The Rich Roll Podcast - RRP LIVE: Alex Honnold On Climbing the Taipei 101 Skyscraper

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

Alex Honnold, the world's most accomplished free solo climber and subject of Oscar-winning Free Solo, just climbed Taipei 101 live on Netflix. In this special live podcast event—our first with a studio audience—we go behind the spectacle to explore what really happened on that building: the unexpected challenges and the mental shift that transformed pressure into joy. We discuss his training philosophy at 40, his evolving relationship with risk and mortality as a father, and why he challenges our arbitrary definitions of what's "dangerous" vs. "normal." Along the way, he makes us examine our own relationship with fear, discomfort, and living in alignment with our values. Alex unites and inspires us all. This conversation illustrates why. Enjoy! Show notes + MORE Watch on YouTube Newsletter Sign-Up Today’s Sponsors: Seed: Use code RICHROLL20 for 20% OFF your first order👉🏼https://www.seed.com/RichRoll  Mill: Get $75 off your fully automated food recycler with code RICHROLL + 90-day risk-free trial👉🏼https://www.mill.com/RICHROLL LMNT: Get a free LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase👉🏼https://www.drinklmnt.com/richroll  Airbnb: Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at👉🏼https://www.airbnb.com/host Noble Mobile: The first phone carrier that pays you to use your phone less. Try it for just $10 with code RICHROLL👉🏼https://www.noblemobile.com/richroll Squarespace: Use code RichRoll to save 10% off your first order of a website or domain👉🏼http://www.squarespace.com/RichRoll Check out all of the amazing discounts from our Sponsors👉🏼https://www.richroll.com/sponsors  Find out more about Voicing Change Media at https://www.voicingchange.media and follow us @voicingchange

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Hey, everybody. Welcome to a very special edition of the podcast because today we have Alex Honnold in the house in his very first podcast appearance, post-Tipei 101, Free Solo, Skyscraper Send. As many of you or some of you may know, we live-streamed this event on YouTube a couple days ago,

in front of a live audience in our studio, which was a really fun and exciting experience. In this episode, Alex answers all the questions that we all have about why he did it, how he did it, some behind-the-scenes stuff that you probably haven't heard yet. We also hear from his wife, Sonny, about how she feels about all of this.

And we hear from the guys behind the scenes who produced the Netflix broadcast about what it was like for them, as well as our man Adam Skolnick. He was there in Taipei, and he shares his boots on the ground perspective, POV, as somebody who is there observing it in real time. So with that, please enjoy me, Alex Honnold, and friends,

and our first of what I expect will be many more in studio before a live audience event. Welcome to Rich Roll Live. Please welcome your host, Rich Roll! Hey, everybody. My name is Rich Roll. I am your host for what is shaping up, promising to be a very special live event with Alex Honnold before a live audience that we're also live streaming on YouTube. This is our first experience doing this in our Los Angeles studio.

So thank you, everybody, for... showing up. Welcome everybody. Welcome to the audience who's here right now and also to everybody on YouTube who is tuning in. I have so many questions for Alex. I know all of you do as well. This is our opportunity to ask him everything that's on our mind and see what he thinks about stuff. So without further ado, let's just welcome him to the stage. The great Alex Honnold, everybody. Alex, I want to start out with asking you about how the experience has been for you in the aftermath of this climb, because it really created this unbelievable water cooler monoculture moment, which is very difficult to do in 2026.

And in reflecting on it, it made me realize that all we needed was this guy. you to go out and climb this crazy building to remind us that what unites us is more powerful than what divides us and to inspire us with what is possible. But it really did create this an unbelievable wave across the world of just fascination. And what was that, what has that been like for you to experience that? I mean, honestly, I was sort of insulated from all that. I mean, you know, I missed the live event on Netflix because I was too busy going climbing. And then the next day we flew home and then went right back to our two young daughters, basically having two crying babies that aren't sleeping very well.

You know, I was like, oh, I don't know. I kind of missed the whole event part of it. I just had a great experience climbing and then went home and tried to go back to normal life. Going behind the scenes of it, I want to talk a little bit about like the plan versus the execution or the expectations and the reality. I remember we ran into each other in New York City like a handful of months ago, and it was before like this was even announced,

and we were kind of chatting about it. I was like, is this happening? And you said, yes. And I said, you know, what is your sense, what's the degree of difficulty around this event? And you were like pretty cavalier about it. Like I got it handled. But I want to know what it was like

in the days leading up to the climb with the rain and all the, you know, all the people around you. Like, it's well within your skill set, but also, like, there's all this other stuff happening around you at the same time. Yeah, it was kind of one of those classic things like you sign up for, well, I'm sure you know, you sign up for triathlon or something like, it'll be fine, it'll be fine. And then as the date starts to get closer, you're like, what if it's really hard? Like, what if it's not fine?

Like, what if I can't swim that well or whatever? And so I think in this case, I was kind of like, oh, it'll be fine. It's not that hard. I sort of like superficially sampled it. It was like, okay, I can do this. That's good enough. And then I showed up there for the actual thing. And it turns out conditions, it kind of changed in between the scout.

Like the building was much dirty. It was coated in the so from the fireworks displays they do at New Year's. But so it was kind of like bicycle grease, like smeared all over the holds. So I was like, well, that doesn't help. And then it basically rained the whole week. And I was like, oh, it's a little bit stressful. But I mean, I was still confident I could do the climbing is just like kind of need some things to line up. And so the rigging crew, some of the crew that was involved with the filming helped clean a

bunch of the route. So it was like quite a bit better. And then the weather got good. And then it all sort of worked out fine. But definitely for a moment, I was like, oh, it's, you know, it's all a little intense. You're so low key about this. The other thing is that, I mean, here's the thing. Like, I, because Adam Skolmec was there and he was reporting back to me, like, what was going on there. Like this, I knew that there was this grease on the building that these fireworks had late, you know, I'd put this like sort of sooty deposit on the building and that they were doing their best to clean it up. But like, that's a real problem, you know? And when I saw, like the black on the bottom of your souls when you were doing the climb like that was that was

terrifying to see yeah not not crazy I mean so most buildings are dirty like that just from like urban air pollution from the the stuff coming off cars and a so whatever and so normally when you climb buildings it is kind of gross and you always get a little bit dirty in this case it was like really dirty and then particularly the like the texture of the dragons is already so slick than once you have like sort of grease on your fingers it feels insanely slick but it you you you know, we dealt with it. I know. I know in the, in the dress rehearsal, it wasn't sorted, right?

Like, it was there was some real concern. Like, is this going to be okay? No, I mean, it still would have been okay. I mean, even if we hadn't cleaned it all, I would have managed with just basically wiping my hands every couple moves. I mean, it's kind of, like, it was all doable. It's just how comfortable and how fun is it going to be. I mean, I think what made the event so great for me is that ultimately when I did the

climb, it was felt comfortable. I had a good time. I was able to enjoy myself. I think that made other, hopefully put other people at ease more, too, you know, people watching. I mean, how intense would have been to watch that if I was like, looked grip and I was frantically wiping my hands the whole way up, you'd be like, oh, God. It's like, you know, thankfully, it was able to be a lot more fun this way. And so I think, yeah, it worked out well. The experience for millions of people all over the world was, you know, sweaty palms,

looking away, you know, it was, it was very challenging for most people to watch. But that's how challenging was with me and, you know, with good control, feeling good. Imagine if I look like I was going to fall the whole time. It would have been like leaving. Nobody would watch. You had a great deal of awareness, you know, of the fact that you were being watched. And it was clear, you know, almost, you know, after a few minutes, like, oh, you got a smile on your face.

You're waving to the crowd. You're in control. You're in your comfort zone. And from that point forward, it looked as if like you were just having the time of your life. Yeah. I was having a really good time punctuated by by effort. You know, I had to pay attention for the moves. I'd be focused on, on the, you know, executing each of bamboo boxes and everything.

But the thing is like in some ways, the building is more, it's more like stop and go than rock climbing. Like you do some hard moves. You get into a position. And then the positions that where you can stand there pretty, you're pretty stable because the footholds are big and you're kind of clamped onto the building. So basically you're in like these very stable positions and then you do kind of hard moves in between them. And so I had to pay attention for the hard moves. And then once you're back into a restful position, you can, like, wave at people and play with the folks in the windows

and basically, like, feel good. And so, yeah, I mean, I kind of took advantage of that and enjoyed the parts that I could and then paid attention for the hard news. Was there any, at any point, was the people inside the windows distracting or somebody trying, you know, like, that threw you off in any way? No, not really. I mean, so part of the whole experience for me was that when I was doing the prep work, it was all slightly off-putting to have so many people watching me when I was

hanging on a rope. It's just like kind of annoying to have so many people with cameras at the windows watching. And I felt very self-conscious and I felt weird about doing the prep. And it just felt and I was like, oh, this isn't my normal rock climbing experience. But then finally, before the actual climb itself, like before the event, I sort of put that behind me a little bit. And I was like, you know what? Everybody's here supporting and wants to see a show and, you know, everybody's psyched. It's like, I just need to embrace that and be psyched. And sort of, Interestingly, one of the things that makes the building hard is the pacing. Like if you try to go fast, you get really tired.

If you go really slowly that you don't get that tired and it feels a lot easier. And so it's kind of like, well, if I take my time, go slowly, have a good time, like play with people a little bit. Then it also makes it easier in a way because it just kind of naturally paces you. And so it's kind of like, it's like a double benefit of like I might as well just enjoy the experience, go slowly. And that makes it easier, which makes it a more enjoyable experience. And so I kind of had this perspective shift where I was like, Instead of wishing that there weren't so many people watching, you'd just be like, this is part of it,

I'm here for the fun. Yeah. You did it pretty fast, though, hour and a half. I mean, I think that was faster than most people, including like your team, expected you to do it. No, no, my team, most of the team put money down on a bet on that timing. And 90 minutes was basically like right in the middle of everybody's expectations. Talk to me about the flex when you were almost at the top and you, you know,

you did the arms free thing. I mean, that was like, you teed that up for the audience, right? I mean, it's just playing around. It's like playing on the jungle gym and dangling from the bars. You're like, you can. It's fun. Why not? Yeah.

