Dr. Matt Slavin is a clinical psychologist and climber. We discussed why we invent limits for ourselves, what to do when you feel stuck, our predictive brains, how to overcome limiting beliefs, why we self-sabotage, how to find your purpose in life, and much more. You can learn more about Matt at drmattslavin.com

FREE MASTERCLASS 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/matt-slavin

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:02:21) – The climbing bug
(00:06:22) – Clinical psychology background
(00:10:56) – A long hiatus
(00:14:15) – Returning to climbing
(00:19:11) – Social threats
(00:20:53) – Fear, doubt, & uncertainty
(00:26:45) – Parts of ourselves
(00:31:19) – Self-awareness
(00:34:51) – Our predictive brains
(00:39:25) – Thoughts, rules for living, & core beliefs
(00:47:01) – Overcoming limiting beliefs
(00:52:35) – Why we limit ourselves
(00:57:50) – Forming new beliefs
(01:03:37) – Video review
(01:04:31) – “I’m not there yet.”
(01:08:52) – Self-sabotage
(01:23:46) – The woman with social anxiety
(01:29:38) – How the mind affects our ability
(01:33:14) – Focusing on weaknesses
(01:35:37) – Finding your values & purpose
(01:42:00) – Matt’s website, course, & book

New interview featuring Steven on The Climbing Majority podcast. I really enjoyed this chat with Kyle Broxterman. We talked about what I’ve learned from over 300 interviews with top climbers, the root of why I climb, my pivot to coaching, podcasting in 2026, and more. Kyle asked insightful questions and did a great job. Check out his podcast if you’ve run out of Nugget episodes—I highly recommend it.

The Climbing Majority:

The Climbing Majority podcast

Kyle on Instagram

Coaching:

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Apply for Private Coaching 👉 https://thenuggetclimbing.com/coaching/#private-coaching

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/steven-on-the-climbing-majority

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:01:31) – Personal Philosophies
(00:23:57) – What I've Learned From 300 Coversations With Pro Athletes
(00:42:46) – Talent vs. Training
(00:44:45) – The Pursuit of Mastery
(00:49:31) – Four Words To Describe What Climbing Means To Me
(00:57:22) – Fighting for Agency
(01:06:58) – Steven's Trad Climbing Experience
(01:18:53) – What Happens When You Feel Like You're Just Adding to the Noise?
(01:35:13) – The Future of The Nugget Climbing Podcast

George Lowe is a Colorado-based climber and alpinist who was awarded the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Access Fund. We talked about his early life, what keeps him returning to the mountains at age 82, how his physics career paralleled his climbing, getting too close to the edge on the North Twin, his “magnificent failure” on Latok I, life advice for climbers in their 30s, and more.

Access Fund:

Eventbrite Link — Access Fund 35th Birthday Community Festival

Donation Page

Coaching:

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Apply for Private Coaching 👉 https://thenuggetclimbing.com/coaching/#private-coaching

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/george-lowe

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:02:10) – Liz
(00:09:02) – Retirement
(00:10:46) – Climbing at 82
(00:13:21) – Early outdoor adventures
(00:17:28) – Early climbing
(00:20:58) – Getting hooked
(00:22:27) – Cosmic Ray Physics
(00:25:30) – George’s career
(00:31:56) – Problem solving
(00:35:28) – Coworkers
(00:37:17) – The North Twin
(00:57:16) – Why he keeps climbing
(01:06:36) – Latok I
(01:19:02) – Friendships
(01:19:44) – Life advice
(01:25:13) – Wrap up

Dr. Mohammad Ashori is a board-certified family medicine physician, health coach, and rock climber. We talked about the importance of putting on muscle, how much rest we need between training sessions, nutrition and metabolic health, zone 2 cardio, key metrics and blood markers to track, different levels of data, why some data can be misleading or harmful, relative vs. absolute risk, and much more.

Want to work with Dr. Ashori?

Get 15% off your 1st health assessment with Dr. Ashori. Book your schedule here and use the code: NUGGET15

Want climbing or nutrition coaching?

Free Masterclass (Learn more about Climb Accelerator) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Private Mentorship Program (Work Directly with Steven) 👉 http://thenuggetclimbing.com/coaching

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mohammad-ashori

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro
(00:02:09) – Dr. Ashori’s background
(00:07:01) – Treatment to prevention
(00:12:17) – Dr. Ashori’s current practice
(00:14:37) – Introducing today’s topic
(00:16:13) – #1: Build More Muscle
(00:17:57) – Should you put on muscle on purpose?
(00:25:15) – Key lifts for climbers
(00:28:55) – #2: Treat Recovery as a Workout
(00:31:35) – Growing the tree
(00:34:06) – Pitchers in baseball
(00:38:57) – Proactive, Adaptive, & Reactive
(00:40:45) – Active recovery strategies
(00:43:23) – #3: Metabolic Health
(00:46:44) – Is sugar the culprit?
(00:51:59) – Lifestyle factors
(00:53:14) – My nutrition journey
(00:59:26) – Psoriasis & leaky gut
(01:01:39) – Agency over your health
(01:13:28) – Looking fit vs. being healthy
(01:17:05) – #4: Train Your Heart
(01:18:00) – VO2 Max & Zone 2 Cardio
(01:28:33) – #5: Tracking Changes
(01:29:50) – Blood pressure & waist circumferance
(01:31:56) – Cholesterol, glucose, HbA1c
(01:33:02) – Family history
(01:33:46) – My HbA1c story
(01:38:02) – Levels of data
(01:45:33) – Fasting insulin
(01:47:43) – Speculating why my A1c is high
(01:50:49) – Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs)
(01:55:20) – My hsCRP
(01:55:46) – My LDL & other lipids
(02:04:28) – Relative vs. absolute risk
(02:08:28) – How to work with Dr. Ashori

Justen Sjong (The Climbing Sensei) returns to the podcast to discuss the unique challenges of being tall or short in climbing. We talk about the disadvantages tall climbers face, how injury risk and training volume change with size, mindset shifts for both tall and short climbers, why climbing is inherently unfair, practical tips, and much more.

