RRP LIVE: Alex Honnold On Climbing the Taipei 101 Skyscraper

34:38And for what it's worth, I remember waving to you through the observation neck window. We're going to get to that. I was like, Adam was there because I waved down through the window as I finished the climb. I was like, so cool. I think 100 million people saw that wave. There you go. There you go. Yeah. I mean, it was, you know, when you have the opportunity to, you know, get into this production and see it from the inside, I just had to go. So it was one of those things where after meeting you in Vegas and interviewing you, I just knew I had to be there to watch it. Because I just had a sense that it was going to be this thing that you just can't miss.

35:15And to see that it got so big and went so wild, it just makes me realize that I was right. And so the event itself was, it was rainy for the days ahead. And so I remember meeting with you in your room and losing in ping pong a few times. And you were telling me about the soot. And it seemed like you normally wouldn't sit and watch a building in the rain for days ahead of time. And so there was a little bit of anxiety. And so then on the day it was supposed to happen, it was still wet. And so their crowd wasn't as huge as I'd expected. And then because it was delayed a day, because they didn't announce and people were like, wait, is it going to happen?

36:01And then they announced late. I think that was really brilliant because it built anticipation not just abroad but in Taipei and so I was hearing it on the on the on in the cabs on the radio everyone's like it's gonna happen tomorrow it's gonna happen tomorrow hopefully hopefully and and then there was it was like a movie I mean it was like it was exactly what you so perfect it was like hundreds of thousands of people on the street in the park across the street in the building it was it was literally a movie And then to watch you do it from the stage area, it was just frightening. I didn't even sleep a couple days before.

36:38I was having trouble sleeping for you because I was like, oh, man. And then to watch you do it, as soon as you got as tall as the flagpoles, I was like, my stomach was flip-flopping. The gasps, everyone was like on a string. It was like gasps, moans, cringing. It was like all over. And I think it wasn't just on the street. It was in people's living rooms. were having that same, I mean, maybe you were having the same experience. It was like, it was impossible to watch, but you couldn't look away. Yeah. I was having a great time. I mean, my phone's blowing up. Like I'm just texting and sending voice memos back and forth from friends and like, what, you know, how are you feeling?

37:14What's going on? You know, it was like, I'm sure this was going on with a lot of people. Like we were all like, you know, processing our anxiety. Yeah. Yeah. People are literally, you're making people's palms sweat and they're just sitting on their couch. I mean, that's what was going on. It was, it was pretty wild. And then after like the first 50 floors though like i don't know what it was but when you like stood on that on the first i think it was the first dragon and you're sitting on like the first one or maybe the second one you're standing there and you look down you get real close to the edge and you look down and everyone's like oh but at that point something happened like my brain got used to seeing you on the side of a building window ledges and like my anxiety went away and then And because you had told me to go to that observation deck, I just boned out and left the production area and just like got in line and did the whole thing with all the locals and got up there.

38:04And so that's where I saw you. Basically, you ended up on the 89th floor at the right moment when Alex is passing because Alex was like, this is what you need to do. And you were like, how do I do that? And he said, just go buy a ticket. Yeah, it was so weird. You didn't have like a fancy press pass or some like VIP permission to get up there? No, we had this discussion. Like basically, I got out there. I went out there on spec because I wrote the times piece. But then like no one was asking me to be there. So like I went out there on my own. And when I was there, it was just like I wasn't used to how productions work.

38:40So I didn't have access that I thought I might have. And so I was just kind of trying to figure out what to do. And at breakfast one morning, you said, just go up to the observation deck. and I'm like they won't let me and you're like you can just buy a ticket yeah it's like tourists do that I mean I'd done that you just go to the observation deck the view is epic and it's even cooler when there's somebody freaking climbing out the outside corner right and you're like whoa it's like what a weird day on the observation it was like the dress rehearsal day and so I did that and then when I was there I was like I'm up there and I'm like oh shit I gotta buy like tickets for the next three days because of the forecast so while I was up there that was smart yeah yeah Yeah.

39:14So because I had that ticket, it was like a combo of the ticket and the press pass got me past this like huge demoralizing line. And I'm like, no, I got to go. I got to go. And then finally, like, I just I got up to the right corner. And I just wanted to be out of the shot. And so the cameraman said, just go to the corner. And so I'm in the corner. And that's exactly where you're doing that traverse that you just described going from the left around to the right. And it just hit you with the wind. It just was like, yeah. Because he set it up. Yeah, so I don't know how many of you guys know, but Adam took out his phone and made a little short video as Alex was passing by.

39:56And you sent it to your wife, April, and she did a little minor edit and threw it up. And you threw it up on Instagram. Yeah. That video now has 38 million views or something like that. It is insane. So Adam is like quietly, you know, like, you know, has this like, you know, wild, like, you know, like you, you, you're on, you're a beneficiary of this on some level, I guess. But like this video, yeah, like you need to thank God. This video went nuts and got picked. It's been repurposed on everybody's account as well, including when you did Kimmel last night. They used your video? That was Adam's video where they superimposed Guillermo on it.

40:36Oh yeah. Okay. I didn't even seeing that. That's fine. So you have Adam to thank for that. No, no, I have you to thank because he's like, go to the observation deck. So I don't know. It's like one of those weird things. I think because it got so big because it was funny because you said hello and you gave the thumbs up. And then in real time, I sent it to April and April happened to be able to be responsible. She was watching it. Zuma had his little chalk bag on and he was watching it. And so I sent it to her and she cut it real quick and put it up. So he was still climbing. You were still climbing when that video went up.

41:13And so that's why I think we just caught a wave. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Adam, what can you share about the time that you spent with Alex when you went to visit him in Las Vegas? This New York Times piece came out, but a lot got edited out. There were plenty of other insights that you wanted to share. What do you think would be interesting for people to know that they might not know about Alex and his life. Tell me about your harrowing survival experience getting down from the crag. I took him out for a normal day at the cliff. We're talking about everything. Okay, so two things. One is when I met you in Taipei, you threatened to do a rope swing off the top of the building with me because at the crag in Vegas, that was what he said.

41:57We're going to put you on a rope swing. And of course, I was hoping that wouldn't happen. So the whole time I'm interviewing you between your attempts to climb this route, it gets later and later and the sun's going down. I'm like, okay, I don't have to do the rope swing because I hate heights. I'm like the opposite. I don't even like standing on a ledge looking. I don't even want to stand on that thing right there. That's me. And so I had to climb up. You had to hoist me up to this rope swing. And then I did the rope swing. And on the way down, my ankle gave out. And so I was limping. And at one point he's like, I think I might have to carry you.