I mean, it is a lot like hanging from the jungle gym. You're just like, this is so cool. You're like, mom, look at this. I don't know if you're aware of this, but there's a lot of videos on the internet right now of dudes trying to do that pull-up technique where you grab the sides and, you know, struggling and revealing just how difficult that is. Like, are you the most fit and jacked that you've ever been in your life? I am actually more fit than the normal for me.

I feel strong right now. I've been at home training for months and, yeah, I'm all fired up. I mean, which is honestly kind of the appeal of projects like this. I mean, part of the fun of having a goal like this is to stay at home and train hard for several months and then, like, feel really good. What is, like, take me through a day in the life of the rigorous, you know, stages of the training. Like, what are you doing exactly? It's not that rigorous.

This is slightly embarrassed. I mean, mostly take care of kids and things and dealing. But, no, I've been kind of climbing two on, one off at home. So two days of climbing, one day rest. I've been alternating going to this sport climbing cave. So climbing with a rope with this overhane wall. But this particular wall is a very physical style. It's very mussely.

And so I felt like that would be good for the building. Because really the challenge of the building is kind of like full body fitness, like core and just like big muscles. And so I've been climbing that. cave two days a week and then training in my home gym two days a week so that's like bouldering hard and then doing like workout stuff like pull-ups and you know muscle whatever all this stuff obviously you've you've done much more technically difficult climbs but the repetitive motion of like kind of doing the same moves over and over and over again does that create like a unique a different kind of like fatigue to have to do those same moves and use those same muscles yeah yeah a little bit actually so the whole

building. I did the whole building leading with my left foot. So for anyone, I don't know, if anyone noticed in the footage, each floor is like two small moves, then one big move. So on the small moves, you smear one foot and then you step up onto the other foot. So I'd smear my left foot and then step on my right foot. And then for the big move, you smear your left foot, smear your right foot, and then step up high onto the left foot. And so anyway, I was like leading with my left foot for the whole building. And for Soling, it just kind of helps to do some kind of steady routine because then you just know that you're doing the same thing each time. There's no room for for like doubt to creep in where you're like, oh, am I set up the wrong way?

Or like, does this feel different or is it slippy or whatever? So I was just like doing it the same way, the whole building. Anyway, so I finished the building, you know, great success, all good. And then we came down. We did a bunch of press stuff in one of the conference rooms. And I gave a couple of interviews. And after each interview, I was like, I think my lower back starting to hurt. I was like, I think I might tweak my back.

Like basically doing the same like left footed high step move, you know, 100 or 300 times or whatever. I was kind of like, oh, I think I tweak something. But yeah, basically it is definitely. definitely more of a load than rock climbing. Rock climbing is so distributed, you know, like every move is different. So you're constantly using different parts of your body. The building is like you're just hammering the same things over and over.

At one point, like 80% up, you're like, yeah, I'm kind of tired on the broadcast. Everyone's like, oh, he's tired. No, but that's fine. I mean, it's like if you're running a race or something, you're like part way through, you're like, oh, I'm tired. But you expect to be that tired. It's all fine. I mean, it's part of the plan. But no, I was pretty pumped.

And you climb the, those bamboo boxes, like, they wear you out. Yeah, it's tiring. Anyone else here, were you, was anyone else here worried about him running out of chalk? Like, I kept thinking, like, what happens if he runs out? It looks like it's getting low. No, I had it so full. I'm sure if I had to, I could ask somebody. Though nobody really had a chalk bag.

No, the rigors of chalk with him or anything. But no, my chalk bag was so full. It was, it was fine. The other thing I heard about the building, is that the metal, like some of the ledges were really bendy. Is that true? They all flex. But actually, so I found that.

So a lot of the things that I was grabbing and stepping on, you know, moved. But actually, in some ways, that's less scary. And the thing with rock climbing is that you grab edges and they feel totally solid right until they snap. And if they snap, they just fall off. And then, you know, if you're free sewing, you may or may not fall to your death. So you're like, oh, that's terrible. And so climbing is like a little bit scary with the things snapping.

with the building, you're kind of like, well, none of these things are going to snap. It's metal. It all sort of like deforms. You know, and you can see how it's bolted on or screwed on in places. And you can see the, the cocking type stuff that's like holding it in. Basically, you could feel like give a little bit, but you just know that it's going to bend before it breaks. And so I actually found that in some ways less, uh, where like it was, it was fine compared to rock climbing. Because rock climbing, like, you just don't know if something's going to break. And that's kind of the whole danger of free solonings. You're like, what if a hold breaks? But at least with the building, you're like, well, I can feel how much give, there is and all the materials. The dragons, though, looked, they didn't look like they were built for low, you know, to bear load to like handle weight. They look kind of like flimsy and are you kidding. Dude, they're like these giant metal things. They're insane. That's how it read to me. No, no. Well, actually, though, I would, to be fair, the very first dragon I did, I mean, I'd practice them a little bit. I'd play it on them. And they're like these super robust metal beams, basically. They feel indestructible. But then my very first dragon, and this is a classic experience when you're soloing. As soon as you don't have a rope on, it's suddenly all,

feels a little bit different where you're like, oh, I didn't really think about it in this way before. But so I went up onto the dragon and the first moves onto the dragon, you pull like basically straight out on these big pinches. And I was suddenly like, I wonder what's holding this big beam on. Like when you start just loading it pulling straight out, you're like, I wonder how this is attached actually. You're like, oh, geez, like it feels really robust, but you're like, how is it connected to the panel behind it? And then I was like, well, don't think about it too much. Like, you know, it's held all the other times and it feels very secure. So let's just hope it is. For a later, person it looked like you just flawlessly executed this but in your mind when you replay it

are there mistakes that you made or or things that you think maybe i could have done that better or differently like what do what do we like what did we not see when you do your own kind of like reflection on on how you executed it i think i think it was mostly pretty good i mean i think like the first dragon i was nervous for sure it's kind of like oh it's and it's interesting i mean the dragons pose this whole interesting thing because they actually actually are the for the most part the easiest way to climb that section when you're climbing the corners it is easiest to get over the top via the dragon you can off with behind it like you can wedge your body in behind the dragon but it's actually harder than it looks like it would be because the back

of the dragon is this like tapered metal thing it's all like weird and smooth and so you can get in there and wedge your body in and squirm but it's it's pretty hard and it's very undignified so for television i was just kind of like nah you know it's like if you're going to have to climb this thing and it's pretty hard either way you may as well do it the way that looks insanely cool and super fun and like feels like a big kid jungle gym. And so anyway, but then every time you get into the position on the dragon, you're like, well, it's kind of scary. You're like stepping out over the abyss and the whole city's down there. You know, like this is kind of extreme. It's like pretty slippery. Also because the material on it, the, it's like polished chrome or something. The building, the, the,

the dragons felt so slick compared to the rest of the building. Yeah. Was there grease deposits on the dragons also? No, they were super buffed. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I think they're so slick that they just don't accumulate like debris on them the way that the rest of the building did. But so the buildings were super smooth or sorry, the dragons are super smooth. But then whatever you have on your hands from climbing on the building, you don't feel slick when you grab them. I mean, when you were wiping the black, the, the grease off your shoes with your hand, I'm like, well, now it's on his hands. Well, I was, I was like licking my palm and then grinding with your palm. That's fine. That's normal. Do that all the time. The real variable that got introduced.

in this for you seems to be, from my perspective, just all, you know, the circus aspect of it. And not only all the people, but that comes with expectations. You know, this is a live broadcast. There's all these individuals involved. There's there's a expectation that like this is going to happen. It has to happen at this time. And obviously everyone is concerned about your safety. But, you know, there's a whole other kind of machine at play here. And so how are you like managing, like compartmentalizing that or dealing with that part of it. Because it seems like maybe that was, if there was a stressor on you, like, that was it. That was definitely part of the stressor. So from my hotel room, I could look down onto the video village that was dealing with the whole live events. It's like 100 people

in 10s. It's like a whole crazy thing. And so, you know, from your room, you look out and be like, there are all these people working on this project. Like, sure hope I can do the thing. You're kind of like, geez. So yeah, there's definitely a little bit of stress around that. And also just doing a live event felt different for me than, you know, I've done a ton of climbing documentaries and things like that over the years, but those are pretty chill. You just do them on your terms, you know, when the timing feels right with your friends. The live event also just had this whole technical aspect to it as well where there's like all this other equipment, all that like they ran fiber up and down the whole building. They have to transmit everything from the cameras that all has to go

live. And so basically they were the date and the timing all kind of mattered more because a bunch of the crew that was working on the live component of it like had to go to the Grammys the next week. And you're kind of like they need all the gear to go to the Grammys. And I'm kind of like, normally when I'm trying to time one of my climbs, I'm not thinking about when the Grammys are. You know, I'm kind of like, like, who freaking cares about? You know, and so there was like this whole, there's this whole other component to it. I was like, oh, this is like kind of stressful.

But in a way, you just have to put all that aside and just focus. And to be fair, production did a really good job of insulating me from all the stress of it. And actually, the production company got me at a ping pong table for my hotel room. And I just played ping pong at the time. I was like, this is amazing. It was pretty good. You've had the ping pong table in your hotel room. Yeah, yeah, it was crazy.

It was the first time I've ever been, felt like talent or something. You know, I was like, do I have a writer? Like, I don't even know what that is, but now I have a ping pong table. Like I said, they did it as like a fun gift because the showrunner also is very good at table tennis. And you wanted to play and I don't know. But they put me in this hotel room that had like a corner, it's like a corner suite thing or something. I don't know. But it had like an extra space.

