn't it okay to like have friendly competition with your buddies? Like, of course, I want to do the climb before my buddy so I can give him crap, and I want to see him do it uh right after me too. You know, like I feel like that's just good times, man. Like, I mean, literally, like when I'll do a climb that I know I've tried with my buddy before, and then somehow they're not in that session, I'll like text them and be like, I did this. Like, you haven't done it. Good luck. Like, yeah, because I think it's fun to to uh nudge people on. Um, have you tried the new TB2 expansion since you're in the the area?

SPEAKER_00 35:53

Uh I pulled on it literally once um to kind of sample actually the one of the boardlords blocks that are coming out soon. And I honestly didn't get to climb on it enough to tell you much about it. But it's cool, yeah. It's it's big, it's very I mean, adds a couple feet to each side, and yeah, it's cool. New holds, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_02 36:12

What's it like standing in front of a standardized board that's 16 feet wide? Because that's a lot bigger than I mean, dude. I I don't know about you, but I kind of remember standardized boards being 8x12, right? You know, it's like the moon board, and that's yeah, double the size of a moon board, but I feel like doubling the size doesn't do it justice, like somehow 16 feet feels like a lot bigger than eight feet. I mean, obviously it is, but like just yeah, what's it like staying in front of those?

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Well, I so in the past I'd stood in front of like the 16 by 12 filter board, and I always thought that was like I'm also a kilter board hater, honestly, so I I wouldn't even speak on this, but I thought like when I would look at that, it like felt like a bit much, like I was almost overwhelmed. But being in the tension TC, I think they uh first of all, their new space is really awesome, like very cool, much bigger. Um, and the boards, yeah. I don't know, the boards they're kind of just they fit in super well, tucked in in like the corner, and like it's a big board, but uh I think the fact that like every or not every but almost all of the holds added to the sides are like these completely new shapes that weren't on any of the like were that aren't on the 12x12 or 8x12 or whatever. So I I like looking at all the new shapes and stuff, and I thought I can tell you for like the the new episode, for example, they definitely utilize the space to add some movement and whatnot. So I I think it's cool, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:36

You gotta ask Quinn after we record this. You I feel like you're throwing out some spoilers. You gotta be careful there. I don't want them to get angry at us. Don't sound good. Although we're just building a hype. I mean, dude, I we all know another board lords is coming and we're all freaking psyched. And we all know that it's gonna be on the 16 by 12. But uh I gotta ask you, you just said you're a kilter board hater. What are you talking about, dude? You don't like the kilter board?

SPEAKER_00 37:57

I don't mind it. I just don't I think it does one thing very well, and then that's about it. Like it helps you build power, but you're not really gonna build much finger strength or very good technique or tension, even. Yeah, I think it's it's good for one thing and one thing only, kind of.

SPEAKER_02 38:14

And you basically just have so much power, it's just wasted. You go onto the kilter board and you're just like, I don't need any more of that power stuff.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

It's just I mean a little a little bit for for me. That's kind of that is kind of how it feels sometimes. I I just I don't I I don't get much out of the kilter board. Um, but another reason I don't like it is just there's a lot more more morpho like stuff going on over there, just because the holds are so much more positive. So yeah. I'm not a hater, just not the biggest fan, I guess. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

No, I hear you uh in the in the sense that if you look at some of the critiques of kilter board, especially from higher-end athletes like you, it's that as you get into those really upper grades, it's it's morpho, and it's just like the because the holds are in general more positive, you just end up in this style that, you know, it's just kind of like a one-note style in those really upper grades. And I have this similar thing. I this sounds ridiculous to say, but in general, I have like more power than I have other uh attributes, and that's good in some ways, but also like sometimes again the kilter, I'm just like this is fun. I smash around and it makes me feel like a superhero sometimes, but I'm kind of like, you know, when I get shut down, it's like, oh well, dude, I like my shoulders were so unlocked and it was so wide. These holes are jugs, but like it just kind of feels like I don't know, and and that could be.

