Once a Climber, Always a Climber – Obe Carrion

Obe Carrion is the guest of this episode of the Climbing Business Journal podcast, hosted by John Burgman. Obe has long been one of the biggest names in the game as a pro climber. Over the years, he has worked with multiple brands, and he's been in multiple climbing films, including the 1998’s Free Hueco! and 1999’s Rampage. He has been a coach, a mentor, and through all of the evolutions he has remained a force of nature in the climbing industry. John and Obe talk about Obe’s career and psych in climbing: how psych is never a constant, but how there can be value in it as an unknown, and in the way that motivation comes and goes and then comes back again eventually. Obe also reflects on climbing in the 1990s, the filming of that famous Rampage documentary—in which Chris Sharma stole the show at an X Games in San Francisco on this day, 26 years ago—hanging with Sharma, coaching the next generation, and evolving with the times.

General Topics Covered

• Introduction and Obe's Background
• Career Decisions and Early Development
• Competition Scene and Mentorship
• Sponsorship and Professional Development
• Bouldering Boom, The Video Era
• Rampage Film Production
• Transition to Coaching
• Coaching Philosophy and Modern Climbing
• Industry Evolution

Show Notes

• Find Obe Carrion on Instagram: @obe_carrion
• Rampage on YouTube

Thank you Approach and Kilter for your support! And thank you Devin Dabney for your music!