So we had a ping pong table. It's super fun. In thinking about like managing the, the responsibility of like dealing with the expectations part. So the days leading up to this, it's raining, it's raining, it's raining, it's raining, it's raining, you're out there like reconning, it's wet, there's grease on the building, is it getting cleaned off, we don't know, the clock is ticking, the grammies are on the horizon. So like, you know, had you woken up that morning and it wasn't a bright, warm, sunny day,

and maybe, you know, it was more in the, like, could it, should we do it today? Should we not like like that was the big worry right? Like in and would you like where's that line where you're like, okay, let's do it. Because if I don't like all these people are going to leave and like this whole thing's going to fall apart and it's not going to happen. Yeah. Well, that's the thing that I worried about is that it wouldn't be a clear decision one way or another where you're kind of like, well, rain 45 minutes ago. It's probably mostly dry.

It's still kind of socked in. It might rain again an hour. How quickly can I finish it? You know, I was worried about kind of like a muddled decision like that where you're kind of like, ah, I'm balancing a bunch of different factors. thankfully though it just turned out that was a non-issue i mean the day worked out great and it was perfect but we had tons of different contingency plans for timing and uh you know i mean yeah but that would have been the worst case scenario where you're kind of like well it's sort of great it's sort of

rainy but it might go and and if we don't go now then we like lose the whole broadcast the live broadcast entirely or some i don't even know but um thankfully it didn't didn't play out that way but i suppose that's kind of the stress of a live event and in a lot of ways that was the challenge of this whole project is being able to just handle the stress or like handled to compartmentalize all that and just be like, you know what? I know how to climb. I'm going to focus on the climbing, let everything else just kind of play out. What is your strategy for that? Do you have like a routine, like the morning of like what are you doing to get into the frame of mind to do this thing? Playing some table tennis. Yeah. No, no, no just kidding. No, the morning of, actually,

I've already kind of forgotten. I think I got up and chill morning. I think maybe did some stretching and stuff, rolled a little bit. I had like a foam roll. I had a little edge I could pull on to like warm fingers up a bit. I don't think I did a hotel gym session that day. And then basically just went down, had breakfast and went to the building. But I think I did some warm up stuff maybe. You didn't go to the, you didn't do a gym workout before you climbed the building.

Well, I mean, we've been using the hotel gym because we're all super jet lagged. And so it's like you just get up super early and use the hotel gym. And in some ways, doing a bit of movement ahead of time did actually feel better. You know, just because, I mean, like the first move off. the ground is not that easy. I mean, it's not, you know, it's not the hardest part of the climb. But getting off the ground is not trivial. And they're all these freaking people watching you.

And it's like slightly embarrassing. So I wanted to feel slightly warmed up when I got there just so that I'd feel confident getting off the ground. What was the hardest part? Just the bamboo boxes, doing eight overhanging segments. They're all sort of the same. And they just, they're just tiring. Did as you, as you got higher and the wind started to like get, get, you know, kicked

up and all that sort of thing, was, did you feel the building swaying at all? Was that an aspect of it? It wasn't doing that at all. Well, I was swaying in the wind. I mean, the wind was pretty intense and the wind was ripping around the southeast corner, which is the exact corner that I was climbing. And so, I mean, this is just kind of a freak thing of the way the weather was and where the storm system is coming from and whatever. But so it was very strong wind. And I don't know if you could see in the broadcast, but up higher, there were a few places where I was climbing on the leftoret. And then I traversed across the windows and then get to the dragon. and then when I'd reach around to the dragon,

all of a sudden, I'd sort of feel the full brunt of the wind coming from around the dragon. It was like, it was pretty gusty. I was like, oh, because I was slightly sheltered if I was on the left red. I was less sheltered if I was on the middle right.

And then when I was on the dragon, depending which side and everything. And then as I got higher on the tower, like one, you're higher, so it's stronger wind. And then two, there was less building kind of sheltering me.

So I was just, yeah, I mean, the wind was like pretty intense at the top. Yeah. I had it been a little bit more, it would have been almost to me. I was like,

Oh, there's like pretty strong wind. Like I'm noticing. You stood on the top for way longer than anybody was comfortable with. Yeah, it's funny. I wonder, though. So I've heard that from tons of people being like, that made me so uncomfortable. And I kind of wonder if that's because that's the one part of the whole climb that people can kind of identify with. But they can like imagine standing on a small thing.

But like obviously standing on a ledge is a lot easier than the freaking climbing the side of the building. But I think when people see the climbing, they're like, well, that's crazy. Nobody does that. But then when they imagine standing on a little thing, they're like, that seems scary. And I'm like, well, no, compared to climbing the thing, it's pretty chill to stand on top. All right. Final thing before, we're going to bring another guest up here in a second. I know that Tool was on your playlist.

Your music went out at some point. But like what else is on your, what are you listening to? I was all just kind of rock from early 2000s, basically, like things like Tool. A handful other bands that I love. But yeah, it was funny. I could like barely hear stuff through the earpiece and stuff was cutting in and out. and it was super windy and I could kind of hear. But it was still nice to have a few little tunes going to run some longer.

Like, oh, this is fun. It kind of contributed to the jovial vibe. You know, we're like, oh, this is a pleasure. Final thing. I thought I said that was the final thing. One more thing. Is there anything else that you want to say about the experience that you think people are misunderstanding or don't quite get about what you just did?

I don't think so. I mean, I think, I mean, I haven't actually finished the whole broadcast myself, so I haven't seen the show. But it seems like people that watched the show did get a good impression of how much fun I was having and like that it was kind of joyous. And something that I said, I had this conversation, I think with my wife a few times before the actual event. But when it was sort of announced that I was going to do a climb like this, there was tons of criticism online of like, oh, this is a ton, this is whatever. And I was kind of like, you know what, wait and see.

Because all these people are just going to watch the thing. And they're going to see me having a great time on this beautiful building. and they're going to get it. They're going to be like, oh, no wonder he says yes to do something like that. It's so freaking fun. I look so cool. Like, I would do that if I could because it's fun. Like, that's neat.

And so hopefully people to watch the product, I don't know, people. Did you guys get that impression? I don't know. I mean, I don't know how many people are like, I want to do that. But hopefully it at least gave some of the childlike joy of getting to climb something really cool that you normally wouldn't be allowed to. You were having so much fun that it was uncomfortable. You know, it's like, how could he be having so much fun doing this crazy thing that's

making me so uncomfortable? He's having more fun than we are watching you do it. Gives you a reason to examine your own fears. You're like, why does this make me so uncomfortable? This episode is brought to you by a brand new brand partner. I'm just super excited about called Mill. How to describe it. Well, you know that moment when you open the trash and you get hit by that god-awful smell?

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That's $75 off at mill.com slash rich roll with the code rich roll. After hosting more than 900 episodes of this podcast, I have noticed a pattern. And that pattern is that the highest performers don't buy into the latest trendy hacks. Instead, they obsess on what actually works, which is always the unassuming basics. And there is nothing more basic than hydration. But here's the kicker. Your body can't hold on to water without the right minerals. Without them, water is just like this temporary visitor.

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Florida to speak at this event called Eudamonia, and they put me up in this perfectly fine hotel that served as the event HQ. But then I had lunch with my guy, Michael Chernow, who told me he booked to stay with Airbnb right down the road that had a sauna and a cold plunge and a kitchen. And I was like, what am I doing? I could have done that. And I could have filled it with all of my friends and had a blast. Instead, I did what I think most of us do when we travel, especially when we travel for work, which is shuttle between airport and hotel and conference venue, or meeting place, just kind of passing through a place we traveled very far to visit without ever really connecting authentically with it. And not for nothing. When you're away, your home is

just sitting there empty when you could host it on Airbnb to give someone else that authentic experience instead of just another hotel room. And get this, the extra income you earn can help fund your next great adventure. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. I want to bring up here Adam Skolnick, who some of you may know is my occasional co-host here on the podcast. Adam is a journalist and writer, and he wrote the New York Times piece on Alex in advance of the climb and then ended up going to Taipei and was there in person.

So I wanted to bring him up because I wanted to get the perspective, the sort of man on the street perspective of what it was like to be there watching it, you know, boots on the ground, you know, in in real time. And for what it's worth, I remember waving to you through the observation neck window at the top. We're going to get to that. Oh, okay, okay. Because I was like, Adam was there because I waved out of him through the window. That's right.

As I finished the climb. I was like, so cool. I think 100 million people saw that wave. There you go. There you go. Yeah. I mean, it was, you know, when you have the opportunity to, you know, get into this production and see it from the inside, I just had to go. So it was one of those things where after meeting you in Vegas and interviewing you, I just knew I had to be there to watch it because it would.

