Devin Dabney is a rock climber, routesetter, rapper, music producer, writer, and creator of The American Climbing Project podcast. We talked about using humor to talk about uncomfortable subjects, inviting people into conversations, how climbing saved his life after considering suicide, breaking down barriers to climbing, how competition makes us better, and making a difference in the climbing community.
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patreon.com/americanclimbingproject
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And check out EP 22 with Justin Brown to learn more about how to use Rhino products!
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/devin-dabney
Nuggets:
0:08:20 – Green screens and SpongeBob
0:12:52 – How Devin and I connected, and binging his podcast
0:17:41 – Devin’s vision for The American Climbing Project (ACP)
0:23:30 – Using humor to poke at difficult subjects, and inviting people into conversation
0:28:37 – Devin’s target audience, exposing listeners to different perspectives about race, and my (Steven’s) ignorance having grown up as a white kid from the PNW
0:32:22 – Climbing as an escape, and connecting to the world around us as climbers
0:33:50 – Plans for season 2 of ACP, and covering gender and sexual orientation in climbing
0:35:03 – Rob, and the ACP blog
0:38:23 – The skits
0:39:40 – Devin and Rob’s mission to provide a tool to grow and improve the climbing community and redistribute wealth
0:41:52 – The mixtape format of the ACP
0:45:22 – The Black Square skit
0:47:26 – Creativity, and sprints of inspiration
0:48:44 – How Devin puts together one of his episodes
0:52:10 – Growing up playing the violin, and getting into music production and rap
0:55:58 – Devin’s 7 different jobs
1:00:03 – The Great Equalizer, and Devin’s introduction to climbing
1:07:13 – Feeling lost, drafting a suicide note, and how climbing changed his life
1:09:15 – Studying architecture, traveling around the world, and sharing the real shit
1:14:29 – Why providing access to climbing feels important to Devin, and the many reasons climbing is awesome
1:17:09 – Barriers that keep climbing from being accessible/welcoming to marginalized groups of people
1:24:27 – The discomfort of climbing, the civil rights movement, and why the history of climbing is white
1:28:37 – Trading weed for moonshine, and the different experience of being with other white vs. black climbers
1:31:24 – “I would never go hunting without a white person.”
1:33:48 – The Halloween episode story, and photo releases in gym waivers
1:41:58 – How the podcast has been received, and responding to criticism
1:48:25 – Being reactive to headlines
1:52:40 – Topics that Devin hopes to cover in future seasons of the ACP podcast
2:00:12 – How to support the ACP
2:05:28 – Plug Tone Audio, why Devin loves competition, and shared inspiration
2:17:15 – Who Devin looks up to
2:20:50 – Guests that Devin would love to hear on The Nugget
2:23:48 – The depth we have as rock climbers
2:25:45 – Climbers are leaders
2:26:35 – What’s next for ACP
EP 220: Alannah Yip (Olympian) — Alopecia, Finding Power Beyond Hair Loss, and Her Fight Against Disordered Eating
EP 219: Fitz Cahall (The Dirtbag Diaries, Climbing Gold) — A Lifetime of Storytelling, Taking Authorship of Your Time, and Being Pro But Not Fancy
EP 218: Mat Wright — Sending One of the World's Hardest Trad Climbs, 'Rhapsody' E11
EP 217: A Masterclass in Relieving Stress, Sleeping Better, & Improving Focus Using Self-Hypnosis — Dr. David Spiegel (Stanford Psychiatrist)
EXTRA: Maddy Cope — A Masterclass in Endurance Training
EP 216: Maddy Cope — Erase Your Bucket List, Embrace Discomfort, and Discover the Joy of Missing Out
EP 215: Nathan Williams — Lessons From 100+ Days on a V17, the Simplest Way to Get Strong Fingers, and Static Shenanigans
EP 214: How to Find Contentment in Your Climbing, Banish Shame, and Send Harder Than Ever — Neely Quinn (TrainingBeta, Life Coach)
EP 213: Simon Lorenzi — Three V17s, the Fascinating Story Behind ‘Soudain Seul’, and Dream V18 Projects
EP 212: Filmmaker Carlos Mason on Creating SENDING — A Look Behind the Scenes at One of My Favorite Climbing Films
EP 211: Davis Ngo (dr.climb) — Blowing Up on Instagram, Why Pro Climbers Deserve to Get Paid, and Overcoming Fear After Injury
EP 210: Stefano Ghisolfi — Chasing the Impossible, Using Humor to Send, and Two Drills for Legendary Endurance
EP 209: Graham Zimmerman — Going to the Mountains to Learn, the 100-Year Plan, and Imperfect Advocacy
EP 208: Jesse Grupper — Optimistic Training, Last Place to Olympian, and Leveling Up His Bouldering
SEND ALERT: Will Bosi — ‘Return of the Sleepwalker’ V17, and What He Plans to Try Next!
EP 207: How to Rehab Finger Injuries, Build Bulletproof Wrists & Elbows, and Never Get Injured Again — Paul Houghoughi (The Climbing Physio)
EP 206: Building a Perfect Replica of ‘The Big Island’ V15, Training on Your Projects, and the Ideal Circuit — Charlie Schreiber Returns
SEND ALERT: Kai Lightner — ‘Life of Villains’ 9a, Not Rushing the Process, and Building Jamaica’s First Climbing Wall
EP 205: Adrian Vanoni — Finger Crack Wizardry, Blue Collar Sending, and Lucid Dreams About Beta
EP 204: Anak Verhoeven — How to Build 9a Endurance, Why Motivation Trumps Fancy Facilities, and Being Public About Her Faith
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