42:35I could probably carry you. And all I can think of, I can't injure you. You're like supposed to be in Taipei in a month. I can't do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I would have carried you though. He did great. It's one of the best rope swings in the world. It's so cool. It's this insane rope swing. But one thing I thought, because I talked to Sonny about this, is what was interesting, Josh McCoy was staying with you. And he was living in his van. And then I talked to Tommy Caldwell, and he said that sometimes there are six vans there. And Sonny said that it was something like when you were living out of your van, you couldn't give.

43:12You're always in the receiving position. And when you moved to Vegas, you wanted to set up a place for your friends who were climbers, who were dirtbagging, to hang out. And I just thought the biggest thing that I think was missing from the Times piece was that you're thinking that way and that you're a leader for this community in Vegas and all of that. So I wonder how that kind of... I don't know. Yeah, it's true that we often have many people living in their cars at our house. But that's fair because I lived down in my van for a very long time. And I would always park in front of friends' houses and use their washing machines, use their showers, use whatever.

43:46And so now it's nice that we own a home that I can sort of share a little bit. And a lot of my friends that I've been climbing with my whole life are basically older homeless people now. You know, they're like mid 40s, like live in a car. They've lived in a car their whole life. No real prospects. They're kind of like, yeah, you're welcome to live in my driveway as long as you need. But, you know, and some of them I suspect will be living with me into our old age. But that's fine. I mean, that's the climbing lifestyle. what has the uh reception uh by the climbing community of this event event been like for you like how how do your peers and your friends you know kind of think about this like the the the real you know dirtbag community yeah honestly i'm not sure i mean so my close friends who i hang out with all the time were like oh that's cool and and we got a few videos while we were in taipei from uh our friends hosting watch parties you know like basically groups of our friends in Lake Tahoe or Las Vegas sort of sending a video with like everybody hanging out watching the broadcast.

44:43And so that was cool. It was nice to know that, you know, my friends supported and are having a good time. But in general, I don't really know how the community, but it seems, seems good. I don't know. Watching this go down made me realize that like, I have no idea. Like I, every time I talk to you, I think that like, I kind of have a grip on what, what it is that you do. And then I see you do these things and I was like, I don't really understand this at all. And one of the things that was really shocking to me was realizing that when you got to the top of that building, that that's basically only half as high as El Cap.

45:16Okay. Yeah, totally. And like half as hard. And like, you know, just so much easier in comparison. And it just gave me such a deeper level of like awe and respect for that climb in comparison to this. And this is the one that's really captured you know the world um and yet like lcap is like so much more of a stunning achievement yeah yeah that's fair i mean lcap was but lcap i mean i've been quietly toiling away at for for years and years i mean the the film free solo the documentary uh captured sort of the two years of direct effort that i was putting into that climb but i've been thinking about it for i don't know six six years before that so i've been working at it forever and then finally managed to actually feel comfortable and then climb it.

46:01And so, you know, I mean, it's a great documentary and, you know, yeah, one best picture or best documentary, all that kind of stuff. But yeah, I don't know. I mean, it's just such a different process than like a huge live TV spectacle. I want to open it up for all of you guys to ask questions. But before we do that, Adam, is there any other kind of like insight that you want to share before you leave the stage here? Oh, yeah. Well, the only thing that comes to mind is that uh i mean you just did a mount wilson quad which is another free solo and you had told me that like what i didn't realize was between free solo and skyscraper you'd done eight or nine solos that people didn't know about like that your mo is to kind of go figure out a project that that that inspires you that gets you into the kind of that flow state mode and then just go do it kind of like low key and no one ever sees and you told me like no one no one even cares because it's not lcap and and and so then you then so but i didn't realize you were doing that this whole time yeah no i mean i'm kind of constantly working on something that's exciting to me so yeah before the skyscraper thing uh in december i did a solo project at home uh in las vegas that i was kind of proud of it kind of turned out being kind of dumber than i hoped for it like wasn't that cool but um but it was hard and you know hasn't been done before and it's you know it was cool and it was challenging and it sort of pushed me in the right way got me in the right space for for soloing a skyscraper but um but it was 4 000 vertical feet combined right something like that more than that i think yeah um it was a lot it was a tremendous it was like 12 hours of 12 hours exercise but um yeah up and down this this mountain four times it's a really big mountain is there another one on in your mind already not like that no actually i kind of think 2026 i might focus just on hard climbing like bouldering and sport kind of like safe climbing um and leave the adventure stuff for another year.

47:54But we'll see because I've had many years in the past where I'm like, this is going to be my year to focus on hard stuff. And then I always get sucked into adventure stuff instead because it's so much more adventurous. It's so much more fun.

48:09This episode is brought to you by Noble Mobile. And oh my goodness, I got to say, The mission that this company is on is about as aligned with my values as could even be possible. Because it's all about reclaiming our attention by changing our relationship with our phones. Noble is the first phone carrier that pays you to use your phone less. You heard me correctly. It sounds insane, but it's actually true. The big carriers out there all overcharge us, everyone, for data that we don't actually use. And then they pair that with poor customer service and make it seem like there are no better options because their whole business model is built around keeping us glued to our screens.

48:56Noble flips that. You still get unlimited talk and text and 5G data, and you get it on the T-Mobile network, which is an amazing network. but you also get it at a fraction of the price the big carriers charge. And on top of that, they pay you cash back for the data that you don't use, meaning that you can earn up to$20 a month. Not only did I keep my same phone number, it turned out to be this incredibly quick and easy process. But it's not just about saving money, it's about taking back your time and your attention. And right now, as a listener of this show, You can try Noble today for just$10.

49:36Go to noblemobile.com slash richroll. Get paid to use your phone less. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. You know it, you love it because Squarespace is the, not a, the all-in-one platform for building a website and growing your business online. Here is something I've observed over the years. So many people have so many meaningful ideas or creations to share, but they get stuck on the infrastructure. Not the idea itself, the logistics of actually launching it. How do I build a website? How do I take payments or find an audience or a way for customers to find me? Well, Squarespace removes all of those obstacles.

50:20You can build a beautiful professional site using their templates or Blueprint AI, which generates a custom design based upon your specific goals. You can sell content, courses, videos, memberships, all behind a paywall. Handle scheduling and invoicing without outsourcing to five different platforms. The barrier to entry for sharing your work has never been lower. The tools exist. What's left is mustering the courage to actually put yourself out there. Head on over to squarespace.com slash richroll for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use code richroll to save 10 % off your first purchase of a website or domain.