I just had a sense that it was going to be this thing that you just can't miss and to see that it got so big and went so wild. it just makes me you know makes me realize that I was right and so so the the event itself was it was rainy for the days ahead and so I remember meeting with you in your in your room and and and losing in ping pong a few times and you were telling me about the soot and you were telling and it seemed like you you know you normally wouldn't sit and watch a building in the rain for days ahead of time and so there was a little bit of anxiety and so then on the day of the day was supposed to happen. It was still wet. And so their crowd wasn't as huge as I'd expected. And then because it was delayed a day, because they didn't announce and then people were like,

wait, is it going to happen? And then they announced late. I think that was really brilliant because it built anticipation, not just abroad, but in Taipei. And so I was hearing it on the, in the cabs, on the radio. Everyone's like, it's going to happen tomorrow. It's going to happen tomorrow. Hopefully, hopefully. And then there was, it was like a movie. I mean, it was, like it was exactly what you're so perfect it was like crazy hundreds of thousands of people on the street in the park across the street in the building it was it was literally a movie and and then you know to watch you do it uh from the stage area it was just frightening you know i i didn't even sleep a couple days before like i was

having trouble sleeping for you because i was like oh man and then and then to watch you do it as as soon as you got as tall as the flagpoles i was like i mean my stomach was flip-flopping the gasps. Everyone was like on a string. It was like gasps, moans, uh, cringing. It was like all over. And I think it wasn't just on the street. It was in people's living rooms were having that same I mean, maybe you were having the same experience. It was like it was impossible to watch, but you couldn't look away. Yeah. I was having a great time. I mean, my phone's blowing up. Like I'm just texting and sending voice memos back and forth from friends and like what, you know, how are you feeling what's going? You know, it's like,

I'm sure this was going on with a lot of people. Like we were all like, you know, processing our anxiety. Yeah, yeah. People are literally, you're making people's palm sweat and they're just sitting on their couch. I mean, that's what was going on. It was pretty wild. And then after like the first 50 floors, though, like, I don't know what it was, but when you like stood on that on the first, I think it was the first dragon and you're sitting on like the first one or maybe the second one, you're standing there and you look down, you get real close to the edge and you look down and everyone's like, ooh. But at that point, something happened like my brain got used to seeing you on the side of a building these little window ledges and like my anxiety went away and then because you had told me to go to that

observation deck i just boned out and what left left the production area and just like got in line and did the whole thing with all the with all the locals and got up there and so that's where that's where i saw you basically you ended up on the 89th floor at the right moment when Alex is passing because Alex was like this is what you need to do and you were like how do i do that and he said just go buy a ticket yeah it was so weird You didn't have like a fancy press pass or some like VIP permission to get up there? No. We had this discussion.

Like basically I got out there. I went out there on spec because I wrote the Times piece. But then like no one was asking me to be there. So like I went out there on my own. And when I was there, it was just like I wasn't used to how productions work. So I didn't have access that I thought I might have. And so I was just kind of trying to figure out what to do. And at breakfast one morning you said, just go up to the observation deck.

and I'm like, they won't let me. And you're like, you can just buy a ticket. Yeah, it's like tours do that. I mean, I'd done that. You just go to the observation deck. The view is epic. And it's even cooler when there's somebody freaking climbing out the outside corner.

Right. And you're like, whoa. It's like, what a weird day on the observation. It was like the dress rehearsal day. And so I did that. And then when I was there, I was like, I'm up there. And I'm like, oh, shit, I got to buy like tickets for the next three days because of the forecast.

So while I was up there. That was smart. That's smart. And so because I had that ticket, it was like a combo of the ticket. and the press pass got me past this like huge demoralizing line. And I'm like, no, I got to go. I got to go. And then finally, like, I just got up to the right corner.

And I just wanted to be out of the shot. And so the cameraman said, just go to the corner. And so I'm in the corner. And that's exactly where you're doing that traverse that you just described going from the left around to the right. And it just hit you with the wind. It just was like, yeah, because he set it up. Yeah.

So I don't know how many of you guys know. but Adam took out his phone and made a little short video as Alex was, you know, passing by. And he, you sent it to your wife, April, and she did a little, little minor edit and threw it up. And you threw it up on Instagram. Yeah. That video now has 38 million views or something like that. It is insane. Like, so, so Adam is like quietly, you know, like, you know, has this, like, you know, wild, like, you know, like you're on, you're a beneficiary.

of this on some level, I guess. But like this video, yeah, like, you need to thank you. This video went nuts and got picked. It's been repurposed on everybody's account as well, including when you did Kimmel last night. They used your video? That was Adam's video. With Guillermo.

Oh, yeah, okay. I didn't even see that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's fun. Yeah. So you have Adam to thank for that. No, no, I have you to think. It's like, go to the observation deck.

So I don't know. It's like one of those weird things. I think because it got so big because we, it was funny because you said hello and you gave the thumbs up. And then I, in real time, I sent it to April. And April happened to be able to be responsive. She was watching it. Zuma had his little chalk bag on and he was watching it. And so I sent it to her and she cut it real quick and put it up.

So he was still climbing. You were still climbing when that video went up. And so that's why I think we just caught a wave. Yeah. Adam, what can you share about the time that you spent with Alex when you went to visit him in Las Vegas? This New York Times piece came out, but a lot got edited out. There were plenty of other insights that you wanted to share.

What do you think would be interesting for people to know that they might not know about Alex in his life? Tell him about your heroin survival experience getting down from Craig. I'm talking out for a normal day at the cliff. We're talking about everything. Okay. So two things. One is when I met you in Taipei, you're like, you would threaten to do a rope swing off the top of the building with me.

Because at the crag in Vegas, that was what he said. We're going to put you on a rope swing. And of course, I was hoping that wouldn't happen. So the whole time I'm interviewing you between your attempts to climb this route, it gets later and later. And the sun's going down. I'm like, okay, I don't have to do the rope swing. Because I hate heights. I don't even like.

like standing on a ledge looking. I don't even want to stand on that thing right there. That's me. And so I had to climb up. You had to hoist me up to this rope swing. And then I did the rope swing. And on the way down, my ankle gave out. And so I was limping. And at one point, he's like, I think I might have to carry you. I could probably carry you. And all I can think of, that doesn't, I can't injure you. You're like supposed to be in Taipei in a month. I can't do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I would have carried you, though. He did. great. It's one of the best rope swings in the world. It's so cool. It's an insane rope swing. But one thing I thought, because I talked to Sonny about this, is what was interesting,

Josh McCoy was staying with you, and he was living in his van. And then I talked to Tommy Caldwell, and he said that sometimes there are six vans there. And Sonny said that it was something like when you were living out of your van, you always, you know, you couldn't give. You're always in the receiving position. And when you move to Vegas, you wanted to set up a place for your friends who were climbers, who were dirtbagging, to hang out.

And I just thought the biggest thing that I think was missing from the Times piece was that you're thinking that way and that you're a leader for this community in Vegas and all of that. So I wonder how that kind of... I don't know. Yeah, it's true that we often have many people

living in their cars at our house. But that's fair because I live down to my van for a very long time. And I would always park in front of friends houses and use their washing machines, use their showers, use whatever. And so now it's nice that we own a home that I can sort of share a little bit. And a lot of my friends that I've been climbing with my whole life are basically older homeless people now. You know, they're like mid 40s, like live in a car. They live in a car their whole life. No real prospects. They're kind of like,

yeah, you're welcome to live my driveway as long as you need. But, you know, and some of them I suspect will be living with me into our old age. But that's fine. I mean, that's the climbing lifestyle. What has the reception by the climbing community of this event been like for you? Like how do your peers and your friends, you know, kind of think about this, like the real, you know, dirtbag community? Yeah, honestly, I'm not sure. I mean, so my close friends who I hang out with all the time, we're like, oh, that's cool. And we got a few videos while we were in Taipei from our friends hosting watch parties, you know, like basically groups of our friends and like Utah or Las Vegas sort of sending a video with like, everybody hanging out watching the broadcast. And so that was cool. It was nice to know that, you know, my friends supported and having a good time.

But in general, I don't really know how the community, but it seems, seems good. I don't know. Watching this go down made me realize that, like, I have no idea. Like, every time I talk to you, I think that, like, I kind of have a grip on what it is that you do. And then I see you do these things. And I was like, I don't really understand this at all. And one of the things that was really shocking to me was realizing that when you got to the top of that building, that that's basically only half as high as L-CAP. Okay, yeah, totally. And like half as hard.

And like, you know, just so much easier in comparison. And it just gave me such a deeper level of like awe and respect for that climb in comparison to this. And this is the one that's really captured, you know, the world. And yet like L-CAP is like so much more of a stunning achievement. Yeah, yeah, that's fair. I mean, O-CAP was. But Lcap, I mean, I've been quietly toiling away at for years and years.

I mean, the film Free Solo, the documentary captures sort of the two years of direct effort that I was putting into that climb. But I've been thinking about it for six years before that. So I've been working at it forever and then finally managed to actually feel comfortable and then climb it. And so, you know, I mean, it's great documentary and, you know, one best picture or best documentary, all that kind of stuff. But yeah, I don't know.

I mean, it's just such a different process than like a huge, huge live TV spectacle. I want to open it up for all of you guys to ask questions. But before we do that, Adam, is there any other kind of like insight that you want to share before you leave the stage here? Oh, yeah. Well, the only thing that comes to mind is that,

I mean, you just did a Mount Wilson Quad, which is another free solo. And you had told me that, like, what I didn't realize was between free solo and skyscraper, you'd done eight or nine solos that people didn't know about like that your MO is to kind of go figure up a project that that that inspires you that gets you into the kind of that flow state mode and then just go do it kind of like low key and no one ever sees and you told me like no one no one even cares because it's not L cap and and so then you then so but

I didn't realize you were doing that this whole time yeah no I mean I'm kind of constantly working on something that's exciting to me so yeah before the skyscraper thing in December I did a solo project at home in Las Vegas that I was kind of proud of it kind of turned out being kind of dumber than I hope for it like wasn't that cool but um but it was hard and you know hasn't been done before and it's you know it was cool and it was challenging and it sort of pushed me in the right way got me in the right space for for so long a skyscraper but um but it was 4,000 vertical feet combined right something like more than that I think yeah it was a lot it was a tremendous it was like 12 hours of 12 hours exercise but um yeah up and down this

this mountain four times. It's a really big mountain. Is there another one in your mind already? Not like that. No, actually, I kind of think 2026 I might focus just on hard climbing, like bouldering and sport kind of kind of like safe climbing and leave the adventure stuff for another year. But we'll see because I've had many years in the past from like, this is going to be my year to focus on hard stuff and then I always get sucked into adventure stuff instead because it's so much more adventurous. It's so much more fun. This episode is brought to you by Noble Mobile. And oh my goodness. I gotta say, the mission that this company is on is about as aligned with my values as could even be possible.

