The Power Company Climbing Podcast

Justin Salas | Nonsighting

If you've heard of Justin Salas, you may refer to him as a "blind climber". You'd be wrong. He's a climber who happens to be blind, just like you're a climber who happens to have sight. 
I had the opportunity to session with Justin at Tension Climbing, and it was fascinating to get to observe and be a part of his process, and talking through it with him was just as interesting. The tools that Justin uses to climb into the V-double digits are the same tools that we use, and the same ones that many of fail to cultivate. We've got a lot to learn.
You can find Justin online at www.justinsalas.com
We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

Russ Clune | The Importance of Travel

Russ Clune has climbed in more places than you. That is, unless you're Brittany Griffith (maybe). Climbing since the late 70's, and having climbed in around 50-some countries, I wanted to know what the legendary Clune had learned from other climbers in other cultures, and how he's applied that to his own climbing. His climbing partners are a who's who list of legends: Wolfgang Gullich, Lynn Hill, Patrick Edlinger, Jerry Moffat, Todd Skinner, Ron Kauk, and many others. Russ not only fed off of their abilities, but noticed their tactics and their approach.
Travel is one of the most important and easiest ways to improve as a climber. It doesn't need to be travel to some exotic place. That scrappy limestone cliff in the backwoods can be a perfect place to learn a new technique.
And it doesn't have to be with superstar climbers. There can be as much to learn from how the eager 5.11 climbers conduct themselves as their is by watching Megos on his latest project. 
You can climb with Russ in the Gunks through www.alpineendeavors.com
We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

Marina Inoue | Does Size Matter?

Marina Inoue is a 5'2" force to be reckoned with. She's intimidating until you talk to her, and then she's the sweetest person you've ever met. Then she pulls onto the rock and straight up crushes your project. But you can't be mad at her, because she'd be stoked if the tables were turned.
It was her amazing attitude that led me to talk to her for this interview, and it's the same thing that makes me look forward to the next time I get to climb with her.
You can find her online at www.marinainoue.com
We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

BOARD MEETINGS | Goal Setting

It's a new year, and it's our 2nd birthday! It's been a wild ride, and I want to say thanks to everyone for being on it with me. 
In this episode Nate and I talk goal setting. Not resolutions. Goals. Different animals altogether. 
How to set appropriate goals, some of the pitfalls, what the research says, and we even give up some of our own goals.  
Speaking of which...
We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

Jonathan Brandt | Routesetting

Routesetting is hard. You know that if you've tried to set your own problems. It's also hard on the body, so it's difficult to keep a high level of fitness while setting full time. Jonathan Brandt has continued to improve as a climber while simultaneously running the setting crew at Climb Nashville, which is opening two new gyms next year. In this episode we discuss comment boxes, World Cup setting, simulators, and more. 
Jonathan will be hiring routesetters! Hit him up at jonathan@climbnashville.com if you're interested.
Also, definitely check out the Hotter Than Chicken Bouldering Competition hosted by Climb Nashville every July. If you have both fingers AND a stomach of steel, this might just be your ticket to greatness! 
We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

Constance Lightner | Raising Them Right

Constance Lightner is, in my mind, a perfect representative for climbing parents. At a time when we're seeing a whole generation of young crushers becoming adults, the role of the parent has become more and more important. Connie didn't have a connection to climbing before her son, National Champion Kai Lightner, found the sport, but she's dove in headfirst and become an official mom for many of America's young superstars. She's one of the people that I make a point to see when I know we're in the same city. Every conversation is both entertaining and informative, and I walk away with jewels that I can apply to my own life, climbing, and business.
You can find Kai online at www.kai-lightner.com 
We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

BOARD MEETINGS | I Wish I Knew Now What I Knew Then

No, that isn't a typo. It would be amazing if we kept all our attributes forever, but the reality is that we lose things, we forget things, and we just stop doing some of the things that made us good to begin with. 
In this episode, Nate and I sit down to discuss the Top 3 things that we used to know and practice, and we wish we still adhered to.
We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

Kelsey K. Sather | The Work Behind The Body

In this episode I sit down for an important conversation with wordsmith Kelsey K. Sather.  We discuss her series of blog posts titled "The Work Behind the Body", a series of interviews with female outdoor athletes in Bozeman, Montana.  Kelsey delves into the details of Body Image, and that being a topic I don't know much about, I was both excited and nervous to struggle through the conversation.  
Thanks to the Bozeman community, and to Spire Climbing for allowing us to record this conversation live at their gym.  
You can find Kelsey online at www.kelseyksather.com 
You can find the Work Behind the Body series at http://kelseyksather.com/the-work-behind-the-body/
Read Kelsey's beautiful tribute to Inge Perkins at http://kelseyksather.com/journal/in-loving-memory-of-inge-perkins
We don't tweet. We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

Dan John | Now What?

Last summer I started a list titled "Non Climbing (realistic) Dream Guests".  I only got as far as one name: Dan John.  I was planning to be in Salt Lake for the OR Trade Show, so I emailed Dan on the off chance that he'd do an in person conversation.  To my surprise he emailed back almost immediately, scheduled a call for the next day, and invited me to his house to workout and record the conversation. 
If you've taken even a cursory look into the field of Strength and Conditioning, you've seen the name Dan John repeatedly. He's often quoted by other coaches, including all of us here at Power Company Climbing, and his pragmatic approach to training is one that has resonated with me since I read his book, Easy Strength, co written with kettlebell guru Pavel Tsatsouline.
I went to his house to discuss his newest book, "Now What?", which asks and answers the important questions that coaches and athletes often forget to ask. After you've done your assessments, you've trained and met the standards, you've won or lost, or your season is over... Now What?  This book follows two other excellent books from Dan called "Intervention" and "Can You Go?", both of which should be required reading for coaches.
The wisdom that Dan shares concerning coaching and dealing with athletes is impossible to overvalue. While he's worked with Olympic and Professional athletes, he still makes time for an open workout in his simple garage gym at 9:30 every morning, where he both dispenses knowledge and learns from whoever shows up that day.  After a workout in Dan's gym, this style of what Dan calls "intentional community" is exactly how I plan to build my own home gym. 
You can find Dan at www.danjohn.net
We don't tweet.  We scream like eagles.
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.

BOARD MEETINGS | Five Minute Fingers

It's been a while since Nate and I sat down and did one of these, so we figured we'd kick it back off with a shorty.  The interwebs are going crazy with Andrew Bisharats new miracle hangboard program, Five Minute Fingers, and we've gotten several messages asking for our opinion.  
Here it is.
You can find the original article at www.eveningsends.com/five-minute-fingers
 
The Power Company Podcast is brought to you by Power Company Climbing and is a proud member of the Plug Tone Audio Collective.
You can help us keep episodes sponsor-free by becoming a Patron for as little as $3 a month.
Find full episode transcripts and more at our website.