Nothing to do with Buddy Check. This is an audio trip report from a bike packing trip I took with a friend to the UK in October. I wanted to tell the story in audio form, and I decided to share it here as well. Something to tide you over until I release season 3. As with Buddy Check, this story starts with sport (biking here rather than climbing) but also explores much more than that: this time, turning 30, being in friendship while navigating chronic illness, and you know, the meaning of life. Original music by Eric Anders and Kenny Clarkson.

In this bonus episode I interviewed Drs. Sarah Wu and Carolyn Aibel. They both have PhDs in clinical psychology from the University of Colorado in Boulder, they see therapy patients through private practices - specializing in ADHD, and they are rock climbing partners. We talked about why it makes sense for people with ADHD to resonate with climbing, the way fear can present for people with ADHD, hyperfocus as a superpower in climbing, how they work with their ADHD patients, climbing as a microcosm for life, and much more. This episode is full of giggles and great information! if you are already a subscriber to Buddy Check on Patreon, you can access the full episode at patreon.com/buddycheckpodcast. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can start a free 7-day trial to gain access to the full episode.

This is a teaser of a conversation I had with Stephanie Zukowski, the intern coordinator for the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC). BOEC is one of the foremost adaptive sports organizations in the country. We talked about their work, what adaptive sports means, how people with adhd and neurodivergence fit into the adaptive sports world, her thoughts on the idea of adhd as a superpower in rock climbing, and much more! To access the full episode, you can join my Patreon and become a monthly subscriber of Buddy Check.

In the season finale of Season 2, a conversation with Jenny Fischer, the CEO of Ocun North America, about how she thinks about her identity as incomplete without an acknowledgment of her adhd but also completely ineffective if she hangs her whole identity on it. As someone who was diagnosed in middle school, Jenny has been sitting with and reflecting on how she relates to her diagnosis for over two decades. This episode turned into something of a meditation on identity, self worth, learning about yourself through climbing, and the fluidity of growing up.

This episode tackles the second half of the hypothesis I started with this season: what does the climbing community mean to people with adhd and other neurodivergent identities? Do those identities contribute to our misfit identity and is that something to pay attention to and protect as climbing overall becomes more mainstream? Zofia Reych, a climbing anthropologist, historian, and writer weighs in on their experience, and we hear from five other climbers with adhd for their thoughts too.

In today's episode, we take the niche theme of this season one step further, diving into the incredibly specific topic of how people with adhd experience and relate to fear in climbing. Even though fear is an important element behind the enjoyment many people with adhd find from climbing, their hyperfocus can become a double-edged sword, leading some climbers with adhd to fixate on thoughts of fear and spiral into all the things that might go wrong.

Today’s episode explores the narrative that ADHD is a superpower in rock climbing. For some people, the chance to flip the script on their disorder is something they jump at, but for others, it feels like an entirely incomplete way to think about their experience. Seven climbers weigh in on how they think about their brain chemistry in relation to their climbing.

Episode three explores what it is about climbing that can make it so intoxicating for people with adhd. We’ll hear from six different climbers about their experiences with flow, challenge, and sensory regulation.

In an attempt to assess the percentage of elite athletes with ADHD compared to the general population, I wound up in a deep dive of baseball statistics and the murky way they help to show this pattern. Episode two tells the story of how it came to be that today, the Major League Baseball players’ association and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball publish an annual report, available to the public, that shows the number of professional baseball players taking medication to treat ADHD. But numbers by themselves rarely tell the full story.

Episode 1 explains the current state of research into ADHD and dispels some common myths through a conversation with Rose Callaghan, a stand-up comedian based in Melbourne, Australia who uses her comedy to advocate for greater ADHD awareness. Freddie also explains what she is going to be investigating about the overlap between rock climbing and ADHD over the course of season 2.

This is season 2 of Buddy Check: the new misfits, coming July 24th, 2024.

BONUS episode with Hazel Findlay. Some final pearls of wisdom from Season 1. Hazel shares how she thought about her climbing in the months immediately following her father's death and why she is passionate about mental training and coaching for climbers. Stay tuned for information on Season 2 of Buddy Check! Coming the first week of July 2024!

In the season finale of Season 1 of Buddy Check, I interviewed my ex-boyfriend who taught me to climb and with whom I lived in that slide-in Lance camper on the back of our red Chevy pick-up truck for a year. I asked him the questions I asked of others this season. Questions like - why did you originally want me to learn to climb and was it difficult for you to always have to be the leader in our climbing. We close out the season the way we started - back to the heterosexual romantic relationship dynamics and their overlap with our climbing ones, back to why I started down this road in the first place.

Joshua Jackman has been coaching youth climbing teams in Spokane, Washington in one form or another since 2003. In this episode, we talk about the changes he has witnessed in 20 years of coaching and hear about some of his philosophies for supporting his athletes to become the best climbers they can be. It's a conversation about youth athletes, but it's really a conversation about how to think about your climbing as a lifelong activity, whether you're a beginner or a veteran climber.

BONUS episode! This bonus episode is a Q&A with Kevin all about overcoming the fear you don’t need by understanding the gear you do. Listen to Kevin nerd out on bolts, bolted anchors, quick draws, ropes, and more to develop your understanding of the gear needed for sport climbing - for your safety and for your fear management practice.

Today, a round up of guides and coaches discussing if it’s their job to encourage their clients and students to find their stretch zone or if their role as a mentor is simply to meet people where they’re at, whatever that means for the day. We close out the episode with a story from Kevin about the importance of finding joy in wherever you are with your climbing, a little meditation on presence if you will, because the hamster wheel of always seeking harder harder harder doesn’t promise to give your life greater meaning.

This week’s episode is all about guides as a type of climbing mentor. First, we hear from Kevin, a friend of mine and an AMGA certified rock guide about some of the general benefits of hiring a guide, what to look for, and what an AMGA certification actually means in the world of climbing guides. And then from Cecil, an instructor and guide for the Seattle-based non-profit Climbers of Color. Cecil talks about the benefits of learning from a guide who not only empathizes with your life experiences but one who is intentionally teaching climbing skills for a new generation of climbers to get outside and feel empowered to do so.

In this episode, we look more at the idea Hazel brought up of taking responsibility for your own climbing journey, through my own experience and a story from Gillian, who you also heard from in episode three. You'll also hear from four of the other women I interviewed about why climbing remains incorporated into their lives.

In episode four, we dive deep into mental training techniques for climbing with Hazel Findlay. Hazel is a professional climber, known for her first ascents of big walls around the world as well as her strength in single pitch sport and trad lines. She is the third person to send Magic Line in Yosemite, a 5.14c single-pitch trad route that was originally put up by Ron Kauk in 1996. We talk about her early days as a climber, understanding fear, and effectively using exposure therapy to overcome fear in climbing through developing strong self awareness and accurately assessing the correct challenge level for you to make progress, rather than staying in avoidance or creeping toward panic. Resources: Arno Ilger: The “Godfather” of Mental Training in Climbing on the Curious Climber Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2XWVJy1Od5uPTQ1K0y4AWL?si=uYUPxqmmSLevyjlDw3XynA Strong Mind: https://www.strongmindclimbing.com/ Performance Hacks training videos: https://go.strongmindclimbing.com/webinar Climb Smarter by Rebecca Williams: https://www.sequoia-books.com/catalog/climb/

BONUS EP! The bet stands.