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Here is something I've observed over the years. So many people have so many meaningful ideas or creations to share, but they get stuck on the infrastructure. Not the idea itself, the logistics of actually launching it. How do I build a website? How do I take payments or find an audience or a way for customers to find me? Well, Squarespace removes all of those obstacles. You can build a beautiful professional site using their templates or Blueprint AI, which generates a custom design based upon your specific goals.

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Who wants to go first? Who's got a burning desire right there? Ask the spirit. You really want to ask the question. Share with us your name. and who you are. Hi, everybody. My name is Taylor.

Hi, Rich. Hi, Alex. Thank you so much for doing this. This is so cool. Alex, I have a question for you. Your drive is so inspiring. There's an instance that I specifically remember in your documentary, Free Solo, that you come down after successfully summoning it,

and you answer a question from one of your teammates where they say, hey, what are you going to do right now? And you say, oh, I'm going to go back to my van and I'm going to do pull up to my van. Your drive, do you find that that was always an intrinsic trait that you've had? Or have you had to, like, develop that and work on that? That's an interesting question. I mean, I think my drive to climb is somewhat intrinsic. Like, I love rock climbing.

And I've always wanted to go climb more than I want to do anything else. And then, and I think there's a little bit of innate, you know, if I'm going to do something, I want to do it as well as I can. And so, but like that, it's funny that that experience with Free Solo, um, basically I've been, I've been training every other day. I've been hangboarding every other day. I've been like great results from it. You know, I've been kind of in this nice, healthy routine where I was like, every other day I'd do this certain workout. And so naturally, I'd rest at the day before free selling El Cap because I want to be fresh for El Cap. So then I climbed El Cap. And then I was kind of like, well, you know, this is my day for hangboarding. I want to stick to my routine. And the routine had kind of like led me to the point that I was able to free sell all cap. So you don't want to abandon this like really happy, healthy routine that it's been working for you.

And I mean, in some ways with the building, I've kind of experienced the same thing where I was like, oh, I've spent months training leading up to the building. It's like I kind of want to keep that going as well as I can because I feel really fit. I'm climbing pretty well. And, you know, I feel good about it. And so I don't know how much that's like innate drive or not. But it's kind of like once you find a nice, healthy system that's working for you and you feel like you're sort of living your best life. Like you hate to give that up just because you did one climb or another. Sort of a follow up to that.

How do you decide what to say yes to and what to say no to? And how do you like anticipate handling what I'm sure are just an insane number of requests coming your way right now? Like you must just be getting shellacked with people who want you to go speak and, you know, all kinds of crazy stuff. Right. And wanting to, you know, be the climber and stay fit and all of those things. sometimes those those are in conflict with each other. Yeah, well, honestly, I've been working with the same team since 2012 or something, the same sort of management team, which, you know, you share.

And, you know, I'm pretty well insulated from all that kind of stuff. And so in general, if my team tells me to do a thing, I'll just do the thing because that's the right thing to do. And so, you know, it's like if it's on my calendar, I do it. And if it doesn't show up on my calendar, then I don't. And so, yeah, I mean, that's kind of, but the priority is always to be the best climber that I can be and to basically send my project. And the people that I work with all know that that's the priority.

And so we try to layer in as many of these cool opportunities, like the things that come up. It's like try to do as much as I can while still being as good a climber as I can. So, yeah, I mean, it is hard to balance that stuff, though. All right. Who's next? There. Hi. I'm Isadora.

I work for Freaks of Nature with this lovely man right here. but it's for skin care for and by athletes. Yeah, I know. I think we briefly met actually at North Face Climb. Oh, cool. But thank you both again for doing this. There's been a lot of media around the playlist. Obviously, a lot of tool.

I saw like senses fail, Lincoln Park, maybe system of a down, a lot of bangers on there. Has any of your favorite musicians reached out to you? Yeah, a couple people have reached out. A guy from the youth reached out and was like, come to a show. And I was like, sweet. I've loved the use since, like, since 1996 or, you know, it's like, I don't know. And actually, uh, all the members of tool comments on a couple of random social media things, which I was like, Maynard, the dude. I was so psyched. Um, yeah,

for whatever reason, I think some of the musicians, I think some of that some of that music I've listened to you literally in my whole life. And so to get comments from, from folks that, uh, that, you know, I've loved their work for my whole life. I'm like, that's so great. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, hopefully I'll get to like go to a few shows or something. Maybe one will want you to teach them how to climb a building. I mean, I would. If anybody wants to learn my phone building, you just ask. What's the craziest message that you've gotten in the aftermath of this? Like, I'm imagining, like, Tom Cruise is watching this, and he's like, I got to talk to Alex.

I don't know. Actually, that's the things. I don't really have the social apps on my phone. I have this weird managery thing. So I can't really see, it doesn't work the way social does, which is kind of better because otherwise I get sucked into, it's just too crazy. I mean, I think since the building, what's just been going off, it's crazy. So I can't really get too sucked into it. I can kind of see like weird snapshots and get an idea of trends and stuff.

But, um, but no, I just don't even know if or who was messaging. And then every once in a while, I borrow my wife's phone. So I'm just like, oh, what did people say about my playlist? You know, it's like you just can't, can't resist the urge to like see, you know, but then, uh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, great. Um, you're there. It's funny because I made that playlist while I was driving across Nevada.

I was just like alone in my band for a long time, driving for eight hours. I was just sort of like, what are songs that I love that I'd be happy to listen to it? And had I known that to be such a public thing, I maybe would have curated a little bit more. But that really just reflected one drive where I was like, this is what I want to listen to you right now. Hey, Alex, hey Rich. Stuart Ambrose from the Finding Mastery team. So great to be here and so grateful that you got to do this for us. So I got to watch the climb that you did with my children.

And I have a nine-year-old and I have a 14-year-old. And they were gobsmacked the entire time. You now have two young children, too. curious like how what did this experience how did it were you is there anything you wish your kids would learn or other kids that got to watch it would learn and would take away from it I was just I was curious how that now that especially that you're a parent how you approached kind of that element of it it was really special to watch it with kids who are just in awe so thank you my children are are going to turn two and four in the next couple weeks and they were the opposite

of gobsmacked they were like this is born boring, you know. So we, uh, we watched the first 20 minutes with them when we got home. And, uh, and then we had to put him to bed and we gave up. They didn't really care. We're like, I will watch it eventually. But, um, but no, I mean, I think in general, I mean, I hope that older kids, if they take anything from that, they just take the, you know, sort of the effort, the preparation, that they see that something that looks impossible or looks really hard is actually fine if you put the effort into it and you, and you make it happen. Um, I don't know. I mean, I hate to, you know, you don't want to like live your dreams all that kind of like random stuff but hopefully for a kid you can see that and be like oh like it doesn't matter what other people say is normal or expected or what you know should be possible it's like if you think you can do a thing and you train for and you feel prepared like go do the thing I hope but not that I'm encouraging kids to go climb skyscrapers but you know with a lifetime of training why not do you think about that do you worry or are you concerned that like people who shouldn't be climbing skyscrapers are now going to go out and like try to do that as a result of this that was a common

question during the free solo film tour with like, oh, aren't you worried you're going to inspire kids to go free solo big walls? And I was like, no, it's pretty self-selecting. It's like, basically, I mean, free soloing is pretty hard. And so you just can't really get that high. You know, it's like basically you have to intentionally make each move. So you're like, I'm going up a move. I'm going up another move. And if you're not cut out for it, you're not physically and psychologically prepared, once you're eight feet off the ground, you're like, this is really scary. And it's kind hard to get high enough where you're actually going to die unless you're really choosing to be there. So I'm kind of like, it's not one of those things that people can imitate.

You know, like if you're not an elite rock climber, you can't just walk up to the base L cat and be like, I'm free soloing it. It's like you literally can't get off the ground. And with Type O 101, like I was saying earlier, one of the first move off the ground is actually kind of hard. And so just right there, it's like the average person can't just like walk up and do it. Like it's, you know, they won't get off the ground. And then even if they do, once they mantle up the first little thing and they're

standing there, they're, you know, maybe eight feet off the ground. they'd be like, oh, oh, this is kind of scary. Like, I'm going to break my ankle on the concrete. And then unless they're really psyched and they have a plan, they're just not going to make it much higher. I want to hear from Sonny. Is Sonny here? There she is. Oh, wow.

I know that, Sonny, everyone asks you, like, how do you deal with it? How do you, you know, how do you, you know, what is your emotional state when Alex is doing all of these things? How do you, you know, kind of process the risk and the fear? I want to know like what the aftermath, like this, the last like couple, you know, week or how long has it been? Two weeks or something like that? It's been a week. A week has been for you and what the experience of being in Taipei was like for you from your perspective. So Taipei was interesting because I don't watch Alex Free Solo that much.

I wasn't there when he soloed El Cap. I have seen him solo a decent amount like when he did this big link up in Red Rock. I watched part of it and I've obviously seen him at the crag just kind of playing around soloing things but something this big of this nature I hadn't watched in person before

and I don't love it. It's very stressful even if I feel like he's confident and I think because the conditions had been so bad leading up to the climb I was way more stressed than I thought I was going to be because for so long we'd just been like, oh, the time's going to be fine. Like that, like, that wasn't the part I was worried about. I was worried about maybe like the public nature of it and being in the public eye again and things like that. And I, you know, and then

the actual week came and I was like, wait, this isn't feeling as secure as I wanted it to feel. What the heck? And so, so I was more stressed than I thought I would be. But then at the same time, You know, I saw, I was with my friend, and I saw Alex smile and wave at that first thing. And she was like, he's fine. Look, it's great. And in my heart, I think I was kind of like, he's fine. It's great. But my brain kind of kept being like, what if it's too hot?