51:02All right, let's open it up to all of you guys out here. Who wants to go first? Who's got a burning desire right there? That's the spirit. I really want to ask the question. Share with us your name and who you are. Hi, everybody. My name is Taylor. Hi, Rich. Hi, Alex. Thank you so much for doing this. This is so cool. Alex, I have a question for you. your drive is so inspiring um there's an instance that i specifically remember in your documentary free solo that you come down after six for successfully summoning it and you answer a question from one of your teammates where they say hey what are you going to do right now and you say oh i'm going to go back to my van and i'm going to do um pull-ups in my van um your drive do you find that that was always an intrinsic trait that you've had or have you had to like develop that and work on that that's an interesting question i mean i think my drive to climb is somewhat intrinsic like i love rock climbing and and i've always wanted to go climb more than i want to do anything else and then and i think there's a little bit of an innate you know if i'm going to do something i want to do it as well as i can and so but like that it's funny that that experience with free solo um basically i've been i've been training every other day i've been hangboarding every other day and feeling like great results from it you know i've been kind of in this nice healthy routine where i was like every other day i do this certain workout and so naturally i'd rested the day before free selling all cap because i want to be fresh for all cap so then i climbed all cap and then i was kind of like well you know this is my day for hangboarding i want to stick to my routine and the routine had kind of like led me to the point that i was able to free solo cap so you don't want to abandon this like really happy healthy routine that's been working for you.

52:51And I mean, in some ways with the building, I've kind of experienced the same thing where I was like, Oh, I've spent months training leading up to the building. It's like, I kind of want to keep that going as well as I can, because I feel really fit. I've been climbing pretty well and you know, I feel good about it. And so I don't know how much that's like innate drive or not, but it's kind of like, once you find a nice, healthy system that's working for you and you feel like you're sort of living your best life, it's like, you hate to give that up just because you did one climb or another. Sort of a follow-up to that.

53:18How do you decide what to say yes to and what to say no to? And how do you anticipate handling what I'm sure are just an insane number of requests coming your way right now? You must just be getting shellacked with people who want you to go speak and all kinds of crazy stuff, right? And wanting to be the climber and stay fit and all of those things. Sometimes those are in conflict with each other. Yeah. Well, honestly, I've been working with the same team since 2012 or something the same sort of management team which you know you share and you know i'm pretty well insulated from all that kind of stuff and so in general if if my team tells me to do a thing i'll just do the thing because that's the right thing to do um and so you know it's like if it's on my calendar i do it and if it doesn't show up on my calendar then i don't um and so yeah i mean that's kind of but the priority is always to be the best climber that i can be and and to basically to send my project and and the people that i work with all know that that's the priority and so we try to layer in as as many of these cool opportunities, like the things that come up, it's like, try to do as much as I can while still being as good of a climber as I can.

54:23So yeah, I mean, it is hard to, hard to balance that stuff though. Uh, all right. Who's next there? Hi, I'm Isadora. Uh, I work for freaks of nature with this lovely man right here, but, uh, it's for skincare for and by athletes. I think we briefly met actually at North face climb. Um, but, uh, thank you both again for doing this uh there's been a lot of uh media around the playlist um obviously a lot of tool i saw like senses fail lincoln park uh maybe system of a down a lot of bangers on there has any of your favorite musicians reached out to you uh yeah a couple people have reached out a guy from the used reached out and was like come to a show and i was like sweet i've loved the use since like since 1996 or whatever you know it's like i don't know and actually uh all the members the tool comments on a couple of random social media things which i was like maynard the dude i was so psyched um yeah for whatever reason i think some of the musicians i think because some of that music i've listened to literally my whole life and so to get comments from from folks that uh that you know i've loved their work for my whole life i'm like that's so great yeah but um yeah hopefully i'll get to like go to a few shows or something maybe one will want you to teach them how to climb a building i mean i would if anybody wants to learn how to climb a building you just ask what's the craziest message that you've gotten in the aftermath of this like I'm imagining Tom Cruise is watching this and he's like, I got to talk to Alex.

55:48I don't know. Actually, that's the thing is I don't really have the social apps on my phone. I have this weird manager-y thing. So I can't really see. It just doesn't work the way social does, which is kind of better because otherwise I get sucked into. It's just too crazy. I mean, I think since the building, what's just been going off, it's crazy. So I can't really get too sucked into it. I can kind of see weird snapshots and get an idea of trends and stuff. But no, I just don't even know if or who is messaging. and then every once in a while i borrow my wife's phone because i'm just like oh what did people say about my playlist you know it's like you just can't can't resist the urge to like see you know but then people love the playlist oh yeah oh great um you're there it's funny because i made that playlist while i was driving across nevada i was just like alone in my van for a long time driving for eight hours i was just sort of like what are songs that i love that i'd be happy to listen to and you know had i known that to be such a public thing i maybe would have curated a little bit more but that really just reflected one drive where i was like this is what i want to listen to you right now.

56:44Hey, Alex. Hey, Rich. Stuart Ambrose from the Finding Mastery team. So great to be here and so grateful that you got to do this for us. So I got to watch the climb that you did with my children. And I have a nine-year-old and I have a 14-year-old and they were gobsmacked the entire time. You now have two young children too. And I'm just curious, like how, what did this experience how did it were you is there anything you wish your kids would learn or other kids that got to watch it would learn and would take away from it i was just i was curious how that now that especially that you're a parent how you approached kind of that element of it it was really special to watch it with kids who are just in awe so thank you well my children are uh are going to turn two and four in the next couple weeks and uh they were the opposite of gobsmacked they were like this is boring you know so we uh we watched the first 20 minutes with them when we got home and uh and then we had to put them to bed and we gave up they didn't really care we're like oh we'll watch it eventually but um but no i mean i think in general i mean i hope that older kids if they take anything from that they just take the you know sort of the effort the preparation that they see that something that looks impossible or looks really hard is actually fine if you put the effort into it and you and you make it happen um i don't know i mean i hate to you know you don't like live your dreams all that kind of like random stuff but hopefully for a kid you can see that and be like oh like it doesn't matter what other people say is normal or expected or what you know should be possible it's like if you think you can do a thing and you train for and you feel prepared like go do the thing i hope but not that i'm encouraging kids to go climb skyscrapers but you know with a lifetime of training why not do you think about that do you worry or are you concerned that like people who shouldn't be climbing skyscrapers are now going to go out and like try to do that as a result of this?

