Alex Honnold

Like, even if you're a really passionate climber, I mean, most people probably aren't going to make a living as a professional climber because it's just too small an industry.

And, you know, the.

depends on your level and everything I mean I think I got kind of lucky I mean in a lot of ways I got lucky also just because I like soloing and it's like such a niche and not that many people do it and the and the level just wasn't that high and so you know I sometimes joke it's easy to be the best if you're the only one doing it you know it's like it's easy to compete is the only person in the field and you're kind of like well it makes it chill and so you know I think I got lucky in a lot of ways like that and so yeah most people probably should finish university and and climb as they can

That said, I mean, if you love doing a thing, it makes sense to maybe build your life around how you can do that thing as much as possible, just because it keeps you energized and fired up and, you know, it makes the rest of your life better.

Yeah, I mean, if you have nothing, then you drop out and you just go play video games in your basement or something like that.

That's obviously not better than going to school.

Like, you're better off going to school and broadening your horizons and doing whatever.

Yeah, I mean, I thought I was just taking some time off, and I thought that eventually I'd become a mountain guide or something or, like, teach at summer camps or I don't know, you know, because especially at the time the climbing industry was so much smaller, there wasn't any money.

Like, I didn't think you could make a living as a professional climber.

And so I thought it was just kind of a fun thing I was doing in the van for a while before I'd, like, find some kind of job or something.

And then, thankfully, the climbing industry has kind of scaled at the same rate that I did as a climber, and so it all worked out.

No.

Well, so, I mean, I mentioned that my dad died, so my parents had just gotten divorced.

And so my dad had left enough for, for my sister and me to finish college.

And so I took that money and put it in bonds.

I'm just like, I don't know what that is.

But, you know, so I was making like a couple hundred bucks a month in bonds.

And then I stole the family minivan.

Like I said, my grandparents and my two grandfathers had died before.

So like basically my mom had inherited this little car.