Mina Leslie-Wujastyk is a professional climber from the UK. She is also a writer, speaker, and co-host of the Curious Climber Podcast along with Hazel Findlay. We talked about her early life, impermanence, flow state, learning to try really hard, how she made the switch from hard boulders to hard sport routes, what sets high-level climbers apart, and the decision to become a mom.
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Show Notes:
thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/mina-leslie-wujastyk
Nuggets:
0:05:52 – Baby life
0:09:40 – How Mina and I met, and her road trip to the US in 2012
0:14:18 – Mina at age 25, and competing on the World Cup circuit
0:18:10 – Project mentality, quick sends, and unfinished business
0:21:02 – Patron question from Konstantinos, and Mina’s first gym and early climbing mentors
0:24:27 – Living in India as a kid and how that shaped Mina’s worldview
0:30:28 – Impermanence, and the lesson Mina learned from her dad as an early teenager
0:33:09 – Being exposed to both indoor and outdoor climbing as a kid
0:35:22 – Doing both route climbing and bouldering as a teenager, bouldering as social-climbing, and making the British team
0:38:03 – Mina’s first trip to Rocklands South Africa and more about her road trip around the US
0:40:14 – Bouldering in the South East (US) and climbing in the Red River Gorge
0:42:01 – Loving climbing, pushing too hard, and crashing
0:47:52 – The challenge makes the experience
0:51:55 – Flow and highballing
0:58:16 – How climbing ethics shape our experience
1:00:43 – Why do we seek flow?
1:03:12 – Tapping into our most primal selves
1:04:46 – An excerpt from Mina’s article: ‘Pushing It’, and British ascents
1:08:11 – Learning to try really hard, and the yin and the yang
1:12:52 – Unfinished business
1:16:28 – ‘Just Do It’
1:19:27 – What lead Mina to shift her focus to sport climbing
1:22:44 – Climbing the 70m ‘Totally Free 2’ in one pitch, and stashing candy in her sports bra
1:28:48 – How aerobic capacity training (Aero Cap) helped her transition to sport climbing
1:35:19 – What sets high-level boulders apart, and how good tactics make the difference
1:40:25 – What specific tactics Mina learned from her partner David, and a funny story
1:45:35 – What sets high-level sport climbers apart, and Mina’s experience on ‘Nordic Plumber’
1:49:20 – “Climbing isn’t just about being fit and strong, it’s about being clever and creative”
1:50:54 – Mina’s thoughts on returning to ‘Rainshadow’, and two bad accidents
1:57:52 – The decision to have a kid
2:03:52 – RED-S, and how her recovery led to the decision to have Isaac
2:07:26 – The best surprises with becoming a mom, and the miracle of pregnancy
2:11:13 – Question from Anna about training during pregnancy
2:15:58 – Studying nutrition, and thoughts on nutrition during pregnancy
2:18:22 – What led to starting The Curious Climber Podcast, and recommended episodes (linked in show notes)
2:23:54 – Wrap up
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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