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EP 193: Mat Wright — Risking It All to Send, The Power of Specific Goals, and Relaxing Hard to Climb Harder
Description
Mat Wright has quickly established himself as one of the best trad climbers in Britain and is a world-class all-rounder having climbed E11, 5.14c, and V15. We talked about his humble beginnings in low-income government housing, teaching himself how to rope solo as a teenager, reaching V13 and 5.14c in his first three years of climbing, pivoting to hardcore trad climbing, his upcoming film in the Brit Rock Film Tour, and much more!
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mat-wright
Nuggets:
0:00:00 – Intro/Ads
0:05:35 – Why Mat wears sunglasses when he climbs
0:07:02 – Mat’s difficult upbringing, and growing up in a council estate (low-income government housing)
0:11:41 – Meeting his dad at 13 and moving in with him, and how Mat got himself into rock climbing
0:15:47 – Building a board in his mom’s back garden, and sending 8c+ and 8B (5.14c and V13) within his first 3 years of climbing
0:17:21 – What climbing brought to Mat’s life
0:19:51 – Neil Gresham’s masterclass videos, and setting his eyes on Hubble
0:23:13 – Sending Hubble, and the negative side of punching the clock on projects
0:29:39 – Being optimistic, and why Mat resonates with hard scary trad climbing
0:32:39 – The line between optimism vs. recklessness
0:35:17 – How Mat “caught up” with his education, and the appeal of climbing for someone with a busy mind
0:39:39 – Mat’s partner Anna Taylor, and her role in The House of the Gods film (I said Argentina but it was in Venezuela)
0:41:37 – Coasteering with Anna
0:45:40 – Wildlife, nerding out, and how he and Anna relax
0:47:28 – Living in a van, fingerboarding, and going with the flow with his climbing
0:49:25 – Sprinting toward a goal, and spending 60-70% of his time chilling
0:54:34 – What Mat’s training looked like early on, how it’s evolved over time, and addressing specific weaknesses
0:57:34 – Understanding your climbing pace, and the dance of sport climbing
1:00:24 – How Mat guides his clients with their climbing pace
1:06:19 – Our tendance to overthink things, and not believe in ourselves
1:08:29 – The power of specific goals, and asking yourself what you really want to get out of climbing
1:12:35 – Balancing short-term and long-term goals
1:16:51 – How to get coaching from Mat
1:18:21 – Climbing his first V15 shortly after Hubble, and