58:33That was a common question during the free solo film tour with like, oh, aren't you worried you're going to inspire kids to go free solo big walls? And I was like, no, it's pretty self-selecting. It's like, basically, I mean, free soloing is pretty hard. And so you just can't really get that high. You know, it's like, basically you have to intentionally make each move. So you're like, I'm going up a move. I'm going up another move. And if you're not cut out for it, you're not physically and psychologically prepared. Once you're eight feet off the ground you're like this is really scary and it's kind of hard to get high enough where you're actually going to die unless you're really choosing to be there so i'm kind of like it's not one of those things that people can imitate you know like if you're not an elite rock climber you can't just walk up to the base l cat and be like i'm free soloing it so you literally can't get off the ground and with type 101 like i was saying earlier one of the the first move off the ground is actually kind of hard and so just right there it's like the average person can't just like walk up and do it like it's you know they won't get off the ground and then even if they do, once they mantle up the first little thing and they're standing there, they're, you know, maybe eight feet off the ground, they'd be like, Oh, Oh, this is kind of scary.

59:31Like I'm going to break my ankle on the concrete. And then unless they're really psyched and they have a plan, they're just not going to make it much higher. I want to hear from Sonny. Is Sonny here? She, there she is. Uh, I know that, uh, Sonny, everyone asks you like, Oh, how do you deal with it? How do you, you know, how do you, uh, you know, what is your emotional state when Alex is doing all of these things? How do you process the risk and the fear? I wanna know what the aftermath, like the last week or how long has it been? Two weeks or something like that? No, there's been a week. A week has been for you and what the experience of being in Taipei was like for you from your perspective.

1:00:13So Taipei was interesting because I don't watch Alex Free solo that much. I wasn't there when he soloed El Cap. I have seen him solo a decent amount like when he did this big link up in Red Rock. I watched part of it and I've obviously seen him at the crag just kind of playing around soloing things but something this big of this nature I hadn't watched in person before and I don't love it like it's very stressful even if I feel like he's confident and I think because the conditions had been so bad leading up to the climb I was way more stressed than I thought I was going to be because for so long we've just been like oh the climb's going to be fine like that like that wasn't the part I was worried about.

1:01:01I was worried about maybe like the public nature of it and being in the public eye again and things like that. And I, you know, and then the actual week came and I was like, wait, this isn't feeling as secure as I wanted it to feel. What the heck? And so, um, so I was more stressed than I thought I would be. But then at the same time, you know, I saw, I was with my friend and I saw Alex smile and wave at that first thing. And she was like, he's fine. Look, it's great. And in my heart, I think I was kind of like, he's fine. It's great. But my brain kind of kept being like, what if it's too hot?

1:01:36What if it's too windy? And just really wanting to like protect him and feeling really protective of him. But he handled the pressure so well and it all went so well. And honestly, you know, as a team, I think that there were so many people there supporting him. And afterwards, it was almost like this, you almost come down off of this high where you're like, wow, that was so special. I think the thing I was really surprised by was how special it felt to share it with Taipei and with all the audience. And everyone just felt so excited about it. And then you kind of come down from that. You're like, whoa, it's over.

1:02:17Okay. And I had this moment where the next morning I went on a walk and it was this feeling of like, okay, that was sort of Alex's art. And it was this beautiful thing. And it was so special. And it went out into the world. And now you let go of it. And you just say, okay, it's over. And now we just go back to our normal life and we enjoy that just as much. And I had to let it out of my heart. And it was almost nostalgic. I was leaving our hotel room. And I was like, this is where we played ping pong before Taipei 101. But yeah, you let it out of your heart and you go back to normal life and you enjoy that too.

1:02:51So anyways, a bit of a a bit of a roller coaster and a bit of a journey but it was surprisingly emotional and special with the whole audience there and and then it was good to come home and be with our kids too what did you guys do for the rest of the day after you finished the climb did a bunch of press stuff and then and then had a crazy dumpling dinner but no it was just like hanging out with everybody i mean honestly actually my my cheeks hurt that day from smiling so much and like laughing like all our friends are so everyone's so psyched it Because actually something Sonny just said, the city of Taipei, it was really special being in the city because Taipei 101 holds such cultural significance for the city of Taipei and sort of the island of Taiwan.

1:03:32It's like the people are so rightfully proud of this incredible architectural landmark. You know, it's like this iconic building. And so people in the city were really freaking psyched on the whole thing. And so I hadn't totally anticipated that beforehand, like just how much pride there was around the building. and then afterward the next day when we were flying out like people i just hadn't really realized that like the local media was so psyched the unsung heroes uh in this whole affair are the the uh the rigging team the camera team like this was just an extraordinary production and i think that it's it was a real feat to pull this off and to be able to really capture um from all these amazing angles, like the gravity of the situation.

1:04:19Like it was absolutely riveting. And the reason for that is because Plimsoll, the production company behind this, was behind the wheel. They were the ones who were in charge of the production. And we are very fortunate today to have both Grant and Alan from Plimsoll here. So I wanted everybody to first like give these guys a hand for, you know, just an incredible job.

1:04:49And I wondered if either of you two guys would be willing to share some insights of what it was like from your perspective of having to, you know, kind of shoulder the responsibility of this production while also like having a relationship with Alex and, you know, the stakes being so high. Hello, I'm Grant, a pimpser company I founded. So I was there and it was pretty stressful for us. I mean, you don't, but obviously you're aware of the fact you can't wander around saying you're stressful if you're just producing the TV show. But I was talking to, I think I was talking to Sani last night and I was saying, it's quite an interesting experience for me as a producer because normally you sit in the gallery for a live show you're you're pretty wound up because you're worried about getting the shots and making sure the show's everything you want it to be but i think for most of us uh in the gallery um that day there was an extra level of stress and we were we weren't just worried about the shots in fact more than anything else we were worried about alex and uh so it was it was a strange it was a strange experience you were trying to do your job but the thing you were really focused on was what was alex okay and going back to what you said earlier i i hated alex when he spent as much time he did stuff on top of that building i think everybody everybody just at that you thought you've made it uh you wanted to come down the other thing the other insight which i think is is really interesting is that the the director of the show said um to the the whole crew in the gallery look i know everybody very very excited when he gets to the top, but we got work to do.

1:06:33No one is to say anything. So Alex gets to the top of the building. Everybody ignores it, jumps up and down and starts whooping and hollering. There was a collective sigh of relief. I've got it on camera somewhere. But for me, the overwhelming sense was, I mean, listen, I obviously in awe of what Alex did, very proud of what our crew did. But to speak to what Sani said, But there's just a lovely esprit de corps down there. I mean, you know, we've been working with Alex and his team for a few years. And I sent Alex a note afterwards. I mean, obviously, he's an extraordinary athlete. But it turns out that, you know, he's actually a really extraordinary human being.

