Inner Fire Climbing Podcast

#13 - Madeeha Drissi

Madeeha Drissi is a board-certified dermatologist and climber. We talk about all things skin – anatomy, wound healing, moisturizers, drying agents, and lots and lots of other stuff. A very geeky couple hours but there's not much surface contact between you and the rock – gotta make it count!

#12 - June 2025 AMA

Questions: 
0:00:00 Intro0:00:56 Nico - Solo bouldering0:05:25 Simon Pearson - What to do while watching climbing media0:11:00 Jantina - Should people of different sexes or sizes be coached differently?0:24:38 Briana - Free will and, also, donuts0:28:02 Daniel - Feeling lost in limit bouldering sessions0:33:28 Jeffrey - Programming low gear0:35:24 Angel Gonzalez - Caffeine for early morning sessions0:38:02 Sam - When is a problem worth your time?0:44:05 Jishnu - How to practice skills with a low density in your facility/area0:47:32 Jishnu - Toe training?

#11 - Tom Herbert

Tom Herbert is a nutrition coach and all around swell Brit. He joined me on the pod to talk about dance, flow, and climbing, and we took many (unsurprisingly) philosophical side quests. 

#10 - May 2025 AMA

Questions from my Patrons and clients for April 2025.Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jfireclimbingQuestions:
 
00:00:00 Intro
 
00:01:01 Daniel - Skills I’m working on 
 
00:03:17 Daniel - What am I excited about this year?
 
00:05:17 Daniel - How long to rest for different kinds of boulders
 
00:08:02 Jake, Briana & others - Kingslayer takeaways, maintaining motivation
 
00:14:32 More Kingslayer takeaways, personal growth, social stuff
 
00:18:07 Briana - donuts in Leavy?? (pure disappointment)
 
00:19:02 Robin - circadian rhythm and projecting
 
00:22:20 Robin - Advice for setting circuits, cognitive strain
 
00:25:30 Olga - Making friends
 
00:28:14 Olga - Gaston training
 
00:30:56 Olga - One-movers, love em or hate em?
 
00:33:02 Sam - Youtube?
 
00:34:58 Jishnu - Skill training: improving focus
 
00:38:52 Skill training: measuring success/feedback (related to above question but separate answer) 
 
00:40:53 Jishnu - Using rings/TRX for strength training
 

#9 - Ethan Salvo

Ethan Salvo is a Squamish-based climber. He's been climbing just over 7 years and has climbed some of the hardest boulders in North America. Last summer he broke out of his boulderer shell and climbed the Cobra Crack, a notorious 5.14 gear climb.
 
I had the chance to write some training for him late last year, and we reconnected to talk about his experience trying one of the hardest boulders in Bishop over the winter.
 
We talked about:
 
- Personal growth and trying Lucid Dreaming V15
- Doing all the best and hardest climbs in Squamish
- Future projects in Squamish
- Skin management & tactics
- Northwest climbing conditions (kind of a Squamish conditions masterclass)
- Why Ethan doesn't practice flashing
- The ups and downs of dirtbagging
- My general training advice for someone at Ethan's level
 
0:00:00 Intro
0:03:34 Ethan's trip to Bishop to try Lucid Dreaming
0:15:15 Summoning the try-hard in Bishop vs Squamish
0:23:24 Was Ethan "strong enough" to do Lucid right off the bat?
0:29:01 Is Ethan a physical outlier? (I put my foot in my mouth)
0:34:23 Penrose Step & the insane minutiae of hard grips
0:40:22 Skin management
0:45:09 Living in a 2002 Subaru for months (tips for unwelcome mouse friends)
0:53:00 Ethan's current climbing and upcoming plans
1:05:10 Weather
1:13:51 Maximizing time vs other variables
1:17:25 What to look for on the weather forecast & learning micro-climates
1:22:52 Ethan's flash of Mad Bush V12 (nuts)
1:26:40 Discussion on flashing/onsighting in general
1:34:00 Squamish weather details
1:36:10 Return to Lucid, skin management details
1:45:18 Manufactured condies and bouldering ethics
1:54:43 Strength training suggestions for Ethan
2:02:22 What do good genes get you?
2:03:37 Wrap up

