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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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
Follow-Up: Tom Randall — How to Program Your Training Like a Pro (Teaser)
EP 106: Hans Florine — Speed Climbing on ‘The Nose’, Big Wall Tips, and the Evolution of Speed Climbing Competitions
EP 105: Brent Barghahn — How to Retire Before Age 30, Extreme Unicycling, and How to Free Climb Big Walls By Yourself
EP 104: Amity Warme — Crushing in Yosemite, Growing up in Gymnastics, and Eating More to Do More
Follow-Up: Tyler Nelson — How to Train Based on Your Finger Anatomy (Teaser)
EP 103: Mina Leslie-Wujastyk — Chasing Flow State, The Role of Cleverness in Climbing, and Becoming a Mom
EP 102: Matty Hong — The History of ‘Flex Luthor’, Climbing Waterfalls in Japan, and the Camera as a Gift
EP 101: Nina Caprez — Being a Swiss Machine, Leaning into Womanness, and a Beautiful Story of Failing on ‘The Nose’
Follow-Up: Steve Maisch — My Training Plan for Hueco Round 2 (Teaser)
EP 100: Ben Moon — How Ben Moon Uses the MoonBoard, and the Evolution of Sport Climbing
Follow-Up: Paige Claassen — Dreamcatching, and Learning to Celebrate (Teaser)
EP 99: Q&A 4 — Goals for 2022, Dating on the Road, and What I’ve Learned from Nearly 100 Episodes
Follow-Up: Tyson Schoene — Building Champions, and Keeping Things Simple (Teaser)
EP 98: Kyra Condie — The Olympic Experience, Training With a Fused Spine, and Thriving in Organized Chaos
EP 97: Austin Hoyt — Favorite Zones in the Northeast, Rediscovering Old Projects, and Being a GUNKaholic
EP 96: Joe Kinder — The Love of Projecting, Leaving a Legacy, and the Other Side of Cancellation
EP 95: Tyler Algeo — Starting a Climbing Gym in Africa, Climb Malawi, and Raising Black Sons as a White Dad
Follow-Up: Steve Bechtel — When to Stick With It, and Climbing His First 5.14 at Age 47 (Teaser)
EP 94: Nathaniel Coleman — Preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, Climbing in a Sauna, and Kendama Training
EP 93: Tom Herbert (Part 2) —How to Relax to Improve your Passat Reserves, and Tom’s Life Story
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