SPEAKER_00 39:33

The climbing just isn't that fun, honestly. And that, yeah, that that's how I feel about it.

SPEAKER_02 39:37

Well, I don't know if I agree with that. I think some of the climbing is super, super fun. Like I said, it makes me feel like I'm smash around like a superhero, but uh, you also are in a level that is totally different where you know, if you're climbing V13 on the kilter board, it's probably less varied and interesting than V13 on at least the the TB2 is probably the argument there.

SPEAKER_00 40:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:00

Okay. I gotta point out this one uh Instagram that I saw and sent to you where we're talking about 16-foot boards. Sounds big, except for these new boards going into this new gym in San Francisco called Nova Boulders, and they have 32-foot wide adjustable boards, 32 feet wide. And these are not standardized LED spray wall boards where we're gonna see like yeah, like that. It's not some new like attention board or kilter board or moon board or whatever. It's just an adjustable board. But I know these guys, shout out uh Nilo. And I haven't been to see the gym. I'm hoping to go in like a a week or so, but I have heard that like they have a bunch of these there, and it's like a new way to have a climbing gym where it's like we have giant 32-foot boards, and so when they do a reset, they can be like it's a slab, uh, or it's like 45, and like that's a new paradigm, man. That's like a different kind of board that I didn't even know would exist.

SPEAKER_00 41:04

Is it gonna be like like they're individual sets on every like uh or not individual, like maybe multiple sets on one wall or whatever, but is it is that how they're planning to do it? Just kind of like wall space and then route setting.

SPEAKER_02 41:16

I think so, but my my hunch is also they probably don't have it all figured out and they're gonna see what people are psyched on. Like maybe it's just a spray wall and then it allows you to adjust it. Although, dude, a 32-foot uh wide spray wall is like I'm not sure if I've ever can you think of a third the amount of holds that's like a lot of money, it just holds, dude. Like uh so I think what they're going to do is do like a standard commercial set, right? Like it's like, okay, here's a bunch of cool climbs. Um, and then it's on rotation, we'll just say like six weeks or eight weeks. Like that's like a normal reset rotation. They might be like, okay, now that area, instead of it being a 10-degree wall, it's a 50-degree wall. And now we have a new set on it, you know, like all new climbs, just now it's steep and probably. I'm hoping that they have some like giant volumes to really make it a little more 3D uh when when they want, but 32 feet wide, dude. That's insane.

SPEAKER_00 42:15

That is insane. That's a very big wall.

SPEAKER_02 42:17

You could literally put a 16 by 12 kilter and tension right next to each other.

SPEAKER_00 42:23

Oh, that like yeah, that's crazy. I think so. I think I've seen this or a similar concept been done in uh I think I was in South Carolina, and this gym had maybe they might have been 8x12 or I don't know. Smaller board, not 32 feet. But uh it was the same same thing that they like kind of set and had it uh just walls that I guess different in the way they had like a singular climb that they were like uh you could try this at 10 degrees and it'll be this hard, or you could try it at 30 degrees and it'll be this hard. So I the I've seen the concept kind of floating around, but it it does sound cooler if you like uh kind of leave a set how it is and then eventually take it down and then just make a new set. Just utilize it, just seems better for utilizing like the space and setting more quality boulders. It seems like if you were to set like one set and then be like you can climb this at 30 or climb it at 10, that kind of doesn't work as well, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:16

Yeah, I feel like when you set a boulder, it's set for that angle. It's actually something that's like a little pet peeve of mine on the boards. On uh the boards, yeah. It's like, oh, I did this at 40, and then like you know, they like okay, at 45, it's one grade harder. It's it's like I don't care what it like. This is the boulder. You could do it at other angles, I don't give a shit, but like this is the boulder because it was set at thing, and sometimes randomly you'll have some like banger that or like a climb that becomes incredible at like a way different angle.

