Alex Honnold

It drives me crazy that nobody else thinks about risk in this way.

People look at my life and they're like, well, you're crazy.

You're such a risk taker.

Well, at least I'm taking the risks that I'm choosing.

Because think of all the people that like go out partying every weekend and they get buzzed and they drive home.

And even sedentary people who are like, well, I don't take risks.

I stay home and I play video games.

No, you're at a much higher risk of heart disease.

Like they're taking all kinds of risks that they're not actually choosing to take.

And you're still going to freaking die either way.

So you might as well take smart calculated risks and do all the things that you want to do and at least die happy when you go.

I actually hate all the brain stuff because people always put me in this box of like, well, you're different.

And I'm like, well, not really.

Like I'm a middle class suburban kid.

Nobody in my family is athletic.

I just, after 20 years of climbing five days a week and being really freaking scared, I respond differently than an average person.

And there was tons of emotional turmoil throughout it.

Periods where you're just like, I'm trying so hard and I'm just like not as good as I want to be.

You know, I was like living in a car.

I had like a couple hundred bucks a month for 10 years.