JAKE BRESNEHAN -AUSTRALIA-

Sports climbing / Bouldering / Big Wall

Birthday:	07.12.1984
Homeland:	Australia
Place of residence:	Blackheath - Blue Mountains
Size:	184

Arm length:	184
Ape-Index:	1.916
With EDELRID since:	2018
Sponsors:	EDELRID, La Sportiva

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Riders on the Storm
Punks in the Gym
The Wheel of Life

INTERVIEW

Climbing

When and how did you get into climbing and what kept you interested / fascinated in the sport?

Some close school friends introduce me to indoor climbing in early 1998. Since then I have experience all aspect of climbing which is mainly the reason whilst I'm still hungry.

Aligning all the pieces of the puzzle to become a better climber is a life long challenge. That fascinates me.

Who was your childhood heroes and do you consider yourself a role model now? Does it influence you at all that other people look up to you?

The people that made climbing their number one choice in life. But if I was to name a few. Garth Miller, Wolfgang Gullich, Patxi Usobiaga and Yuji Hirayama come to mind.

I live and breath climbing, hopefully that is enough to inspire people to get motivated and follow what they set out to do.

What were the most important milestones in your life so far, both in climbing and in everyday life? Did you immediately recognize them as such or only later on?

Being exposed to climbing whilst at school and growing up in a place (Tasmania) that had such a vast array of climbing areas. These areas were by no means the best but kept me hungry to explore the world.

Meeting an Innsbruck legend, Rupi Messner whilst in the Grampians at a young age helped shaped a large portion of the climber I am today. At the time I was just so psyched to climb and didn't realise the impact it was having on me.

Still to this day I'm very grateful for those priceless days we had in the Gramps sharing belays and hanging out.

What were your greatest failures / setbacks / injuries? How did you cope with them and how did you come back from them?

Over my climbing life I have had various injuries and time away from the sport. Having experienced these moments (and I'm sure there will be many more to come) I don't regret anything. Each moment has helped me become the climber I am today.

What is your favourite climbing-related story / experience?

During the last 18 years I have had a crazy amount of good times and experiences but climbing Riders on the Storm with Lee Cossey in 2009 was extremely memorable. Being trapped on side of a cliff 700 meters up for 6 days will always be present in my mind....

You can relive the journey here - http://jakeandlee.blogspot.com/

Training

Do you have a strict training schedule for when and how you train throughout the year?

Yep. Training varies throughout the year based on my weaknesses for the current objective. It's a constant juggle but a process I'm totally addicted to.

What advice can you give to somebody looking to improve their training routine?

Patience, consistency, self-evaluation and passion.

Psychology of climbing

Is it possible for anybody to eventually perform a one-armed pull-up or get to the top of the Eiger/Matterhorn, or do you really have to be born for it?

100% you can train for it, but do you rally want to do it? Whatever you set out to do has to be something that "you" really want to do.

How important is it to set goals in professional sports? What are your goals / targets you are working towards in climbing and in life?

Having goals to keep you focused is super important but also taking time to just go climbing is also very important. My main goal as a climber is to stay injury free, continue to evolve my skill set and enjoy the climbing life.

The future of climbing

Is there anything you would like to change about the current developments in climbing?

As the sport becomes more and more mainstream I think we will soon see a lot of environmental issues arise in Australia. I feel this is inevitable but a little education will go along way to mitigate most problems.

Where do you see the sport going in the next years, what will change and what is your role going to be in it?

With the Olympics on the horizon it already seems to be changing at a rapid pace. It's an exciting time. More gyms are opening, standards are being pushed, more people are at the crags. As it grows I hope I can continue to remind people that rock climbing is lifestyle and to enjoy the ride.