SPEAKER_00 43:49

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:49

But that's like more rare than it is like the norm, you know?

SPEAKER_00 43:52

Yeah, agreed.

SPEAKER_02 43:53

Uh that reminds me Illusory Path was the third boulder when you did Board Lords, yeah. Mr. Will Englin, and you guys did not do it. You didn't you guys didn't do even all the moves. And recently uh Matt Fultz claimed the FA at 40. It was set at 50 and claimed a bounty that I had set on that boulder. But the 50 degree illusory path is still available. Um, have you tried it again? Have you tried it since that day on Board Lords? Does it go at 50?

SPEAKER_00 44:24

Uh yeah. I haven't tried it since uh I got really excited actually when you told me about the bounty, and I was like, oh, I think I can do that one. Um so I I'm pretty confident it goes. I haven't tried it since. It's just a really hard line. I I gotta tell you, I'm not sure I'll be able to try it anytime soon just because it it's pretty hot up in the tension headquarters right now. So I think uh that would be really hard right now. But uh when I'm in a gym with AC or something, I'll try it. I'll try it one day for sure.

SPEAKER_02 44:52

Yeah, I mean you guys got to try it. It seemed, I mean, one of the reasons like I like putting these bounties out. It's just fun, dude. It's just literally, like, literally, it's just fun.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

Um, totally.

SPEAKER_02 45:03

But I also there was something about that line. It's like very thin, kind of like straightforward and classic, but like intricate with like butt-like it's not I don't know, it's like funny how sometimes when things are straightforward, they're also like amazingly minutia and complex, even though it's just like, hey, here's like four crimps, but like to make it happen, like you have to like, you know, get your hips the right place. I just thought that was like a good example of like a traditional old school, crimpy, dynamic, board style climb. And it also looked like to me, and this is just my my view on it, I don't really know, but it looked like one of the hardest climbs I've seen on boards that definitely does go. Like it looks like it goes, but man, when that gets done, it's gonna be like the you know, the benchmark of that style, you know? The test piece of that. The test piece of that style. That's what I meant to say. Look at that.

SPEAKER_00 45:55

Um, yeah, I know I totally agree. I think that one is yeah, it's just the epitome of like, can you crimp really hard? And uh yeah, that's really cool.

SPEAKER_01 46:04

Can can you crimp really hard? I hope so. Yeah, you'd like to do.

SPEAKER_00 46:09

Something I love to do, something I'm not sure I can make happen. But next time, we'll see. I'll try it.

SPEAKER_02 46:15

Well, there's bounty on dude. There's no bounty on your uh East Coast project. In fact, you probably have to spend money just to get out there. Why would I even go out there?

SPEAKER_00 46:23

I'm just gonna go try an illusory path or whatever it's called for uh the next month.

SPEAKER_02 46:28

Just give Will 50 bucks. It's an investment on your bounty, have him turn on the AC or uh go there at night, and it'll be uh you know investment in your send for that big, big bounty. Um, I mean also it's available to anyone else out there in the world. Um looking at you, all you boardlord B17, everyone, everyone who's been on boardlords. Um, dude, speaking of giant boards, uh quantum board, giant board, I think it's one of the few other boards in the world that's kind of got that same same width. I want to say it's a 15 by 15 uh footboard, because I think they're the you know, they're based out of uh Bulgaria. I think it's more metric, so I want to say it's like five meters by five meters, which we'll just say fifteen by fifteen. Um been seeing a lot of media from those guys actually met with uh one of the main guys behind the quantum board, uh Million. And I was just wondering, you were in well, sometimes you're in Salt Lake. Have you tried one? Have you seen one? Ever been on a quantum board? Um, I haven't been on it yet.

SPEAKER_00 47:33

I know they have one like five minutes from my house in Salt Lake, um, but I don't have a membership to Momentum, so I haven't gotten really the chance to go check it out. But yeah, so I have not checked it out yet, no.

