Alex Honnold Interviewed by Guy Who Just Doesn't Get It

[katethekitcat]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIFh3g2UchI

Rock climber Alex Honnold gets interviewed by a host who clearly doesn't understand his lifestyle.

For example, Alex notes that his spending has hardly changed even now that he's financially stable, and the interviewer has no conception of why the extra money might not matter.

[scottish]

That's great.  My favourite youtube comment on this interview:

Bensinger was just lifting weights at your average commercial gym, getting his cheat reps in for his twelve sets of bicep curls, when someone approached him and said, "Hey, how about I pay you to interview Alex Honnold?" Ben, hesitant for his awkward posturing and previous miss of social queues, took out his earbuds and asked, "Who is Alex Mcdonalds?" No, the expression of the bewildered man's face suggested, "I want to pay you to interview Alex Honnold, a world-class climber." Bensinger in pure confusion glanced around the room as if he were being goated out by a series of hidden cameras before accepting the statement with his most genuine belief. "Okay," he said aloud. Later that afternoon, after having showered and put on his finest collared cotton shirt from the local commercial-chain sporting goods store, Bensinger sat across from Honnold in vexed perplexion, "why am I interviewing this homeless man," he thought.

[Wrenchturner]

That's great.  My favourite youtube comment on this interview:

Bensinger was just lifting weights at your average commercial gym, getting his cheat reps in for his twelve sets of bicep curls, when someone approached him and said, "Hey, how about I pay you to interview Alex Honnold?" Ben, hesitant for his awkward posturing and previous miss of social queues, took out his earbuds and asked, "Who is Alex Mcdonalds?" No, the expression of the bewildered man's face suggested, "I want to pay you to interview Alex Honnold, a world-class climber." Bensinger in pure confusion glanced around the room as if he were being goated out by a series of hidden cameras before accepting the statement with his most genuine belief. "Okay," he said aloud. Later that afternoon, after having showered and put on his finest collared cotton shirt from the local commercial-chain sporting goods store, Bensinger sat across from Honnold in vexed perplexion, "why am I interviewing this homeless man," he thought.

There are some hilarious comments on there.  I think Alex has a higher threshold for thrills than the interviewer, and most other humans, for that matter.

[Saffron]

I'm a rock climber and I kind of hate Honnold for mass popularizing the idea of "free soloing". I've seen younger overconfident climbers do some stupid things because "Free SOLO YOLO!" That mentality gets people killed. It's not like rock climbing doesn't carry enough risks when using protection.

Otherwise, he's a cool dude and really loves the sport. I can get behind his passion and asceticism.  I just wish he didn't popularize his free soloing stupidity.   

[katethekitcat]

I'm a rock climber and I kind of hate Honnold for mass popularizing the idea of "free soloing". I've seen younger overconfident climbers do some stupid things because "Free SOLO YOLO!" That mentality gets people killed. It's not like rock climbing doesn't carry enough risks when using protection.

Otherwise, he's a cool dude and really loves the sport. I can get behind his passion and asceticism.  I just wish he didn't popularize his free soloing stupidity.

I don't think it's very fair to hold Honnold responsible for other people doing stupid things. Honnold talks a lot about how much practice he puts into free soloing - for El Cap for example, he practiced every pitch the WRONG way so that even that would feel natural. He discusses how he actually regrets one or two free solo climbs because they were too risky and he hadn't adequately prepared. Someone else deciding to copycat him without doing the work or research necessary isn't his responsibility.

[Paul der Krake]

We don't hold Formula 1 drivers accountable for showing the public that driving really fast is an option, why should we hold professional climbers to a different standard? It's not like he's encouraging anybody.

[EricEng]

We don't hold Formula 1 drivers accountable for showing the public that driving really fast is an option, why should we hold professional climbers to a different standard? It's not like he's encouraging anybody.

