Outdoor Boulderer Sam Lawson joins the Depot Climbing Athlete team
Depot Climbing are excited to announce the arrival of Sam Lawson to the Depot Athlete team.
Passionate about cameras and climbing (according to his Instagram bio), a prolific gritstone climber, occasional first ascender and perhaps better known for being the mind behind the hit YouTube climbing channel; Wedge Climbing.
Sam’s motivation for climbing is rooted in the outdoors, and so having spent his early years growing up in Norwich, the path travelled so often by many aspiring climbers led Sam to apply to Sheffield Hallam University to facilitate a move to the UK’s climbing capital and, of course, easy access to rock.
Now an ever-present on the Sheffield scene, when not climbing rocks, training or hosting the UK’s hottest climbing YouTube channel, Sam works as a video creator in the climbing/outdoor space.
With over 15 years of experience on rock, Sam describes his favourite style as big moves on positive holds and lists Dhalism at Gardoms and Bloodsport at Shaftoe as some stand-out lines he’s climbed (+ any wide compression boulder in Font!).
We caught up with Sam after joining the Depot athlete team to find out more.
Image credit: Sam Pratt
Starting with an easy one, grit or lime?
That definitely is an easy one… Gritstone all day, there’s no competition in my eyes. It can be frustrating to get the right conditions for it, but when they are good there’s no better rock in my opinion.
Heel Hooks or Toe Hooks?
I’m not particularly strong in the grand scheme of things so I rely pretty heavily on both, but I prefer toe hooks if I have the choice.
Jim or Aiden?
…
Hailing from Norwich, how did climbing (and especially) outdoor climbing come into your consciousness?
My older brother Joe started climbing at a local sports center and I just copied whatever he was doing, so started climbing as well. From there we both got really into it and whenever there were school holidays we’d persuade our parents to take us to somewhere like The Peak District or North Yorkshire to go climbing outside.
How did moving to Sheffield change your climbing?
It meant that I could be at the crag in 20 minutes, which was pretty exciting given that it used to take near enough 4 hours from Norwich. So essentially I just got out climbing at every opportunity, and as my uni course was pretty hands-off, that ended up being very often.
What would be your dream accomplishment as an outdoor climber?
I don’t know if I’ve got a specific dream accomplishment. There are lots of elements I enjoy about outdoor climbing, so I suppose there are a few things that could tick that box.
My favourite experiences have probably been establishing new climbs, so maybe putting up a properly top-quality boulder problem would be up there.
I’ve done a fair few new boulders, some of them have been pretty good, and some have been a bit questionable, but I’ve never done one that I think fits that description.
How do you balance chasing outdoor goals versus training for them?
To be honest I’m not sure I do a very good job of that! When the conditions are good my training kind of goes out of the window and I just focus on the rocks.
This approach sometimes works really well and I end up climbing loads of things I’m psyched on. But other times it backfires and I don’t climb anything and I don’t do much training… But I think I’ve been getting a bit more disciplined with this recently.
Being the man behind the Wedge Climbing YouTube channel, what climbing media inspires you the most?
I still get most inspired by the films that I used to watch when I first started climbing, things like the Dosage series, Life on Hold and Between The Trees are some of my favourites.
Creating climbing content is common in the community now via channels such as Instagram, but what advice would you give to someone looking to take it to the next level? Be that through video or image format.
I think the main thing is to just get out and do it as much as you can, and to keep at it even if you aren’t happy with what you are producing to begin with.
Even if it doesn’t feel like you’re improving at the time, when you look back at things you made a year or two ago you’ll see how much better you’ve gotten without realising it.
If you’re wanting to learn more about it, there are some great courses you can take online, but in my experience, you can find a lot of what you want to know on Youtube.
What is on the agenda for your climbing in 2024 and beyond?
I’m a bit injured at the moment, so my current agenda is to rehab my various injuries. But beyond that I’m really keen to get back to Fontainebleau in the Autumn, so I’m psyched to train a load for that through the Summer months.
What advice would you give to anyone thinking about giving climbing a try?
Go and get stuck in! Starting in a climbing wall is a great and easy way to get into the sport and meet new people. If you have the opportunity to try outdoor climbing, definitely give it a go, as it’s not only really fun, but will help you improve your climbing massively.
What other passions motivate you and bring you joy?
I’m really into nature and the outdoors, so I enjoy walking/running on days where I’m not climbing. Especially as this is a good excuse to go and look at some rocks…
Who inspires you in the climbing scene?
There are loads of inspirational people in the climbing scene, so it’s hard to just pick one. But probably one of the most stand out for me has been my older brother Joe.
He was the one who got me into climbing and was (and still is) way better than me, so it was an easy way to get inspired to try and improve.
Thanks Sam, everyone at Depot Climbing are excited to have you on the team and see what the future holds for you.
Follow Sam on social media via the link below and if you are looking for more information, take a look at our useful links too.
Sam Lawson Instagram
Categorised in: Athlete Updates
This post was written by depotadmin