#8 - Juliet Hammer

In this episode I chat with Juliet Hammer and her dog Addy. Juliet is a climbing coach and an experienced boulderer and sport climber. She has a degree in biology and she's a certified strength and conditioning specialist. We talked about:
Juliet's climbing history
Differences between bouldering and sport in terms of preparation, mindset and tactics
Being a short climber
Board climbing
Coaching philosophy and shop talk
Personal grades
Social media, content creation and voluntary hardship
Value capture as both a coach and climber
Dangers of focusing on dopamine hits
00:00:00 Intro00:02:43 Juliet's sport/bouldering identity & seasonality00:16:02 Proper introduction, comp/cordo climbing, coaching indoors vs outdoor clients00:25:27 Board climbing & being a short climber00:30:31 Strength training00:37:27 Coaching philosophy and shop talk00:48:07 More short climber tips, self-comparison00:54:43 Personal grades and the toxic wasteland of 8a.nu01:00:41 Motivations01:02:38 Jesse is ignorant about the southeast and complains about summer01:05:51 More seasonality / sport & boulder logistics questions01:08:08 Hot take 1, is climbing harder always more fun?01:12:28 Hot take 2, are sport climbers better climbers?01:13:56 Sport climbing vs bouldering popularity and value for progression01:16:37 Content strategy and value capture as a content creator and coach01:26:33 Dopamine hits, voluntary hardship, video beta and availability bias01:42:55 Addy01:45:09 Work with Juliet
 

#7 - April 2025 AMA - Weight management, developing technique, footwork, first ascents and more

Questions from my Patrons and clients for April 2025. Thanks to Ryan Frecka for joining me for the weight management questions.Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jfireclimbingQuestions:0:00:00 Intro0:00:45 Jishnu - What is good footwork? 00:09:35 Jishnu - Modern classics00:11:01 Nico & Giancarlo - Returning to a project after a tweak/injury00:16:28 Briana - Managing detraining on a long trip00:20:37 Victor - Indoor vs outdoor technique00:25:32 Caleb - Cycling between bouldering & sport climbing00:29:54 Jeffrey - Podcast update00:31:11 Brian - Motivation behind doing first ascents00:35:33 Stephanie - Strength to weight ratio (w/ Ryan Frecka)00:43:01 Stephanie - Body composition (w/ Ryan Frecka)00:47:46 Stephanie - When to put on more muscle (w/ Ryan Frecka)00:53:07 Stephanie - Signs of a strength deficit (w/ Ryan Frecka)00:58:42 Stephanie - Nutritional approach (w/ Ryan Frecka)01:06:02 Ryan's additional comments on set point theory01:09:02 Outro

#6 - The "Rules"

In this solo episode, I do my best to explain the rules of bouldering: what some of them are, why they're arbitrary, how they're changing over time, and how we should all proceed.
Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jfireclimbing

#5 - Ethan Pringle

I sit down with Ethan Pringle to catch up with him and his cat Snowflake. We talk about:
Balancing stability and freedom
Crag development in South Africa (AKA how to pivot when things don’t go your way)
Not training
Much discussion of highball strategy
Risk perception, risk tolerance and age
Jumbo Love, Realization, and self-doubt
Advice for his younger self

#4 - March 2025 AMA - Session duration, soft pauses and gaze, DOMS

Questions from my Patrons and clients for March 2025.Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jfireclimbingQuestions:0:00:00 Intro0:00:37 Mackenzie - How's the podcast going?0:01:30 Luke - Sling Blade update??? (with three question marks)0:04:15 Jeffrey - Soft pause and gaze0:11:32 Lu - Board climbing session duration0:18:20 Ryan - Minimal methods for improving on slopers & pinches0:29:46 eejayen - Dealing with DOMS from lifting0:32:44 Sam - Climbing philosophy0:34:36 William - Developing highballs0:38:35 Leone - Finger curls with weight0:40:48 - Outro