Different risk and obstacles to entry.  Almost no one can get a formula 1 car on a race track.  Most anyone can find rock climbing areas nearby and free solo without any equipment.  I don't think your personal sedan on the freeway is equivalent to f1 on track.  Also, most drivers can drive fast with relatively low risk, but free soloing even moderate routes is dangerous.

[Samuel]

I have a hard time seeing how Honnold could be any more discouraging of people who might be tempted to emulate his free soloing climbs. He's actually remarkably responsible with how he always discusses the meticulous planning, ruthlessly clear eyed self evaluation and sober assessments of risk vs reward that it requires. He's an anti-thrill seeker and communicates the necessity of that approach to his sport extraordinarily well. Yes, he has made more people aware that free soloing is a thing but he's done so as responsibly as he could.

If we're holding people to account for encouraging others to engage in risky behavior beyond their skill level I'd say we might start with the Red Bull marketing department...

[erutio]

I have a hard time seeing how Honnold could be any more discouraging of people who might be tempted to emulate his free soloing climbs. He's actually remarkably responsible with how he always discusses the meticulous planning, ruthlessly clear eyed self evaluation and sober assessments of risk vs reward that it requires. He's an anti-thrill seeker and communicates the necessity of that approach to his sport extraordinarily well. Yes, he has made more people aware that free soloing is a thing but he's done so as responsibly as he could.

If we're holding people to account for encouraging others to engage in risky behavior beyond their skill level I'd say we might start with the Red Bull marketing department...

This is a good take.
I have a hard time believing anyone could spend 5 minutes watching Honnold talk and come away with a "Free SOLO YOLO!" mentally as mentioned upthread.

[jinga nation]

In a similar vein:

I have a hard time seeing how MMM could be any more discouraging of people who might be tempted to emulate his FIRE endeavors. He's actually remarkably responsible with how he always discusses the meticulous planning, ruthlessly clear eyed self evaluation and sober assessments of risk vs reward that it requires. He's an anti-thrill seeker and communicates the necessity of that approach to his investing extraordinarily well. Yes, he has made more people aware that FIRE is a thing but he's done so as responsibly as he could.

If we're holding people to account for encouraging others to engage in risky behavior beyond their skill level I'd say we might start with the credit card companies' marketing department...

Honnold getting vilified for doing what he loves, same for MMM and all them FIRE folks. Haters gonna drag you down.

I was cringing watching that video... feel bad for him. He's probably thinking "minutes of my life I'll never get back, could have been doing something more productive than this gassing".

[Paul der Krake]

We don't hold Formula 1 drivers accountable for showing the public that driving really fast is an option, why should we hold professional climbers to a different standard? It's not like he's encouraging anybody.

Different risk and obstacles to entry.  Almost no one can get a formula 1 car on a race track.  Most anyone can find rock climbing areas nearby and free solo without any equipment.  I don't think your personal sedan on the freeway is equivalent to f1 on track.  Also, most drivers can drive fast with relatively low risk, but free soloing even moderate routes is dangerous.

Anyone can get a $2,000 honda civic and drive it recklessly on the freeway... How is this any different?

[EricEng]

Anyone can get a $2,000 honda civic and drive it recklessly on the freeway... How is this any different?

Magnitudes of different risk and you changed the scenario away from f1 on closed track to illegal street racing.  Sure, you could buy a gun and kill someone for under $2k too if you are just talking about cheap ways to possibly cause deaths.

In this case, a foolish drive is still far less likely to die than an overconfident under experienced free climber.  I say this as an experienced rock climber that has witnessed over confident free climbers barge into our roped route and try to show us up only to literally painfully fail.

[scottish]

And having these yahoos invade your climbing route is Alex Honnold's fault?    Are they soloing as well as free climbing?

[EricEng]

And having these yahoos invade your climbing route is Alex Honnold's fault?    Are they soloing as well as free climbing?

