April Davidson (yeahapril) is a rock climber and content creator. We talked about what it is like living with her blind fiance Justin Salas, growing up and moving to LA, losing her mom, opiate addiction, finding climbing, her Instagram career, health issues and adrenal fatigue, her experiment with the carnivore diet, responsible meat eating, chocolate cake, and much more.

Holiday Gift Ideas:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing/gift

Gift a Patreon subscription 👆

frictitiousclimbing.com/products/the-nug

The NUG 👆

thenuggetclimbing.com/shop

Hello Friends merch 👆

Mad Rock:

madrock.com

Use code “NUGGET10” at checkout for 10% off your next order.

Revival Climbing Coalition:

revivalclimbing.com

EP 225: Tony Bell & David Bress (my episode with the founders of Revival)

PhysiVantage:

physivantage.com (link includes 15% off coupon)

Use code "NUGGET15" at checkout for 15% off your next order.

We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:

• Michael Roy, Mark and Julie Calhoun, and Yinan Liu

Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/april-davidson

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:22) – Living with a blind man

(00:07:33) – Why they quit vanlife

(00:10:04) – Building out their van

(00:21:02) – Settling in Vegas

(00:23:44) – April’s relationship with climbing

(00:26:18) – Growing up & moving a lot

(00:31:44) – Moving to LA

(00:33:40) – 30s

(00:40:00) – Loss & addiction

(00:49:06) – An abusive relationship

(00:52:01) – Finding climbing

(00:54:34) – Breaking free

(00:58:56) – Dissociation & wasted time

(01:02:13) – Support & accountability

(01:05:21) – Her Instagram career

(01:12:57) – Photography & video

(01:16:15) – Going with the flow

(01:17:57) – Weddings & elopements

(01:21:10) – Health issues & adrenal fatigue

(01:28:56) – The carnivore diet

(01:35:25) – Getting strong

(01:40:00) – Gut health & her current diet

(01:43:52) – Vegan & vegetarian diets

(01:50:52) – Responsible meat eating

(01:55:08) – Quitting caffeine

(01:56:37) – Food tracking

(01:59:39) – Cake

(02:00:28) – Rapid fire questions

(02:04:18) – Narrating life to Justin

(02:07:30) – Ultimate trust

(02:08:34) – Wrap up & EXTRA teaser

Justin Salas is a legally blind climber who is a 6x National Champion and the 2018 World Champion. He’s also climbed up to V11 outside. We talked about what his visual experience is like, the psychology of an invisible disability, assistive technology, how he climbs, sight guides, projecting tactics, building out a van, the Olympics and paraclimbing competitions, visualization, being a changemaker, and much more.

Holiday Gift Ideas:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing/gift

Gift a Patreon subscription 👆

frictitiousclimbing.com/products/the-nug

The NUG 👆

thenuggetclimbing.com/shop

Hello Friends merch 👆

Mad Rock:

madrock.com

Use code “NUGGET10” at checkout for 10% off your next order.

Rhino Skin Solutions:

rhinoskinsolutions.com

Use code “NUGGET” at checkout for 20% off your next order!

BetterHelp:

betterhelp.com/NUGGET

Use this link for 10% off your first month.

We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:

• Michael Roy, Mark and Julie Calhoun, and Yinan Liu

Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/justin-salas

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:23) – Pulley injuries

(00:05:26) – Vanlife

(00:11:01) – Justin’s visual experience

(00:15:35) – An invisible disability

(00:23:37) – “Yes I’m blind, no I’m not.”

(00:27:55) – Faces

(00:30:45) – Losing his vision

(00:35:59) – Denial, gratitude, & bad days

(00:40:58) – BMX & getting into climbing

(00:44:49) – Coping mechanisms

(00:48:36) – Assistive technology

(00:54:34) – How he climbs

(01:02:26) – His first day of climbing

(01:10:59) – Sight guides

(01:22:34) – Footholds

(01:25:29) – Stamina training

(01:28:21) – Fred’s Cave & projecting tactics

(01:33:14) – Getting inspired

(01:36:34) – Texas Hold Em

(01:37:32) – Assessing landings

(01:41:31) – Downclimbing & approaching

(01:45:04) – Toothpaste

(01:47:58) – Specialized bikes

(01:51:42) – Asking for help

(01:57:54) – April

(02:05:47) – Building out a van

(02:10:09) – Vegas

(02:12:56) – Nature is healing

(02:15:37) – Overcoming fear

(02:24:55) – Mitigating risk

(02:27:29) – What drives Justin in climbing

(02:30:48) – The Olympics & paraclimbing competitions

(02:39:39) – Blind visualization

(02:46:48) – Building a mental map

(02:50:11) – Changemaker

(02:54:40) – Faith

(03:01:04) – Curiosity & learning

(03:04:31) – A beautiful question from Andy

(03:11:28) – “A house divided will fall.”

Eric Jerome is a V15 climber and prolific bouldering developer. We talked about getting hit by a drunk driver, how his injury led to a paradigm shift, why he is actively caring less about climbing, seeking the minimal effective dose, developing new boulders in the Flaming Gorge and The New, buying a house, his career with KAYA, the gamification of climbing, and much more.

Holiday Gift Ideas:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing/gift

Gift a Patreon subscription 👆

frictitiousclimbing.com/products/the-nug

The NUG 👆

thenuggetclimbing.com/shop

Hello Friends merch 👆

Mad Rock:

madrock.com

Use code “NUGGET10” at checkout for 10% off your next order.

PhysiVantage:

physivantage.com (link includes 15% off coupon)

Use code "NUGGET15" at checkout for 15% off your next order.

Green Chef:

greenchef.com/NUGGET50

Use code "NUGGET50" for 50% off your first box plus 20% off your next two months.

Become a Patron:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing

We are supported by these amazing BIG GIVERS:

• Michael Roy, Mark and Julie Calhoun, and Yinan Liu

Show Notes:

thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/eric-jerome

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:12) – Hit & run

(00:04:42) – The recovery process

(00:07:57) – A paradigm shift

(00:10:55) – The Top 100 project

(00:13:23) – A really fun game

(00:17:08) – A healthier relationship with climbing

(00:21:02) – Body type & relationship with food

(00:25:12) – Finger strength & volume as a heavier climber

(00:33:33) – Minimal effective dose

(00:40:59) – Cycling projects & developing

(00:49:02) – A new bouldering area in Utah

(01:00:57) – Documenting new boulders

(01:08:00) – Bouldering in The New

(01:11:47) – Buying a house in West Virginia

(01:32:37) – House swaps & gratitude

(01:37:45) – More about The New

(01:46:09) – Life going forward

(01:50:02) – Summer vibes in The New

(01:53:15) – Best lines in the UK

(01:55:09) – Eric’s career with KAYA

(02:03:19) – Building a database

(02:07:25) – Gamification & misconceptions about KAYA

(02:17:38) – Upcoming KAYA features

(02:21:02) – Wrap up & EXTRA teaser