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/justen-sjong-returns

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:48) – Gardening

(00:04:04) – The Red

(00:08:17) – Introducing our topic

(00:12:34) – Shaming

(00:18:17) – Challenges for tall climbers

(00:23:46) – Injuries & training volume

(00:28:39) – Momentum

(00:37:55) – Foot strength & stiff shoes

(00:51:26) – Finding your own beta

(00:57:58) – Maximizing your reach

(00:59:56) – Grades

(01:10:43) – Finding the best beta

(01:15:36) – Fairness

(01:18:07) – One-foot drill

(01:21:04) – Expressing challenges

(01:22:50) – Grizzly bear

(01:24:42) – Mindset shifts for short climbers

(01:31:02) – Seeking street credit

(01:37:33) – Unclassic climbs

(01:38:23) – More tips for short climbers

(01:42:26) – Chunking down moves

(01:48:35) – Should short & tall climbers train differently?

(01:51:04) – Body types

(01:55:52) – Who do you want to be?

(02:01:09) – Can’t vs. yet

(02:02:11) – Justen’s climbing update

(02:08:40) – Wrap up

Adam Ondra is back on the podcast to discuss his incredible winter bouldering season, including four V15 (8C) flashes. We talked about why the best sport climbers can keep up with the bouldering specialists, his winter training in Arco, boards vs. spray walls, go-to bouldering circuits, tactics for hard flash attempts, catching the moment, and much more.

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/adam-ondra-returns

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:11) – Settling down in Arco

(00:08:47) – Why are the best sport climbers also the best boulderers?

(00:15:23) – Does sport climbing help bouldering?

(00:18:35) – How the 8C flash goal evolved

(00:24:05) – How little Adam warms up

(00:27:26) – Board and spray wall training

(00:33:37) – Adam’s off-the-wall training

(00:36:19) – Stronger than ever

(00:40:21) – Why Adam doesn’t train on a hangboard

(00:43:43) – Edge lifting vs. climbing

(00:48:40) – Interval bouldering

(00:53:04) – How Adam’s indoor bouldering sessions have changed

(00:55:04) – Interval bouldering continued

(00:57:08) – Short routes vs. long boulders

(01:01:21) – Boulder flashing tactics

(01:05:30) – Visualization

(01:08:48) – Choosing flash beta

(01:11:08) – Adam’s weaknesses & strengths

(01:16:34) – Catching the moment

(01:20:20) – Flashing Emotional Landscapes 8C

(01:25:11) – 8C+ flash goal?

(01:29:54) – B.I.G.

(01:36:22) – What’s next for Adam

(01:40:11) – The Smith Rock project

Aaron Shamy has an inspiring story: he won the X Games in the ‘90s, took a 15-year hiatus from climbing, got out of shape, and then began a 6+ year comeback that culminated in sending the hardest route of his life. We talked about his early climbing and hiatus, the turning point, Project 127, living in the crescendo, balancing family life, his 33 days on Flight of the Conchords, the tactics that helped him send, and much more.

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/aaron-shamy

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:43) – Aaron’s early climbing

(00:06:56) – The X Games in the '90s

(00:12:05) – 15-year hiatus

(00:16:08) – The turning point

(00:20:43) – Starting his comeback

(00:22:33) – Milliseconds and millimeters

(00:24:17) – The rule of thirds

(00:27:23) – Project 127

(00:41:00) – Living in the crescendo

(00:44:12) – Balancing family life

(00:50:24) – 33 days on Flight of the Conchords 5.14c (8c+)

(00:57:32) – Why different routes require different strategies

(01:01:48) – Mental strategies for reducing pressure

(01:05:29) – Day 32 (the kneebar)

(01:10:45) – Day 33 (the send)

(01:14:11) – Playfulness & tactics

(01:18:13) – Best climbing days

(01:23:48) – Transformation

(01:28:20) – Life of Villains 5.14d (9a)

(01:32:29) – Supplements

(01:34:29) – Who are you becoming?

Matt Samet is the former editor-in-chief of Climbing Magazine, a writer and author, and a sport-climbing pioneer. We talked about his decade-plus battle with benzo addiction, his advice for people who experience anxiety or depression, what Rifle was like in the early ‘90s, how Chris Sharma broke the paradigm, embracing training to send his hardest routes, his new role with the American Alpine Club, and the inaugural American Climbing Journal coming later this year. You can learn more at americanalpineclub.org

Free Masterclass (Unlock Your Full Potential in Climbing) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com

Climb Accelerator (Direct Link to Course) 👉 http://masterclass.thenuggetclimbing.com/climb-accelerator

Show Notes:

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/matt-samet

Nuggets:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:02:27) – Teasing topics

(00:05:34) – Panic attacks

(00:10:19) – Benzo addiction

(00:26:45) – Setback & self-care

(00:36:32) – Matt’s biggest lesson

(00:43:48) – Matt’s advice for anxiety & depression

(00:48:36) – Rifle in the early '90s

(01:08:07) – Sharma broke the paradigm

(01:14:10) – Embracing the Moonboard

(01:21:46) – Training results

(01:30:24) – Matt’s climbing now

(01:32:28) – Moonboard math

(01:36:52) – An alternative to 4x4s

(01:39:15) – Matt’s route projects

(01:45:49) – Loving climbing more than ever

(01:50:59) – The American Climbing Journal

(02:04:59) – Adam Ondra appreciation riff

(02:08:14) – Wrap up