I suspect they are inspired by someone they've seen in person or internet to feel their ego requires this to be a real climber and take it to the next level.  Yes, I meant free soloing, no rope rather than lead/trad/sport climbing.  I have also met several broken ex-climbers working ticket taking outdoor jobs because they irreparably destroyed their legs and back falling while free soloing.

[moof]

I have a hard time seeing how Honnold could be any more discouraging of people who might be tempted to emulate his free soloing climbs. He's actually remarkably responsible with how he always discusses the meticulous planning, ruthlessly clear eyed self evaluation and sober assessments of risk vs reward that it requires. He's an anti-thrill seeker and communicates the necessity of that approach to his sport extraordinarily well. Yes, he has made more people aware that free soloing is a thing but he's done so as responsibly as he could.

If we're holding people to account for encouraging others to engage in risky behavior beyond their skill level I'd say we might start with the Red Bull marketing department...

This is a good take.
I have a hard time believing anyone could spend 5 minutes watching Honnold talk and come away with a "Free SOLO YOLO!" mentally as mentioned upthread.

+1.  I have no problem with people climbing and free soloing for themselves.  Once money gets involved the ethics get really sketchy.  When your paycheck requires ever more daring escalations of risk for the camera it is no longer about yourself.  A lot of what Red Bull sponsors makes me squirm.  While I think it is wonderful that some folks can get money to focus on being the best they can be in their sport, the incentive to take big risks to keep your sponsorship money flowing can be perverse.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

And having these yahoos invade your climbing route is Alex Honnold's fault?    Are they soloing as well as free climbing?

I suspect they are inspired by someone they've seen in person or internet to feel their ego requires this to be a real climber and take it to the next level.  Yes, I meant free soloing, no rope rather than lead/trad/sport climbing.  I have also met several broken ex-climbers working ticket taking outdoor jobs because they irreparably destroyed their legs and back falling while free soloing.

Which makes a low-expenditure lifestyle even more attractive: it helps to not have lived paycheck to paycheck during the good years if you're engaged in activities that can seriously limit your employability in the future.

[Goatee Joe]

That's great.  My favourite youtube comment on this interview:

Bensinger was just lifting weights at your average commercial gym, getting his cheat reps in for his twelve sets of bicep curls, when someone approached him and said, "Hey, how about I pay you to interview Alex Honnold?" Ben, hesitant for his awkward posturing and previous miss of social queues, took out his earbuds and asked, "Who is Alex Mcdonalds?" No, the expression of the bewildered man's face suggested, "I want to pay you to interview Alex Honnold, a world-class climber." Bensinger in pure confusion glanced around the room as if he were being goated out by a series of hidden cameras before accepting the statement with his most genuine belief. "Okay," he said aloud. Later that afternoon, after having showered and put on his finest collared cotton shirt from the local commercial-chain sporting goods store, Bensinger sat across from Honnold in vexed perplexion, "why am I interviewing this homeless man," he thought.

There are some hilarious comments on there.  I think Alex has a higher threshold for thrills than the interviewer, and most other humans, for that matter.

I LOL'd at this one:  "Two medium shirts in this interview, and one fits."

[Wintergreen78]

And having these yahoos invade your climbing route is Alex Honnold's fault?    Are they soloing as well as free climbing?

I suspect they are inspired by someone they've seen in person or internet to feel their ego requires this to be a real climber and take it to the next level.  Yes, I meant free soloing, no rope rather than lead/trad/sport climbing.  I have also met several broken ex-climbers working ticket taking outdoor jobs because they irreparably destroyed their legs and back falling while free soloing.

Free soloing ;-).

I always thought it was bouldering if you might live from a fall and free soloing if you would definitely die.

[SpinWave0704]

Another interesting interview (?): "10 Things Alex Honnold Can't Live Without" | GQ Sports

most celebs: fancy watch, top-of-the-line smartphone, expensive electronics 
Alex Honnold: an apple, (still functional) backpack with holes, 7yr old Mac (and free case) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIV9sgcdqRM