SPEAKER_02 47:44

Wait, they make you pay to go in the gym. I feel like gyms should pay you to come there. Like, I just imagine if I was like a five-year-old on a birthday or something, and I saw you swinging around on some holds doing, you know, like V-13s, it would inspire me. I feel like that's my petition for the world. They should let you maybe they give you five dollars. Here's here's a Gatorade, please climb in our gym.

SPEAKER_00 48:06

Yeah, I think in the East Coast, uh, there's uh like the community maybe knows me a bit better, and I'll walk in. And if a desk person knows who I am, they'll let me in for free. I don't think I have enough motion uh out west for uh for the gyms to know who I am quite yet. Uh a lot of people in the gyms know who I am, but never when I walk in. So uh yeah, and I I I feel kind of weird or I would never really ask for that. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:30

Just show them this episode and just be like, look, this is me. Look at all these thumbs up, look at all these. Yeah, uh, well, I'm sure you've you've seen it though. You must have have you actually have you seen one in person? Have you even been on the book?

SPEAKER_00 48:43

I haven't in person. No, I've not. I haven't even yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:45

Yeah, gosh, we're just a bunch of non-knowing quantum board. Well, I told you I met uh with Emilian Kolovesky. I might be getting that wrong. Emilion, awesome dude. Um, got to hear a little bit more about the quantum board because I I said some not nice things about their ladies' uh videos, and Emilia, when I got on the Zoom call with them, totally called me out. He listens to board talk and he was like, dude, you you were saying negative things about our our videos, and I had kind of joked around how they felt a little corporate. Um, but he also told me he was like, just you wait, man. There's like more cool stuff coming down the pipeline, and I think it's worth pointing out that the quantum board is one of the few kind of newish boards on the market that seems different. Like they are, it is big, dude. Like what we got, we got the tension 16 by 12, we got the kilter 16 by 12. I don't know of any other expanded boards. I know Moon Spray is going to be also a larger board, but just not many people in the board market uh have the kind of you know ambition and size that Quantum does because they're backed by Waltopia. I mean, they're part of Walltopia, which I don't know if you've heard about Waltopia, but everyone listening, you have climbed on a Walttopia wall because they build most of the gyms in the world. They're one of the biggest companies.

SPEAKER_00 50:07

They got money, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 50:08

Well, that's dude, you look at how crass you are. That's I wasn't gonna uh break it down to that. I was just pointing out that they have. You're right, you're right. Uh and uh what was cool is talking to Emilian, he is a badass climber, just a badass climber who clearly loves boards. Uh and so seeing get to hear some stuff behind it was exciting for me. Uh, you know, I I still haven't gotten to climb on one, but I appreciated them kind of you know sharing more about it. And I also I had to to talk about squish holds. So he said that I had squish holds all wrong and uh that I was missing one of the cool points. You remember, did you hear us talk about squish holds?

SPEAKER_00 50:51

I did, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:52

Can you can you if actually just when I say squish holds, what do you think a squish hold is on the quantum board?

SPEAKER_00 50:58

I think it applies to mostly the bigger shapes on the wall, but I know that's some of like the slopers, they're made out of a different material. I don't know what material, but it kind of gives you a bit of like like rebound when you grab it almost. I don't even know like uh I don't I don't know what the exact word is. They they're like kind of malleable, like you can like obviously you can squish them down. You can squish them, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Um well but I haven't felt one, just just seen the videos and listened to you guys, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:26

Yeah, I just remembered as we were talking about that. Didn't Ben Wheeler say something about like the fleshboard when when we brought the squish board?