1:07:13Nice, humble guy and lovely family. So it's been a, you know, it's been a pleasure, actually. Yeah, I would just add that I've worked with Plumasol on the last two TV things that I've done. And great folks to work with. And then Plumasol hires out all the camera people and the riggers and they're basically the same team of people. Some of whom I worked with on the Film Free Solo. Other ones I've worked with on the last couple of TV things I've done. But many of whom I've known for 20 years and been on a bunch of expeditions with and camped with all over the world. And so when it comes down to all the people on the wall and the people that I'm actually interacting with as we shoot this program.

1:07:45I mean, a lot of them are some of my best friends, basically. And I'm like, oh, it's so fun. We're all just out here hanging on ropes, playing around, like doing the thing that we do. Just like we have on all these other expeditions at different places. And so, and that's actually something because so many, so many of you have asked me a question about sort of the intensity of the live experience. You're like, well, I'm basically just up there playing with my friends, just like if it wasn't a live experience and we were just on an expedition somewhere shooting, you know, still photos of some epic big wall.

1:08:08It's like, it's kind of the same, you know, lived experience for me. You're just out there climbing with your friends with a little bit more stress. Any other questions? There we go. Hi, Alexander. A question for Alex. um we had earlier a little bit about the impact on children uh i was very keen to hear about your own perspective as a father and how being a father and the paternal role has changed your own perspective on risk tolerance if at all yeah i'm not sure i mean i get asked questions like that quite a lot um and i mean i think that that i don't know i mean it's complicated but i think overall uh i'm at home a lot more than i was so i think my overall risk profile is lower than it used to be just because i'm spending so much more time training my garage and just being at home and not like adventuring in the mountains and going on expeditions to climb big mountains and things that said i kind of think the capacity to take you know controlled risk is is seemingly not that change so far um though i wouldn't be surprised if my appetite for taking risk just slowly dies over time maybe i don't know um you know we'll kind of see but so far it seems like you know i've done a handful of big selling projects other than skyscraper and things i've done a handful of other solos in the last four or five years since we've had kids, uh, where I was like, Oh, I can still do this.

1:09:26And I still enjoy doing this, but it's like whether or not I want to for forever, it's like, we'll see. When we were chatting in New York, uh, we were talking about like this, this, this time period, this frame of time, like you, you basically have like five years, like where you're going to be in this peak condition, like at, at your age. And so do you think about that window of time and you know for for accomplishing like your your your bigger goals or like for the for the most difficult things that you know you want to be able to do like this is you have a you have a couple years now where you can be in this peak physical condition to accomplish those does that enter into how you make decisions about what you want to do next a little bit but actually less so than you might think just because most of my free soloing projects are so far from my physical limit just because the nature of free soloing is that you have to stay well enough within your comfort zone that you don't fall to your death and so uh you know when you talk about sort of like the the decline from age which you know obviously will be happening soon i turned 40 this year and so i'm sort of like well past you know if you think you peak at like 23 physically i'm sort of like well down the other side but thankfully climbing i think has a pretty long and slow decline just because it's so skill-based so much technique and it's less of an impact on your body than most other sports that people think of and so i think you can remain an elite climber for much longer than most sports but then that said i mean i think for free soloing like i'm saying because it's so within my comfort zone it doesn't totally matter if my top end power is a little bit diminished just because either way soloing is you know more of a psychological thing that said though i do think that i'll just lose the appetite a little bit it's like especially as i get older and part of that is just i've already gotten to do so many things that I'm proud of and so many things that I wanted to do.

1:11:08And, uh, you know, it's like, I've already lived my dream a little bit. I'm kind of like, I don't know if I need to solve that many more. I mean, maybe I need to move around more like, cause I just lived in my van in the Western U S for so long. And I did so many of the routes that I thought were, were important to me. So I'm like, maybe if I lived in Europe for a while and kind of had like a different host of routes to be inspired by, but I'm like, that's the thing with the route, the experience that I had selling in December around home, I was like, am I scraping the bottom of the barrel? Like, am I just doing stuff that's kind of dumb now?

1:11:34Cause I don't, I've already done the things that I really care about. I'm like, Oh, I just need greener pastures. If I'm going to sell a lot more or bigger buildings. Well, for a guy who, who, whose original goal was like, how do I like figure out a way to climb and make a living? Like I think it's working out all right. Exactly. Yeah. I set out with a very limited goals and I'm like wildly exceeding. It's all good. Yeah. All right. Next question. Hey, I would love to ask a question about mental health, which is a big topic in society and in athletics in particular. I'm Eve, by the way. I work with the Masters of Scale podcast.

1:12:11And I know that, you know, when you talk about your own experience, I feel like sometimes you're expressing this sense you're this remarkable person who's done these things, but you're normal to you. right? So sort of wondering how your relationship with understanding how other people's perceptions of you should or shouldn't impact the way you sort of feel and just how you generally take care of your mental health, but also just how you go about being in a world as a person who, you know, other people are signaling to you that you're not normal, but how do you go about navigating that? And just how's that all going?

1:12:44I mean, well, I just, I think they're not normal. You know, it's like I'm the normal and everybody else has got some weird stuff going on. I don't know why they're all stressed um no honestly I don't know it's I mean yeah I'm just living I'm just doing my thing I'm doing the best I can everybody else got to take a chill pill you know what what does stress you out anything oh no I mean I get stressed out like when both kids are screaming I'm like oh you know it's just a lot or like travel work stuff like being away from home like not being able to climb that feeling like I suck at climbing kind of stresses me out I mean that's like um like I felt great in Taipei randomly um you know I've been training quite a lot I've feeling really strong i had a couple really good gym sessions uh climbing gym in taipei and was like oh i feel really good and then climbed the building was like i feel great you know i'm peaking and i kind of thought i was going to go home and send my project at this cave that i was working on so i was like i feel great and then i went home and i completely sucked which i tried not to get too worked up about because i was kind of like ah you know if you think of it as like post expedition or something or sort of like a deload after like months of training or who knows but anyway i was kind of like oh i completely sucked the first day i came home i was like okay i can i can deal and then I went back to the same thing and completely sucked even worse and was like okay like that's a you know that's the type of stuff that stresses me out when you're like what if it's not working why why do I suck like I'm trying so hard and I just can't do it um and then I had a third day where I also totally sucked um and then I was starting to get a little stressed and then randomly I came here to do Jimmy Kimmel last night and freaking just crushed in the gym yesterday and I was like okay all is not lost so we'll see uh I don't know but that's like that's I don't know I mean I guess and actually that makes it sound like too focused on performance but basically I I think that the stressor there is when you're worried that you're like on the wrong path.

