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Samuel Richard - New School Climbers are LOCKED IN
Description
Sam is an 18 year old French boulderer who just recently won bronze at the 2026 Madrid world climbing series. You may also know him as the youngest person to ever do v17. In this episode, we’ll get insight into the world of new school climbing, how regimented routines and being locked in could push climbing further than ever before, and how he may want to just give up climbing one day.
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Timestamps of discussion topics
0:00 - Intro
1:26 - Mad Rock Shoutout!!
2:17 - Reflecting on Madrid World Series
6:40 - Can you see results in ISO?
9:31 - Starting climbing at age 2
12:46 - Climbing strengths and weaknesses
16:17 - Fearlessness for new school climbing
22:05 - French team training and powering out
24:30 - French Team Selection
29:36 - Qualis is the most physical round
31:37 - "Sam Richard" as a persona
35:19 - Getting energy from the audience
38:41 - Climbing journal
43:49 - Hot take: outdoor climbing is better than indoor?
51:35 - Youngest person to climb v17?
53:08 - Climbing optimization
57:13 - Quitting climbing for running...
1:01:39 - AUDIENCE Q: How's the transition from youth to senior?
1:05:13 - AUDIENCE Q: How to hype yourself up?
1:07:05 - AUDIENCE Q: How's the bromance between you, Mejdi, and Manu?
1:10:05 - Words of widsom and where to find Sam