SPEAKER_00 51:36

But I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 51:37

Ben come out of left field? Who who would thought? Um okay. Uh Emilian pointed out something that I thought was really interesting about it. He said that look, you take people climbing, and something that you don't tell them when they first go climbing is like that just rubs away all your skin. That like currently our holds, like fiberglass holds just wreck your skin. And even just normal polyurethane, polyethane, you know, all these holds like dude, like we talk about skin a lot. And he said that I'm thinking that the guy's name was Dan from Composite X. I could be getting that wrong, but I believe that's who it was. Developed this with the concept of like, what if holds like didn't wreck your skin? Like, what if we used our technology, our know-how to make the holds more friendly? And so, you know, I I still will say I I haven't climbed on it. I don't know what it would be like from our standpoint, but it was definitely like an interesting concept that resonated with me where it's like, yeah, what if we put effort into making the holds more friendly versus like focus on the grip, you know, just like just the texture. And he also said that they are super durable. And I know that some of Quantum's uh target audience. I don't want to say this is just for this board, but I after talking to them, I know that they have a lot of different sizes of boards, that some of it is targeted at beginner climbers. And so the idea that these holds are friendly and uh also are really durable, you can see like, okay, like I don't want to just rip on them because they're squishy, like that's a very reasonable reason to make them the way they are. So I wanted to make sure to go back and correct myself, um, or at least showcase the pros instead of just making fun of the cons that somehow they're squishy, especially after not grab them. So just wanted to put that out there. So there you go, man. Um, that's my my new knowledge about squish holds and quantum board. And I gotta tell you, after meeting Amelion, I got more psych, man. Just he's he's passionate, dude. And he's and he's a freaking crusher, dude. And so yeah, knowing that there's someone behind them doing that, I've got to shout out to him. Cool.

SPEAKER_00 53:47

Now I want to I want to grab one of those now, see how it feels. I'm curious.

SPEAKER_02 53:52

Maybe quantum will send you a day pass to was it movement? It's yeah, it's moving. Oh, you know, momentum, it's momentum. Wait, momentum doesn't I think Waltopia owns momentum. I think that's why it's in there.

SPEAKER_00 54:05

I think they told me that. Oh, I think that would be. That would make sense. I think they do, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:08

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Jeez, yeah. Money. Definitely have money. Um my only my only request is that they put more in the US if they want us to, if they want to make it like a big board. I know they have big ambition, um, which is cool. And so, yeah, I don't know. Definitely like uh another viable player in the market. But um did you watch that latest video with Stefano um where he's training on and said something like what was the what was the clickbait title? It was like the the only the only climbing training you need uh was quantum board.

SPEAKER_00 54:42

Yeah, I did watch it. Obviously, I disagree with that statement, but uh I think I like watching the climbing on the board, at least uh it looks really cool that there was a lot of hold variety and like different than the kilter or the attention mirror in this like way, that like kind of everywhere you go, there's a unique movement to be done and uh new new grip to grab. Uh like I said, I haven't like touched any of them, so I don't actually know how they feel, but it looked like there was a good variety of like small in cuts, small flat, you know, big round balls, pinches, and whatever. So I thought I thought the board itself looked pretty cool. Um like like I I I should on kilter earlier, so I'm gonna do it again. I think it like looked to me like it was like in between of what like tension and kilter are doing, you know. I also really like that they utilize holds and the arets. I thought that was really cool.

SPEAKER_02 55:32

What do you think about it being a 90-degree arette versus like uh a more blunt, you know, like 90 degree makes those holds jugs and it makes the arette itself a jug. Yeah, it does make it.

SPEAKER_00 55:45

Kind of weird that you have to like also go around, you know, and like kind of grab a refinish like this or like this, however it is around the corner. Um I think it's just cool that it adds variety, you know, it can ride tow hooks on the arette or whatever. But yeah, there's not not much uh there's not much room to make something very hard with that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:02

Yeah, I I mean I I agree. It just I like the new variety. And if it was like an eight-foot-wide board, I'd be like, dude, you can't have the arette on the board. I mean, definitely not. Yeah. Just wouldn't work. But it's so it's such a big board that I feel like I still I wish I wonder if they could make like those things adjustable, like make it, you know, like a 45 degree or 10 degree. I think Emilion did tell me he's like, look, you know, you want to make those holds still accessible for everyone. And so while 90 degree is maybe not ideal, at least it's there. And my hunch is also just like the manufacturing behind that. It's probably way simpler, right?