1:14:20When you're sort of like, I've devoted all this effort to training in certain ways. Like what if it's not working? Like, am I wasting my time? Am I already like way past my, you know, am I already deep into physical decline? Like, do I just not have it? You know, it's like those types of things stress you out. Cause that's basically a question of like, am I wasting my life at a pursuit that I just can't do? But then you're like, no, no. Sometimes I get glimmers of hope. Like on the top of some crazy building. I'll say it again. I think it's working out. Well, you know. All right, here we go. Oh, Alexi.

1:14:48Hi, I'm Alexi. I was wondering, do you feel the difference in your own experience, not like safety wise, but like the actual athletic experience between being in nature, doing a free solo and doing something with like a manmade building? And my relationship to it is like trail running versus like track and road running feels very different to me. that's an interesting question i think that the difference between climbing a building and climbing rock is different is less than the difference between trail running and road running because you know obviously i've run a bit not not like you but but um but it's just so different you know it's like it feels but climbing like i love i've grown up climbing in a climbing gym and climbing in a climbing gym is obviously really different than than real rock outside but then actually even a real rock outside is incredibly varied depending on the type of rock like climbing limestone totally different than climbing sandstone totally different than climbing you know slate quarries in the uk like random types of rock feel completely different and so climbing a building it's not that different in a way you're like yeah it's really slick but it's not that different than some problems in a climbing gym so i don't know it's all sort of like part of the general experience of climbing but do you like it the same oh no i mean if i had to choose one for the rest of my life i'd rather climb real rocks but as far as uh novelty and like an incredible experience and seeing a beautiful view and all that kind of stuff it's like pretty freaking cool and yeah i got a lot of questions about that before the climb like why would you climb a building i'm kind of like i've literally spent the last 20 years traveling the world to climb different types of rocks all over and sometimes you're seeking them out like i just said the slate quarries in the uk the slate quarries are known for being incredibly smooth with like these it's almost like climbing glass it's like these incredibly small edges on completely smooth walls and i'm like it's not that dissimilar to climbing a building and you know i've been like seeking out things like that around the world for years to get these different climbing experiences and kind of like if you get the opportunity to climb this incredible thing just because it's a building doesn't, you know, it's like, you still say yes.

1:16:42In addition to just the height of Taipei 101 and, uh, and kind of it just being this legendary building, like what is it about that building that made it attractive for you to climb versus some other super tall skyscraper? I mean, so there are a few things. One it's singular in the landscape, like in the city, it sticks out like all the other buildings are so small. And the first time that I saw the building in 2013 or something, it was even more striking. Now they've built a couple of their tall buildings nearby that rise to like one third height, like maybe half height. So it's still way bigger than everything else.

1:17:14But at the time when I first saw it, the whole city was tiny. And then there was this gigantic building. And the first time I saw it, I think it was the fifth or sixth tallest building in the world. And when it opened, it was the tallest building in the world in 2004. Now it's like the 11th or 12th or something. But basically, it's just this giant building that totally dwarfs the whole landscape. So like, that's cool. In the same way that climbing, you know, when you rock climb, it's nice to climb a mountain. It's twice as big as everything around it you're like that's a freaking mountain you know so you see type one one you're like that's a building but then also it's possible which is a big plus because some buildings are just not possible they're just sheer smooth glass or whatever and then not only is it possible but it's just cool like the features that you climb are secure and easy enough but hard enough to be interesting and so it just you know all the interesting sort of ornamental features climbing over the dragons coming over the ruins like the crazy roofs up at the top you know some buildings are really boring.

1:18:08This building is about as interesting as buildings get. So I was like, oh, it's pretty cool. Alright, anybody else out here? Hey, Jonathan McKenzie at TurtleBox. First, I want to take you up on, you said you would teach anybody how to climb a building. So just let me know next steps. That sounds fun. Is this building climbable? It's not really. We'll have to look outside. I'm not sure. I didn't see anything obvious. No, it's interesting that you said you just turned 40. So I just turned 40 two weeks ago. And I find it interesting that, you know, Rich, you have an amazing story that started at 40 in a lot of ways.

1:18:48And longevity kind of being a buzzword of the day. I know that me and a lot of people are thinking about just how to live a fantastic life, you know, beyond the next 40 years, you know, possibly into our 90s and even hundreds. Is that something that you think about? Do you think about, you know, what you're going to do to not slow down, what you're going to do to keep living an adventurous and fulfilling life? Yeah, for sure. I'd say I have a greater interest in health than average. You know, I've read a lot of the books and things like that. And, and, you know, I've tried to take care of myself.

1:19:22Um, yeah, Tim, I'm very interested in living as long as possible. I mean, we have kids, I want to have grandkids hopefully someday and, you know, have the whole family scene. It's like, that'll be amazing. But, um, but yeah, I, I, I do all the things. Um, that said, you know, I know that when I do eventually die, I'm still going to be like, man, I wish it was a lot longer. And so I'm kind of like, well, you just got to do the things you can along the way. Cause either way it's going to feel pretty short in the end. I kind of want to do the Phil Donahue thing and like walk around in there. So good.

1:19:51You should. Hey, Alex, Tony from Riven here. I've always loved hearing you talk about playfulness and joy. I got to watch this with my seven-year-old niece and she could clearly see how much fun you were having. I'm curious, what role does playfulness and joy play in your selection of your projects? Like how do you factor that in in advance of the project? That's interesting actually because i don't know if play factors that much into the selection of projects necessarily but i do think it's sort of at the core of all of my climbing and training and just the whole process around it i mean i think that projects like the like the skyscraper climb have so much to do with whether or not you get permission to do it whether or not the production company comes together whether or not you know a company like netflix is on board to actually air something like that you know it really is just there's so many factors that are totally outside your control so you kind of just have to like wait and see if the things all come together but i would say the play is at the center of every day of climbing, you know, so basically all the practice, you know, I went to the gym this morning, had a great session, had fun, did all the problems.

1:20:52It was like, Oh, this is so cool. And you know, went to the gym yesterday when I'll probably go to the climbing gym tomorrow. You know, it's like, and each day I'm like, that's kind of the highlight of the day. So you're having fun, you're playing. And so I think that all those days are what allow you to have these big, you know, it's like, I think people see skyscraper live on TV and they're like, that's like this pinnacle experience. And you're kind of like, well, really is the months leading up to it that are the really fun part and then you of course the climb is cool and the experience is is very meaningful like the view from the building is incredible you know it's it's cool but really it's like the months and months of fun getting to it there we go like passes straight behind you straight behind yeah thank you hey alex i'm tyler from manhattan beach um one really simple question did you sleep the night before the climb uh yeah yeah pretty well kind of except that I was super jet lagged.