What if it's too windy? And just really wanting to, like, protect him and feeling really protective of him. But he handled the pressure so well and it all went so well. And honestly, you know, as a team, I think that there were so many people there supporting him. And afterwards, it was almost like this, this feet, you almost like come down off of this high where you're like, wow, that was so special. Like I think the thing I was really surprised by was how special it felt to share it with Taipei and with all the audience. And everyone just felt so excited about it. And then you kind of come down from that.

You're like, whoa, it's over. Like, okay. And I had this moment where the next morning I went on a walk. and it was this feeling of like, okay, that was sort of Alex's art, and it was this beautiful thing, and it was so special, and it went out into the world, and now you let go of it, and you just say, okay, it's over, and now we just go back to our normal life and we enjoy that just as much. And I had to kind of let it out of my heart, and it was almost nostalgic. Like, I was like leaving our hotel room, and I was like, this is where we played ping pong before Taipei 101.

But, yeah, you let it out of your heart and you go back to normal life and you enjoy the, that too. So anyways, a bit of a roller coaster and a bit of a journey, but it was surprisingly emotional and special with the whole audience there. And then it was good to come home and be with our kids too. What did you guys do for the rest of the day after you finished the climb? Did a bunch of press stuff. And then had a crazy dumpling dinner. But no, it was just like hanging out with everybody. I mean, honestly, actually my cheeks hurt that day from smiling so much and laughing at like all our friends are so, everyone is so psyched. And it was actually something Sani just said that the city of Taipei, it was really special

being in the city because Tape 101 holds such cultural significance for the city of Taipei and sort of the island of Taiwan. It's like the people are so rightfully proud of this incredible architectural landmark. You know, it's like this iconic building. And so people in the city were really freaking psych on the whole thing. And so I hadn't totally anticipated that beforehand, like just how much pride there was around the building. And then afterward, the next day when we were flying out, like, people with the air,

I just hadn't really realized that, like, the local media was so psyched. The unsung heroes in this whole affair are the rigging team, the camera team. Like, this was just an extraordinary production. And I think that it's, it was a real feat to pull this off and to be able to really capture from all these amazing angles, like the, the gravity of the, the situation. It was absolutely riveting. And the reason for that is because Plymsell, the production company behind this, was behind the wheel. They were the ones who were in charge of the production. And we are very fortunate today to have both Grant and Alan from

Plymsell here. So I wanted everybody at first, like, give these guys a hand for, you know, just an incredible job. And I wondered. if either of you two guys would be willing to share some insights of what it was like from your perspective of having to, you know, kind of shoulder the responsibility of this production, while also like having a relationship with Alex and, you know, the stakes being so high. Hello, I'm Grant. I'm Pimpsa company I found it. So I was there and it was pretty stressful for us. I mean, you don't, but obviously you're aware of the fact you can't wander around saying you're stressful if you're just producing the TV show. But I was talking to, I think I was talking to Sarni last night and I was saying it's quite an interesting experience for me as a producer because normally you sit in the gallery for a live show, you're pretty wound up because you're worried about getting the shots and making sure the show is everything you want it to be.

but I think for most of us in the gallery that day, there was an extra level of stress, and we weren't just worried about the shots. In fact, more than anything else, we were worried about Alex. And so it was a strange experience. You were trying to do your job, but the thing you were really focused on

was what was Alex okay? And going back to what you said earlier, I hated Alex when he spent as much time he did start off at that building. I think everybody, everybody, buddy just at that you thought you've made it you wanted to come down the other thing the other insight which i think is is really interesting is that the the director of the show said um to the whole crew in the gallery look i know everybody very excited when he gets to the top but we got work to do

no one is to say anything so alex gets to the top of the building everybody ignores it jumps up and down and starts whooping and hollering there was a collective sigh of relief i've got it on camera somewhere. But for me, the overwhelming sense was, I mean, listen, I obviously in awe of what Alex did, very proud of what our crew did. But to speak to what Sarni said, there's just a lovely assuade of core down there. I mean, you know, we've been working with Alex and his team for a few years. And I sent Alex a note afterwards.

I mean, obviously he's an extraordinary athlete. But it turns out that, you know, he's actually a really extraordinary human being, nice, humble guy and lovely family. So it's been a pleasure, actually. Yeah, I would just add that I've worked with Plumstall on the last two TV things that I've done and great folks to work with. And then Plumsoll hires out all the camera people

and the rigors and they're basically the same team of people, some of whom I worked with on the film Free Solo, other ones I've worked with on the last couple TV things I've done, but many of whom I've known for 20 years and been on a bunch of expeditions with and camped with all over the world. And so when it comes down all the people on the wall on the people that I'm actually interacting with as we shoot this program. I mean, a lot of them are some of my best friends, basically.

And I'm like, oh, it's so fun. We're all just out here hanging on ropes, playing around, like, doing the thing that we do, just like we have on all these other expeditions in different places. And so, and that's actually something because so many people have asked me a question about sort of the intensity of the live experience. You're like, well, I'm basically just up there playing with my friends, just like if it wasn't a live experience and we were just on an expedition somewhere shooting, you know, still photos of some epic big wall.

It's like it's kind of the same, you know, lived experience. for me. You're just out there climb with your friends with a little bit more stress. Any other questions? There we go. Hi, Alexander. A question for Alex. We had earlier a little bit about the impact on children. I was very keen to hear about your own perspective as a father and how being a father and the paternal role has changed your own perspective on risk tolerance, if at all. Yeah, I'm not sure. I mean, I get asked questions like that quite a lot. And I mean, I think that I don't know. I mean, it's complicated,

but I think overall, I'm at home a lot more than I was. So I think my overall risk profile is lower than it used to be just when I'm spending so much more time training in my garage and just being at home and not like adventuring in the mountains and going on expeditions to climb big mountains and things. That said,

I kind of think the capacity to take, you know, controlled risk is seemingly not that change so far. That wouldn't be surprised if my appetite for taking risk just slowly dies over, time maybe I don't know. You know, we'll kind of see. But so far, it seems like, you know, I've done a handful of big soloing projects other than skyscrap and things.

I've done a handful of other solos in the last four or five years since we've had kids, where I was like, oh, I can still do this and I still enjoy doing this. But it's like whether or not I want to for forever, it's like, we'll see. When we were chatting in New York, we were talking about like this, this time period, this frame of time, like you basically have like five years, like, where you're going to be in this peak condition, like at your age. And so do you think about that window of time and, you know, for for accomplishing like your bigger goals or like for the most difficult things that, you know, you want to be able to do, like this is, you have a couple years now where you can be in this

peak physical condition to accomplish those. Does that enter into how you make decisions about what you want to do next? A little bit, but actually less so than you might think, just because most of my free-soling projects are so far from my physical limit, just because the nature of free-soling is that you have to stay well enough within your comfort zone that you don't fall to your death.

And so, you know, when you talk about sort of like the decline from age, which, you know, obviously will be happening soon. I turn 40 this year and so I'm sort of like well past, you know, if you think you peak at like 23 physically, I'm sort of like well down the other side. But thankfully, climbing, I think, has a pretty long and slow decline,

just because it's so skill-based, so much technique, and it's less of an impact on your body than most other sports that people think of. And so I think you can remain an elite climber for much longer than most sports. But then that said, I mean, I think for free-soling, like I'm saying, because it's so within my comfort zone, it doesn't totally matter if my top-end power is a little bit diminished just because either way, so long is more of a psychological thing. That said, though, I do think that I'll just lose the appetite a little bit,

especially as I get older. And part of that is just I've already gotten to do so many things that I'm proud of, so many things that I wanted to do. And, you know, it's like I've already lived my dream a little bit. I'm kind of like, I don't know if I need to solve that many more. I mean, maybe I need to move around more. Like, because I just lived in my van in the Western U.S. for so long and I did so many of the roots that I thought were important to me. So I'm like, maybe if I lived in Europe for a while and kind of had like a different host of roots to be inspired by, but I'm like, that's the thing with the, the route, the experience that I had solding in December around

home. I was like, am I scraping the bottom of the barrel? Like, am I just doing stuff that's kind of dumb now because I've already done the things that I really care about. I'm like, I just need greener pastures if I'm going to stole a lot more or bigger buildings. Well, for a guy who whose original goal was like, how do I like figure out a way to climb and make a living? Like I think it's working out all right. Exactly. Yeah, I set out with a very limited goal. I'm like wildly exceeding. It's all good. Yeah. All right. Next question. Hey, I would love to ask a question about mental health, which is a big topic in society and in athletics in particular. I'm Eve, by the way, I work with the

Masters of Scale podcast. And I know that, you know, when you talk about your own experience, I feel like sometimes you're expressing this sense you're this remarkable person who's done these things, but you're normal to you, right? So sort of wondering how your relationship with understanding how other people's perceptions of you should or shouldn't impact the way you sort of feel and just how you generally take care of your mental health, but also just how you go about being in a world as a person who you know other people are signaling to you that you're not normal. But how do you go about navigating that and just how's that all going? I mean, well, I just, I think they're not normal. You know, it's like I'm the normal and everybody else has got some weird stuff going on. I don't know why

they're all stressed. No, honestly, I don't know. I'm just living. I'm just doing my thing. I'm doing the best I can. Everybody else got to take a chill pill, you know. What, what does, stress you out anything oh no i mean i get stressed out like when both kids are screaming i'm like oh you know it's just a lot or like travel work stuff like being away from home like not being able to climb that feeling like i suck at climbing kind of stresses me out i mean that's like um like i felt great in taipei randomly um you know i've been training quite a lot i've been feeling really strong i had a couple really good gym sessions uh climbing gym in taipe and was like oh i feel really good and then climbed the building was like i feel great you know i'm peeking and i kind

of thought i was going to go home and send my project at this cave that i was working on so i was like i feel great and then I went home and I completely sucked, which I tried not to get too worked up about it because I was kind of like, ah, you know, if you think of it as like post expedition or something or sort of like a delode after like months of training or who knows. But anyway, I was kind of like, oh, I completely sucked the first day I came home. I was like, okay, I can deal. And then I went back to the same thing and completely sucked even worse. And it was like, okay, like that's the type of stuff that stresses me out when you're like, what if it's not working? Why do I suck? Like I'm trying so hard and I just can't do it. And then I had a third day where I also totally sucked.