SPEAKER_00 56:36

It's just definitely way simpler, yeah. But I could also imagine, like you just said, like beginner climbers going in and like they hop on the board, they can't do anything. So you know, they just go to the side and kind of just traverse on like the right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:47

What do you think about having pockets on that board? They they definitely have pockets on there.

SPEAKER_00 56:51

Yeah, I saw that. And uh especially there was like one pocket in the video where they it had two pockets and one hold. You like one like this and then matched on top. Uh, I thought that was pretty cool. I don't grab many pockets, especially in my training. I feel like well, I feel like if you're grabbing pockets, then you're training pockets. Um so I think it's cool that the option is there. Uh, I think that's more like relevant to like usually sport climbers and people that are just grabbing pockets more often. But if I'm ever climbing on it, I think it would be good to help me like train my pocket strength. That is kind of non-existent for me.

SPEAKER_02 57:24

Yeah, it makes sense that we're seeing pockets on a board come out of a European-based board because I could be wrong, Miss, but I assume that the reason why like you're not so psyched on pockets is you already made fun of sport climbing. Like, who would who would tie in? And when I think of pockets, I think of limestone. And bouldering on limestone, it's just it doesn't really there's not a lot of bouldering on limestone, and so we don't get a lot of pockets on hard climbs. Although I just watched that video of Sean Rabitu doing uh floating, and I'm pretty sure that's a pocket, or it looks I don't know how it climbs, but kind of looks like a pocket.

SPEAKER_00 57:58

There's like levels to the pocket stuff, you know? Like I just don't I don't like like that or like mono or like I don't I don't like that, but I don't mind like a little like I I grab pockets, I just don't like the the super deep, like like that just like heinous on the tendons. Yeah, I don't know. Not my not my thing. But then again, it's because it is because I'm a boulder, and like you said, I I I know boulders also that love limestone and love going bouldering on limestone caves and whatnot. I hate that. I'm a I'm a limestone hater. I'm like the opposite of Austin. Austin loves limestone, you know? Um I very much hate it. Yeah, I just don't like the style, I don't like the climbing, I don't like the feeling. Yeah, I just don't yeah, I don't like pockets.

SPEAKER_02 58:39

How shallow does a pocket need to be before it basically is just a crimp? I feel like at some level, pockets just become crimps um when they are like those shallow kind of you know, almost bubbles versus like those like drilled, like two-finger, you know, like I feel like that's that's a era, that's like a style that we probably don't understand as much, just those like kind of like juggy monos or whatever, which I mean dude, it's like action, action direct, you know, like that is like the epitome of a pocket move.

SPEAKER_00 59:08

And like I would love to do that one day, but I don't like that is like a thing of the past, or not of the past, I guess. You're Europeans are still you know spark climbing a bunch on limestone. But for for in the US, I feel like like yeah, just less people are psyched to climb on shitty limestone roofs and faces because like it's just not as cool.

SPEAKER_02 59:30

Adam, I get I get tons of I get ripped on for being more US centric. Uh so you're just adding fuel to the fire.

SPEAKER_00 59:37

I I want to point out I live here, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:40

I that's my thing, is like I'm not US centric, I'm US based, and so it'd be like I really love my kids. I mean, I'm not against other people's kids, I just know my kids a lot better, you know. It's like that's I I will say Action Direct definitely has a special place in my heart. I actually really want to go with Frank in Europe.