1:21:40We were waking up at four. It was kind of weird. But no, I basically slept well. Yeah. So the night before, so it was delayed the day before and the night before that day, I'd sort of looked out the window and I hadn't even packed my bag for the next morning. I was like, there's no chance we're doing it tomorrow, even though technically it was still like I'm supposed to solo a skyscraper tomorrow morning. But basically, it was like raining. The forecast looked horrible. I just looked out the window. I was like, there's no chance, even though it hasn't actually been called yet. And so I didn't even pack.

1:22:07I next day I was kind of looking out the window and I was like, I kind of think I'm doing it tomorrow. And so I'd pack my bag. I had everything all laid out. I was ready. I was psyched. And then, yeah, we slept pretty well and got up at whatever time we were supposed to. And it was all fine, which is actually an interesting thing. Kind of when you can tell that a project is coming together for you, because when you wake up and you're like, oh, I'm excited to go do a thing, it's really different than like, oh God, you know, and actually, I think I said this to my wife at some point while we were on the trip but like when you're in the big mountains trying to climb like really extreme alpine climbs and things like that you often camp at the base of some objective and you're sort of secretly hoping that it rains or it snows or something because you're kind of afraid to actually have to go up and do the thing that you're there to do you're sort of like oh i hope it snows so we don't have to climb the thing because you're like you look up at the wall and you're like i don't want to climb the thing it seems like really scary you know and and you know that you can and you're and you're still going to try but you're sort of secretly like i kind of I hope it snows.

1:23:03And with the building, I think at first I was kind of like, I don't know, like, I don't like this is all sort of stressful. But then by the time the day came, I was like, I'm so psyched that it's perfect weather because it's game time. Like, here we go. I'm curious to know, I feel like free solo is one of the most impressive things I'll ever see in my lifetime. Um, as is now Taipei, what's the most impressive thing you've ever witnessed in your lifetime? That's an interesting question. You mean like in a film or in real life? well I just feel like you've been on so many amazing like trips and expeditions and like what's the one thing to you that just stands out that you're like I may never see that again oh I don't know I mean literally this week I saw a kid climb something at this cave where I've been climbing and I was like I've just never seen a human climb like that it was the craziest thing I've ever seen this is a little kid Tyler I'm like I don't know it's like totally next level it's like next generation type stuff but um I don't know I've had a couple random experience actually have any of you guys seen the film The Alpinist it's like another climbing documentary So that was about this guy Marc-Andre Leclerc.

1:24:00And actually, so I was just saying that sometimes you're camped in a tent and you're sort of secretly hoping that it snows. So I was camped in the Torre Valley, like below in Patagonia in southern Argentina. And a friend and I were going to try to do the Torre Traverse. And Marc-Andre went up and soloed one of the spires, Cerro Torre. It's like this really striking, iconic tower. and so when we started our little traverse we could look across and see this tiny tiny black dot alone on this 4 000 foot granite and ice spire thing it was insane i was kind of like i cannot believe that there's just a dude by himself climbing this like crazy mountain and he wound up climbing the crazy mountain and descending and have this incredible experience we climbed 3.9 of the four spires got totally hammered by a storm retreated off the wrong side of the mountain range and then did a 20-hour death march around the entire mountain range with no food and we lost all of our gear.

1:24:51We lost our tent. We lost everything. And then we, uh, and then I flew home because the trip was over because I lost everything I owned. I was sort of like, well, that's, that wraps up the season. Anyway, that's, that's a random story. Uh, I remember watching that film, uh, and at the beginning, if memory serves me, uh, there's voiceover of you on Tim Ferriss's podcast. And I think Tim asked you something like, uh, you know, know, who inspires you or, you know, who are the, who are the people that like you look to? And you mentioned Ella as being kind of an inspirational figure. This is Mark Andre.

1:25:24Mark Andre as just being this, you know, purist inspirational person. Is there anyone else that inspires you? Like, who do you look to? Oh, I mean, all kinds of climbing heroes. I mean, you know, you mean contemporary or sort of through childhood and through just in general maybe even outside of the climbing world well actually i mean yeah when you're asking about sort of like impressive human feats inspired me so like philippe petite uh from the documentary man on wire if anyone's seen it like walking the tightrope between the the twin towers like the world trade center um i mean i saw that film before i'd free so little cap and it really captured me as like you know he's like such a unusual individual with this quixotic like he just wants to do this crazy thing and then he just pursues it and he doesn't it's so incredible and it's amazing to see and and i remember being really struck by that documentary he's like oh that's so cool and uh and you know and at the time i was like thinking about all cap and i was really drawn to it but it just felt like this whole you know i was like i don't know is that too much is that too crazy so i think that film is particularly inspiring and then i've met him at a few events since then like done some panels with him and things i was like what a character he's like such a but he's like it's interesting because he comes from sort of like a circus background And it's like really different than a rock climbing background.

1:26:40But anyway, it's still super inspiring. I don't know if you're aware, but after the Taipei climb, it sort of initiated or kicked up this whole discourse around whether or not you are the world's greatest living athlete. Are you aware of this conversation that's happening? Are you the world's greatest living athlete? And if not, who is in your opinion? I would give a strong no. I mean, I think it really comes down to how you would evaluate that. I mean, how do you determine who's a strong athlete? But I think by any basic measures of fitness, I would not be the greatest athlete. You know, it's like if you're measuring VO2 max, you're measuring, you know, like splits for miles or, you know, running or swimming or like basically any measurable thing, I would not be the best.

1:27:31but you are gambling your life with these things. It's interesting. You live in Las Vegas, you don't gamble, but you're actually the biggest gambler in the whole place. Yeah. Well, I like to joke. I only gamble with my life, but that's a joke. All right. No, but I think, but so actually you say that though, but there are plenty of other athletes though, like tour de France riders are riding, you know, 60 miles an hour plus downhill wearing Lycra and like a ski racers. I mean, the winter Olympics are coming up in a weekends like downhill ski racers are doing 60 80 miles an hour freaking wearing lycra and you know it's like it might not look as extreme as as free soloing a skyscraper but it's like i'm i don't know that much about ski racing i don't really know much about anything except for climbing but i'm sure occasionally there are accidents where ski racers die you know it's like i'm sure there must be times when people go horrifically out of bounds like fly head first into a thing and die and you're sort of like all these sports have consequences like they are dangerous and so for whatever reason people think of those as normal because they're like ski racing my kids do that I'm looking at you kids in the back who are now into ski racing.