And then I was starting to get a little stress. And then randomly I came here to do Jimmy Kimmel last night and freaking just crushed in the gym yesterday. And I was like, okay, all is not lost. So we'll see. I don't know. But that's like that's, I don't know. I mean, I guess, and actually that makes it sound like too focused on performance. Basically, I think that the stress are there is when you're worried that you're like on the wrong path.

When you're sort of like, I've devoted all this effort to training in certain ways. Like, what if it's not working? Like, am I wasting my time? Am I already like way past my, you know, am I already deep into physical decline? Like, do I just not have it? You know, it's like those types of things stress you out. because that's basically a question of like, am I wasting my life at a pursuit that I just can't do? But then you're like, no, no.

Sometimes I get glimmers of hope. Like on the top of some crazy building. I'll say it again. I think it's working out. Well, you know. All right. Here we go. Oh, Alexi.

Hi, I'm Alexi. I was wondering, do you feel the difference in your own experience, not like safety-wise, but like the actual athletic experience between being, in nature, doing a free solo and doing something with like a man-made building. And my relationship to it is like trail running versus like track and road running feels very different to me. That's an interesting question. I think that the difference between climbing a building and climbing rock is different, is less than the difference between trail running and road running because, you know,

obviously I've run a bit, not like you, but, but, um, but it's just so different, you know, it's like it feels. But climbing, like I love, I've grown up climbing and climbing gym and climbing. And climbing in a climbing gym is obviously really different than a real rock outside. But then actually even a real rock outside is incredibly buried depending on the type of rock. Like climbing limestone totally different than climbing sandstone, totally different than climbing, you know, slate quarries in the UK. Like random types of rock feel completely different. And so climbing a building, it's not that different in a way.

You're like, yeah, it's really slick, but it's not that different than some problems than a climbing gym. So, I don't know, it's all sort of like part of the general experience of climbing. But do you like it the same? Oh, no, I mean, if I had to choose one for the rest of my life, I'd rather climb real rocks. But as far as novelty and like an incredible experience and seeing a beautiful view and all that kind of stuff, it's like pretty freaking cool. And yeah, I got a lot of questions about that before the climb. Like, why would you climb a building? I'm kind of like, I've literally spent the last 20 years traveling the world to climb different types of rocks all over.

And sometimes you're seeking them out. Like I just said, the slate quarries in the UK. The slate quarries are known for being incredibly smooth with like these times. It's almost like climbing glass. It's like these incredibly small edges on completely smooth walls. And I'm like, it's not that dissimilar to climbing a building. And, you know, I've been like seeking out things like that around the world for years to get these different climate experiences. And I'm kind of like, if you get the opportunity to climb this incredible thing, just because it's a building doesn't, you know, it's like you still say yes.

In addition to just the height of Taipei 101 and kind of it just being this legendary building, like what is it about that building that made it attractive for you to climb versus some other super tall skyscraper? I mean, so there are a few things. One, it's singular in the landscape, like in the city, it sticks out. Like, all the other buildings are so small. And the first time that I saw the building in 2013 or something, it was even more striking. Now they've built a couple of their tall buildings nearby that rise to like one third height, like maybe half height. So it's still way bigger than everything else.

But at the time when I first saw it, the whole city was tiny. And then there was this gigantic building. And the first time I saw it, I think it was the fifth or sixth tallest building in the world. And when it opened, it was the tallest building in the world in 2004. Now it's like the 11th or 12th or something. but basically it's just this giant building that totally dwarfs the whole landscape. So like that's cool in the same way that climbing, you know, when you rock climb, it's nice to climb a mountain.

It's twice as big as everything around it. You're like, that's a freaking mountain. You know, so you see type 101, you're like, that's a building. But then also it's possible, which is a big plus because some buildings are just not possible. They're just sheer, smooth glass or whatever. And then not only is it possible, but it's just cool. Like the features that you climb are secure and easy enough, but hard enough to be interesting and so it just you know all the interesting sort of ornamental features climbing over the

dragons coming over the ruies like the crazy roofs up at the top you know some buildings are really boring this building is about as interesting as buildings get so it's like oh it's pretty cool all right anybody else out here hey uh jonathan mackenzie at turtle box um first i want to take you up on you said you would teach anybody how to climb a building so just let me know next steps That sounds fun. Is this building climbable? It's not really. We'll have to look outside I'm not sure. I didn't see anything obvious. No, it's interesting that you said you just turned 40. So I just turned 40 two weeks ago. And I find it interesting that, you know, Rich, you have an amazing story that started at 40 in a lot of ways. And longevity, kind of being a buzzword of the day.

I know that me and a lot of people are thinking about just how to live a fantastic life, you know, beyond the next 40 years, you know, possibly into our 90s and even hundreds. Is that something that you think about? Do you think about, you know, what you're going to do to not slow down, what you're going to do to keep living and adventurous and fulfilling life? Yeah, for sure. I'd say I have a greater interest in health than average. You know, I've read a lot of the books and things like that.

And, you know, I've tried to take care of myself. yeah it's him i'm very interested in living as long as possible i mean we have kids i want to have grandkids hopefully someday and you know have the whole family scene it's like that'll be amazing but um but yeah i i do all the things um that said you know i know that when i do eventually die i'm still going to be like man i wish it was a lot longer and so i'm kind of like well he just got to do the things you can along the way because either way it's going to feel pretty short in the end i kind of want to do the phil donahue thing and like walk around in there So good. You should. You should. Hey, Alex, Tony from Riven here. I've always loved hearing you talk about playfulness and joy. I got to watch this with my seven-year-old niece and she could clearly see how much fun you were having. I'm curious. What role does playfulness enjoy play in your selection of your projects? How do you factor that in in advance of the project? That's interesting, actually, because I don't know if play factors that much into the selection of projects necessarily, but I do

think it's sort of at the core of all of my climbing and training and just the whole process around it. I mean, I think that projects like the skyscraper climb have so much to do with whether or not you get permission to do it, whether or not the production company like Netflix is on board to actually air or something like that. You know, it really is just there's so many factors that are totally outside your control. So you kind of just have to like wait and see if the things all come together. But I would say the play is at the center of every day of climbing. You know, so basically all the practice. You know, I went to the gym this morning. How to a great session, had fun, did all the problems.

It was like, oh, this is so cool. And, you know, I went to the gym yesterday. I'll probably go to the climbing gym tomorrow. You know, it's like, and each day I'm like, that's kind of the highlight of the day. So you're having fun. You're playing. And so I think that all those days are what allow you to have these big, you know, it's like, I think people see skyscraper live on TV and they're like, that's like this pinnacle experience.

And you're kind of like, well, really is the months leading up to it that are the really fun part. And then, of course, the climb is cool. And the experience is very meaningful. Like the view from the building is incredible. You know, it's cool. But really, it's like the months and months of fun getting to it. Yeah, we got past it straight behind you.

Straight behind you. Yeah. Thank you. Hey, Alex. I'm Tyler from Manhattan Beach. One really simple question. Did you sleep the night before the climb? Yeah, yeah, pretty well.

Kind of, except that all super jet legs. We were waking up before. It was kind of weird. But no, I basically slept well. Yeah, so the night before, so it was delayed the day before. and the night before that day, I'd sort of looked out the window and I hadn't even packed my bag

for the next morning. I was like, there's no chance for doing it tomorrow. Even though technically it was still like, I'm supposed to solo skyscraper tomorrow morning, but basically it was like raining. The forecast looked horrible. I just looked out the window.

I was like, there's no chance, even though it hasn't actually been called yet. And so I didn't even pack. I didn't do anything. The next day, I was kind of looking out the window and I was like,

hmm, I kind of thing I'm doing it tomorrow. And so I'd pack my bag. I had everything all laid out. I was ready. I was psyched. And then, yeah, we slept pretty well and got up at whatever time we were supposed to, and it was all fine,

which is actually an interesting thing, kind of when you can tell that a project is coming together for you, because when you wake up and you're like, oh, I'm excited to go do a thing, it's really different than like, oh, God. And actually, I think I said this to my wife at some point while we were on the trip, but like when you're in the big mountains trying to climb like really extreme alpine climbs and things like that, you often camp at the base of some objective. And you're sort of secretly hoping that it rains or it snows or something because you're kind of afraid to actually have to go up and do the thing that you're there to do.

You're sort of like, oh, I hope it snows so we don't have to climb the thing because you're like, you look up at the wall and you're like, I don't want to climb the thing. It seems like really scary, you know, and you know that you can and you're and you're still going to try, but you're sort of secretly like, I kind of hope it snows. And with the building, I think at first, I was kind of like, I don't know. Like, I don't like, this is all sort of stressful. But then by the time the the time the day came, I was like, oh, I'm so psyched that it's perfect weather because it's game time. I'm like, here we go. I'm curious to know I feel like free solo is one of the most impressive things I'll ever see in my lifetime

as is now Taipei. What's the most impressive thing you've ever witnessed in your lifetime? That's an interesting question. You mean like in a film or in real life? Well, I just feel like you've been on so many amazing like trips and expeditions and like what's the one thing to you that just stands out that you're like, I may never see that again. Oh, I don't know. I mean, literally this week I saw a kid climb something at this cave where I've been climbing. I was like, I've just never seen a human climb like that. It was the crazy thing I've ever seen. This is a little kid Tyler. I'm like, I don't know. It's like totally next level. It's like next generation type stuff. But I don't know. I've had a couple random experience. Actually, have any of you guys seen the film The Alpinist? It's like another

climbing documentary. So that was about this guy, Mark Andre Leclair. And actually, so I was just saying that sometimes you're camped in a tent and you're sort of secretly hoping that it snows. So I was camped in the Toray Valley like below in Patagonia in Southern Argentina. And a friend And I were going to try to do the Tori Traverse. And Mark Andre went up and soloed one of the spires, Ceritori. It's like this really striking iconic tower. And so when we started our little traverse, we could look across and see this tiny, tiny black dot alone on this 4,000 foot granite and ice spire thing. It was insane.