SPEAKER_00 59:58

It looks really one day I'd like to do that line, but uh just like the style, just you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:04

Adam, is is Action Direct manufactured? Are those real monos that were in? I mean, because that place is really pockety, so it could be just totally natural.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:12

It could be, but I don't know. You never know with sport climbing. I feel like nine, nine out of ten times it's chipped. So yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:19

Magos, if you're listening, please come on and tell us if Action Direct is uh manufactured or not. Um okay, totally forgot what we were talking about. Oh yeah, pockets on the quantum board.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:31

Yeah, I do think it's cool. I think that's I think that that it is cool to add that to a board. I think uh yeah, might not like the US audience or like Boulders specifically might not use it as much. But like the Stefano video was them training for sport climbing. So it definitely seemed ideal for that.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:48

Yeah, well, good to hear about is that Noah is he taking are they all going climbing? Oh dude. I assume he's playing League of Legends.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:57

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:57

Tell them that we were talking about the fleshboard. That's a little appearance from Ben Wheeler.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:06

It's coming to fruition. I wish that they modeled the flashback.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:09

I had some good things to say though.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:10

They should model the flashboard body parts after all of Josh's.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:17

What specific part of me? Okay, get out of here, man. Okay. Um are you guys heading up to the Alpine after this to go climb?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:24

Uh they're going right now. I'm gonna maybe go out like 6 p.m., hit the late night, like I was chatting about.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:30

Oh, yeah. Okay, okay. Um, well, good luck to those guys. Um, quantum board. Yeah. I I don't know. I I just thought it was worth shouting out after talking to those guys. Definitely, definitely some ambition on their side. I have a hunch we'll see more because they have lots of money, like you pointed out. Um, and yeah, don't want to hate on them too much for being a cross between uh kilter and tension. I think they would take offense to that and say, no, we're doing our own thing. One thing I don't love is the kind of like monochrome style. Like, like I understand like that hold light up, you know, like the behind the hold for whatever they do. But I don't know, I get kind of there's something that I don't like about it all looking the same. Like, especially in that like giant, like 16 by 12, it's like hard to look at. I get like lost. It's just all white holds.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:20

Yeah, I agree. I think that's that's something that tension did well, whether intentionally or unintentionally, like having both the wood and the black that like contrast each other very well is yeah, just bet like nicer for the eyes and just while climbing, just like yeah, just easier to find whatever you're gonna try. Uh, I noticed in the video too, I couldn't tell if this was just from recording or lighting or whatever, but it seemed like at some points you couldn't actually see the light behind some of the holds on the board.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:46

So well, I on the other end of the spectrum, I saw I've seen some pictures of the moon board spray, and it's maybe like a little too colorful to me. Like it's like almost on the other side of like it's like very colorful. But I don't know. I don't know. I'll I'll I want to reserve, I don't even know if they've like finished up the set on that, like, and I'll reserve judgment until I get to see it. Although that's my one my one complaint to quantum and the moon board sprays. Come to the come to the US. Let's see them out here. Send me one. Send me one. Yeah, I'll put up in my backyard. Okay, man. That's all the that's all the big news I have uh for this month in the boards. Anything, any board thing you saw? Oh, yeah, I did want to shout the whole like board report I just saw attention do. I kind of like that. They put on Instagram, like so everyone has a board account. Wait, do you have a board account?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:36

I don't. Okay. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:38

Not everyone has a board account. Many people have board accounts. I just thought it was cool how attention kind of takes the time to highlight people's different board accounts. And I just feel like it's an encouragement for people to go out there, make a board account. You might end up on the front page of Instagram.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:53

Yeah, I agree. I think it's cool, helps build the community and yeah, inspire people.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:58

Okay, well, I am gonna move us over to our uh Patreon questions because some people had some specific questions just for you, dude. If you want to hear that Q ⁇ A and other extra behind-the-scenes content from this episode and others, head over to patreon.com slash test piece to sign up now. Patrons also get their episodes early and ad-free. There's hours and hours of bonus content there to help you on your own path of going from good to great. Still not sure? There's a free seven day trial for you to check it out. And to help the show grow, please share this episode with someone who would love it. Okay, see you next week.