I've Found My 8A Climbing Project... 

Matt, while I can relate l can relate to the feeling of validation from training, im sure that 99.9% of folks have never seen you as a fraud. Your love for the sport is all encompassing and very motivating! And speaking for myself, watching anyone truly give their heart and soul to a project is proof enough! No matter the grade! All that aside man, your more than capable of 8A and we will all be here to see it happen. Cheers!

Love the video and the honesty Matt! I spend a lot of time feeling like I don't climb well enough to be someone who talks about climbing on line, so it's weirdly comforting to know that the best in the business has those same thoughts (even though I'm LEVELS below being able to do 8A). Looks like you're making some great progress for a first session, can't wait to see the send!!

Matt, during freshman year of college a few years ago I started to get into climbing, and the routine was always the same: classes, homework, head to the university climbing gym, and go back to my dorm room where I would binge climbing videos until I passed out. I've never been too great at motivating myself to do physical activity, but watching Climbing Daily was enough to get me psyched and aching to get down to the wall frequently. Out of all of the climbing channels I watched, you conveyed the most enthusiasm for the world of climbing. You may not have been able to climb as hard as Magnus or the recurring faces of Erik Karlsson Bouldering, but I can say with absolute sincerity that you were my biggest influence. Use whatever you need for motivation, but understand that you have already proven yourself to all of us by just loving the sport.

Best of luck Matt! Hope you send it but even if you don't, you are not a fraud. You are a very good climber and you are doing a lot for the community

Good luck Matt. You got this, but you don’t need it to prove anything to your followers or audience on either Epic TV or IFSC. Grades don’t matter, only passion counts

Edit, music, effort, character - everyting here is awesome, all the best Matt!

i wanna see the footage of you walking back to pick up your camera at the end after the artistic shot of you walking away from it.

Hey Matt. I really enjoyed watching you project. Seeing you improve on the moves in this first real session got me excited already. I would really like you to take us with you on that journey even if it takes 100 more sessions. It's just so motivating to see you really try hard. Keep it up. Also loved to hear you on the IFSC broadcast. Awesome job.

From one Matt to another…. Good luck! Been watching your content on here as well as Epic climbing tv for a few years now and wish you the best of luck! Sadly my lack of resources I am still trying to break the v6 plateau.

Matt, what if you try a bicycle on the second move with the right foot, and in the move of the left shouder another bicycle but with the left foot , I think it could help you to make the moves easier. Good luck!

Amazing climbing matt, glad to see someone pushing (personal) grades who's not a pro or still super young. For me as someone who came kinda late to the sport thats very inspirational! My ultimate goal would be climbing a V10 but for now still stuck around 7a/7a+ haha

You are sooo close and it will absolutely happen!!! You got this!

started up climbing again after a 15 year break, on my 3rd year back now, and my goals are a clean 10UIAA climb and 8a Boulder getting close to both but finding the right routes that are not an age away to projekt can be an issue, especially with boulders as I dont want a one move boulder to break into a New grade, I want one that got to work for every move and enjoy whilst im at it, and that can be hard to find at times.

I'm also projecting an 8a! And also ripped my fingers open on 2 different sessions. It will most likely take me 1-3 more months...I'm hoping! Best of luck to you. From the looks of it, you're pretty dam close already!

Fellow 35-year-old here who just started climbing a year ago and is just starting to break into V6. Disregard validation, just have fun. You seem like a cool dude who genuinely loves the sport, don't lose sight of why you got into in the first place by chasing validation, you're good :)

Cool stuff Matt! Im 100% sure you can do it if you put the time and effort in. Also looking forward hearing you cast another world cup!

Happy to see that I might be able to climb an 8A in future as I am about to go past my physical prime age. Being able to improve after it makes the sport more fun and unique. Have been climbing for 10 years now and usually climb a couple 7b's a month.

Absolutely rooting for you Matt. Go get it!

looking real strong! nice to meet you at meiringen! you’ll crush this soon i’m sure!

Fuck yeah Matt

Mate it’s not a matter of if but a matter of when you send this! No doubt you’ve got this! We believe!

I'll be doing a day of bouldering in Chamonix soon, what area would you recommend for a 6A ish range to get lots of mileage in? :)

You look so solid on this! Definitely in the bag. 💪 Also, you are far from a fraud in the climbing community. Completely with you on the training part though.

you need to rest more between attempts, set a timer for like 5 minutes minimum even when working beta on limit boulders. good luck mate!!

Cool project! I tried Alpina too earlier this year for the first time. Sick moves from start to finish! I never got around to trying it again though. I thought it was too warm now, but I guess not. I guess early morning is the right time ? Good luck on it!

Rooting for you man 💪🏼😁👍🏼

Nice, psyched for you!

it seems to require some hip mobility!

You got this!

Good luck 8a is monumental! I am trying to break the 7a barrier age 50 and with a detached rib. Catch it all while your young. Looking stong.

If it was easy I'd be doing it 😀 Good luck on the proj

with that amount of progress on your first (or second?) session, you are basically guaranteed to send it

3 shoulder surgeries is not “the normal stuff everyone goes through”. I also recall that you tore a pulley at least once. But the fact that you are still close to climbing 8A at 35 does give me (29) hope after 2 recent hip surgeries (unfortunately I might also need 2 elbow surgeries). I think the greatest talent of strong athletes is that they rarely suffer from injuries and recover quickly from them. That’s what sets them apart from us normal people who struggle from one injury, one surgery to the next.

That foot tho 😉 and you say you don’t have technique

Shessh this man is a monster!!!

Looking at the thumbnail, I thought it was Dave MacLeod at first!

damn you’re cool mr. Groom

Support

if you send, i'm giving you an honorary point on the 9b counter

where is the harness and rope? wait u boulder? that is not climbing