And I was kind of like, I cannot believe that there's just a dude by himself climbing this, like, crazy mountain. And he wound up climbing the crazy mountain and descending and have this incredible experience. We climbed 3.9 of the four spires, got totally hammered by a storm, retreated off the wrong side of the mountain range, and then did a 20-hour death march around the entire mountain range with no food. And we lost all over our gear. We lost our tent. We lost everything. And then I flew home because the trip was over because I lost everything I owned. I was sort of like, well, that wraps up the season. Anyway, that's a random story. I remember watching that film. And at the beginning, if memory serves me, there's voice over. over of you on Tim Ferriss's podcast.

And I think Tim asks you something like, you know, who inspires you or, you know, who are the, who are the people that, like, you look to? And you mentioned Ella as being kind of an inspirational figure. This is like, pure. Mark Andre is. Mark Andre, as just being this, you know, purest inspirational person. Is there anyone else that inspires you?

Like, who do you look to? Oh, I mean, all kinds of climbing heroes. I mean, you know, you mean contemporary? You're sort of through childhood and through... Just in general, maybe even outside of the climbing world. Well, actually, I mean, yeah, when you're asking about sort of like impressive human feats inspired me, so like Philippe Petit from the documentary Man on Wire, if anyone seen it, like walking the tight road between the Twin Towers, like the World Trade Center.

I mean, I saw that film before I'd free-tled-o-cap, and it really captured me as like, you know, he's like such a unusual individual who with this exotic, like he just wants to do this crazy thing and then he just pursues it and he doesn't it's so incredible and it's amazing to see and and i remember being really struck by that documentary is like oh that's so cool and uh and you know and at the time i was like thinking about all cap and i was really drawn to it but it just felt like this whole you know i was like i don't know is that too much is that too crazy so i think that film is particularly inspiring and then i've met him at a few events since then like done some panels with him and things and i was like what a character he's like

such a but he's like it's interesting because he comes from sort of like a circus background and it's like really different than a rock climbing background. But anyway, still super inspiring. I don't know if you're aware, but after the Taipei climb, it sort of initiated or kicked up this whole discourse around whether or not you are the world's greatest living athlete. Are you aware of this conversation that's happening? Are you the world's greatest living athlete?

And if not, who is in your opinion? I would get a strong no. I mean, I think it really comes down to how you would evaluate that. I mean, how do you determine who's a strong athlete? But I think by any basic measures of fitness, I would not be the greatest athlete. You know, it's like if you're measuring VO2 max, you're measuring, you know, like splits for, for miles or, you know, running or swimming or like basically any measurable thing, I would not be the best. But you are gambling your life with these things. It's interesting.

You live in Las Vegas. You don't gamble. But you're actually the biggest gambler in the whole place. Yeah. Well, I like to joke. I only gamble with my life. But that's a joke. All right.

No, but I think, so actually you say that, though, but there are plenty of other athletes, though. Like, Tour de France riders are riding, you know, 60 miles an hour plus downhill wearing lycra. And like ski racers, I mean, the Winter Olympics are coming up in a week. And it's like downhill ski racers are doing 60, 80 miles an hour freaking wearing Lycra. And, you know, it's like it might not look as extreme as free-soling a skyscraper, but it's, like, like, I'm sure I don't know that much about ski racing. I don't really know much by anything except for climbing. But I'm sure occasionally there are accidents where ski racers die. You know, it's like I'm sure there must be times when people go horrifically out of bounds, like fly head first into a thing and die.

And you're sort of like all these sports have consequences. Like they are dangerous. And so for whatever reason, people think of those as normal because they're like ski racing. My kids do that. I'm looking at you kids in the back who are now into ski racing. You know, it's like like, all those kinds of things are considered normal because they're sort of mainstream. But I'm kind of like, they're not really that much safer necessarily than rock climbing, which, you know, I mean, most people rock climbing is a gym. It's super safe. It's like, anyway, there's a whole rant about risk and how you evaluate it and everything. Do you get tired of people asking you about, you know, fear and risk and all of that? Like, I mean, this is just the question that gets asked to you in

every single interview. No, I mean, actually, in some ways I'm starting to come, I'd say I used to get more annoyed talking about it. Now I'm starting to come around a little bit where I'm like, in a way, that's the idea that I have that's worth sharing a little bit because I think that people should think about that more. And I'm like, oh, I don't mind talking about it because I'm kind of like, I want people to think about, you know, it's like, I mean, particularly this project where you're like, well, why would, you know, it's like, why is this sport considered dangerous where it's like boxing is considered okay? I'm like, just because boxing is mainstream, it's like, that guy's getting punched in the face over and over. You're like,

how is that cool? You know, it's like, I didn't get punched in the face. I feel great. I finished the building. I came down. I had lunch. I felt wonderful. You know, I didn't have to get my jaw, like, wired back on. It's like, geez. But on the, but on the, but on the the death piece also, just being so connected with your own mortality, like being present with the idea that, you know, you are, you know, you're kind of living on the edge, the outer edge of, of, you know, your capabilities where that is a real risk has you, you're deeply connected to, like, that idea. And most of us aren't. And- But I would argue that we all should be, because this is what I'm saying. Like, this is your message. Like, you know, this is, like, we should,

we should be thinking about these things and putting ourselves in situations where we're more present with that. So what is it that you have learned from like being that person who does that that is worthy for all of us to like understand and hear? I don't know. But but I do think that that being mindful of your own mortality helps put other things in perspectives and helps put a lot of a lot of anxieties and fears and other kinds of things into perspective. So kind of like a lot of the little stuff just doesn't freaking matter when you think that either way you're going to die pretty soon. You're kind of like, you know, like don't sweat the small stuff. I mean, it's all sort of cliche and whatever.

But I mean, I think that the fact that we're all going to die, there's never a downside to evaluating your own mortality, thinking about the way that you're spending your time, thinking about the path that you're on. Like, are you doing the things that are important to you? Are you spending your time in the way that you think is most useful, you know, that means the most to you? Like, are you basically are you living in line with your values? It's like how often do people really think about that kind of thing?

And I think that having, you know, being face to face with your immortality is a good way to evaluate. I mean, people talk about that when they have like cancer scares and things like that. And they're sort of like, oh, I came face to face with my mortality. I realized that, you know, I was going down this crazy corporate career that wasn't in line of my values and I changed everything. And now I live a better life. I'm kind of like, you can just do that through free soul. You should try. Save a bunch of hassle.

Just go straight to the clip. We're getting near the end here. So please raise your hand. And I want to make sure that everybody has our opportunity with Alex to ask them what you want. Now they're all bummed out. They're like, am I spending my life the right way? I know. We're like, what am I doing with myself?

I'm Meredith with Step Studios. And I guess I want to hear something outside of the like fear and risk side. But now that you're spending more time at home, maybe choosing the risk that you take a little bit more wisely, what are you finding you're doing with some of your downtime that's not focused on climbing? Are there any guilty pleasure? Are there any hobbies that you're picking up that would show us a different side of you? Yeah, I really like playing ping pong. Like super fun. We have a ping pong table in our gym, so I use it to like warm up and cool down and like rest in between stuff when I'm training.

So fun. And then I don't know, I do crossword every day. I love crosswording. But that's about it. Those are my weird little hobbies. But nothing else too exciting going on. And then a lot of parenting, basically, with having little kids yell at you. And then poop on the carpet.

It's the worst. Any other questions? Oh, let's go play some table tennis and think about death, huh? Before we end it, I did want to give you the opportunity to share a little bit about this upcoming TV show that you're involved in. Get a little out there? Yeah. Do your plug, dude. Oh, I mean, is that the thing to plug?

Yeah, so I shot this travel show. I mean, in some ways, it's a wonderful contrast to the building climb. I shot this travel show that would get a little out there. It's like for Travel Nevada, and I toured around Nevada. and did outdoor adventures sort of in my home stakes. I'm from I live in Las Vegas. It was freaking awesome. It was super fun sort of cultural experience.

In a way, I was like, man, shooting a travel show is way more chill than shooting like a free soloing extravaganza because you basically just go have fun adventures with your friends, check out new places, meet interesting people. It was great. But I think that comes out in a couple of weeks. So, yeah. So if anybody's interested in traveling around about it, you should see it. And what's going on at the Honnold Foundation these days?

Oh, that's freaking going off. You have a foundation that supports community solar projects around the world. And I mean, in general, we're always raising as much as we can and giving as much as we can. I think it's every year we do an open call for grant applications, which I think is open right now. So we're currently soliciting applications from around the world for community solar projects. And I think we've given over $10 million to date to projects around the world. So, yeah, nice. You inspire us all.

I appreciate you taking the time to be here. you know, so quickly after this extraordinary thing that you did that just really captured the hearts and minds of all of us all across the world. You're a true inspiration, Alex, and I think he might be our greatest living athlete, whether you like it or not. No chance. I always enjoy spending time with you, and this is just really fun and great. So thank you so much. Appreciate it. Big hand for Alex. Thank you, guys. That's it for today. Thank you for listening. I truly hope you enjoyed the conversation. To learn more about today's guests, including links and resources related to everything discussed today, visit the episode page at richroll.com, where you can find the entire podcast archive,

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Plants. I don't know.