1:28:28You know, it's like, like all those kinds of things are considered normal because they're sort of mainstream, but I'm kind of like, they're not really that much safer necessarily than, than rock climbing, which, you know, I mean, most people rock climbing is a gym and super safe. It's like, anyway, there's a whole rant about risk and how you evaluate it and everything. Do you get tired of people asking you about, uh, you know, fear and risk and all of that? Like, I mean, this is just the question that gets asked to you in every single interview. No, I mean, actually, in some ways I'm starting to come.

1:28:56I'd say I used to get more annoyed talking about it. Now I'm starting to come around a little bit where I'm like, in a way, that's the idea that I have that's worth sharing a little bit because I think that people should think about that more. And I'm like, oh, I don't mind talking about it because I'm kind of like, I want people to think about, you know, it's like, I mean, particularly this project where you're like, well, why would you know, it's like, why is this sport considered dangerous? Where it's like, boxing is considered okay. I'm like, just because boxing is mainstream. It's like that guy's getting punched in the face over and over.

1:29:21You're like, how is that cool? You know, it's like, I didn't get punched in the face. phase. I feel great. I finished the building. I came down, I had lunch. I felt wonderful. You know, I didn't have to get my jaw like wired back on. It's like, geez. But on the death piece also, just being so connected with your own mortality, like being present with the idea that, you know, you are, you know, you're kind of living on the edge, the outer edge of, you know, your capabilities where that is a real risk has you, you're, you're deeply connected to like that idea. And most of us are. And, but I would argue that we all should be, because this is what I'm saying.

1:29:57We're all going to die the same. This is your message. Like, you know, this is like, we should, we should be thinking about these things and putting ourselves in situations where we're more present with that. So what is it that you have learned from like being that person who does that, that is worthy for all of us to like understand and hear? I don't know. But, but I you think that that being mindful of your own mortality helps put other things in perspectives and helps put a lot of a lot of anxieties and fears and other kinds of things into perspective you're kind of like a lot of the little stuff just doesn't freaking matter when you think that either way you're going to die pretty soon you're kind of like you know like like don't sweat the small stuff I mean it's all sort of cliche and whatever but I mean I think that the fact that we're all going to die there's never a downside to evaluating your own mortality thinking about the way that you're spending your time thinking about the path that you're on like are you doing the things that are important to you?

1:30:47Are you spending your time in the way that you think is most useful? You know, that means the most to you. Like, are you basically, are you living in line with your values? It's like, how often do people really think about that kind of thing? And I think that having, you know, being face to face with your own mortality is a good way to evaluate. I mean, people talk about that when they have like cancer scares and things like that. And they're sort of like, oh, I came face to face in my own mortality. I realized that, you know, I was going down this crazy corporate career that wasn't in line with my values and I changed everything and now I live a better life.

1:31:13I'm kind of like, you can just do that through free soul. going, you should try. Save a bunch of asshole. Just go straight to the clip. We're getting near the end here. So please raise your hand. I want to make sure that everybody has our opportunity with Alex to ask him what you want. Now they're all bummed out. They're like, am I spending my life the right way? I know. Like, what am I doing with myself? I'm Meredith with Step Studios. And I guess I want to hear something outside of the like fear and risk side, but now that you're spending more time at home, maybe choosing the risks that you take a little bit more wisely, what are you finding you're doing with some of your downtime that's not focused on climbing?

1:31:54Are there any guilty pleasures? Are there any hobbies that you're picking up that would show us a different side of you? Yeah, I really like playing ping pong, like super fun. We have a ping pong table in our gym. So I use it to like warm up and cool down and like rest in between stuff when I'm training. So fun. And then I don't know, I do crossword every day love crosswording but um that's about it those are my weird little hobbies but nothing nothing else too exciting going on and then a lot of parenting basically with uh having little kids yell at you and then poop on the carpet it's the worst any other questions oh let's go play some table tennis and think about death um before we end it uh i did want to give you the opportunity to share a little bit about this upcoming tv show that you're get a little about there yeah do your plug dude oh i mean is that the thing to plug yeah so i shot this travel show i mean in some ways it's a wonderful contrast to the the building climb i shot this travel show but get a little out there uh it's like for travel nevada and i toured around nevada and and did outdoor adventures sort of in my home stakes i'm from i live in las vegas it was freaking awesome it was super fun uh sort of cultural experience in a way i was like man shooting a travel show is way more chill than shooting like a free soloing extravaganza because you basically just go have fun adventures with your friends check out new places meet interesting people it was uh it was great but i think that comes out in a couple weeks and so um yeah so if anybody's interested in traveling around about it you should see it and what's going on at the honnold foundation these days oh it's freaking going off you have i have a foundation that supports community solar projects around the world and um i mean in general we're always raising as much as we can and giving as much as we can i think it's um every year we do an open call for grant applications which i I think is open right now.

1:33:36So we're currently soliciting applications from around the world for community solar projects. And I think we've given over$10 million to date to projects around the world. So yeah, thanks.

1:33:51You inspire us all. I appreciate you taking the time to be here so quickly after this extraordinary thing that you did that just really captured the hearts and minds of all of us all across the world. You're a true inspiration, Alex. And I think he might be our greatest living athlete, whether you like it or not. No chance. I always enjoy spending time with you. And this was just really fun and great. So thank you so much. Appreciate it. Big hand for Alex. Thank you guys.

1:34:34That's it for today. Thank you for listening. I truly hope you enjoyed the conversation. To learn more about today's guests, including links and resources related to everything discussed today, visit the episode page at richroll.com, where you can find the entire podcast archive, my books, Finding Ultra, Voicing Change, and The Plant Power Way. If you'd like to support the podcast, the easiest and most impactful thing you can do is to subscribe to the show on Apple podcasts on Spotify and on YouTube and leave a review and or comment. And sharing the show or your favorite episode with friends or on social media is, of course, awesome and very helpful.

1:35:14This show just wouldn't be possible without the help of our amazing sponsors who keep this podcast running wild and free. To check out all their amazing offers, head to richroll.com slash sponsors. And finally, for podcast updates, special offers on books, and other subjects, please subscribe to our newsletter, which you can find on the footer of any page at richroll.com. Today's show was produced and engineered by Jason Camiolo. The video edition of the podcast was created by Blake Curtis and Morgan McRae, with assistance from our creative director, Dan Drake. Content management by Shana Savoy.

1:35:52Copywriting by Ben Pryor. And of course, our theme music was created all the way back in 2012 by Tyler Pyatt, Trapper Pyatt, and Harry Mathis. Appreciate the love. Love the support. See you back here soon. Peace. Plants. Namaste.

1:36:24Thank you.