Hazel sits down with Leo and Jess Houlding and their eldest daughter, Freya. They start with Leo’s legendary adventures, expeditions and first ascents, exploring how his mindset and approach to risk have evolved over the years. Then the focus shifts to family life — from climbing El Cap together to powder skiing in Japan — and what it means to raise resilient, curious, and courageous kids in a world that often prioritises safety above all else.If you’d like help working on your mindset, check out our free mindset workbook and guided reflection. Link Sign up for our thought of the week here! Link00:00:00 – Intro00:05:51 – Why did Leo choose to move back to the UK?00:08:56 – Reflecting on his bold climbing days: how does Leo feel about his past now?00:24:23 – Balancing passion and profession: what motivates Leo today?00:31:17 – What advice would Leo give to people who feel stuck in life?00:35:21 – Leo’s biggest fear for his kids00:38:33 – What have Leo’s kids taught him about fear?00:41:40 – Getting the challenge level right for children00:49:49 – Balancing psychological safety and resilience in parenting00:57:01 – Kids and social media: where do they stand?01:06:40 – What it’s really like having an adventurous family lifestyle01:13:37 – Meet Jess Houlding01:17:25 – Making decisions together as parents: how Leo and Jess navigate it01:24:36 – How has this parenting approach shaped their kids?01:26:48 – What motivated the Houldings’ year-long family trip?01:31:22 – Meet Freya: Freya’s relationship with fear and her favourite part of the trip
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Performance psychology for climbers: AMA session with Hazel and Angus.
Hazel and Angus sit down with a cup of tea to answer some of our listeners' questions around performance psychology. We discuss topics like flow, performance anxiety, stress and mindset. If you enjoyed this conversation, Strong Mind is about to re-launch the Performance Hacks course, where Hazel, Angus and their team will take you through a journey to learn more about performance psychology and how it can work for you.If you want to secure yourself a place on Performance Hacks, then sign up here to our waiting list as our courses usually sell out fast.If you’d like help working on your mindset check out our free mindset workbook and guided reflection. Click here Sign-up to our “Thought of the week” here!Blog post by Hazel about trying hard. Click here00:01:51 - Can performance anxiety be completely removed from climbing?00:05:35 - Is it beneficial to momentarily step away from climbing to better work on our mindset?00:08:45 - How can we access flow state on demand?00:19:52 - How often does Hazel climb in a Flow state?00:21:36 - How can we set goals and simultaneously have no expectations?00:28:26 - How can we try hard when allostatic load is high?00:35:36 - How can mindset be organised and used like tools in a box?00:40:17 - Are there quick ways to achieve flow?00:41:34 - As a coach or instructor, how do you manage the social pressure of climbing in front of students or peers? 00:51:26 - Performance Hacks course
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Rethinking Masculinity In The Outdoors: Resilience, Vulnerability, Emotional Strength and Fatherhood
WARNING, this podcast mentions suicide and mental health. What does it mean to be a man in 2025 — especially in the world of climbing, adventure, and risk? In this episode, we dive into masculinity, vulnerability, emotions, mental health and fatherhood with Aldo Kane and Matt Pycroft. Aldo is a former Royal Marine, adventurer, TV presenter and author. Matt is a climber, adventure filmmaker and podcast host. From redefining strength to raising kids, this is an honest look at what masculinity means today and what we’re striving for when it comes to men’s health. If you are having a hard time, you can get help. findahelpline.com will direct you to your country's helpline.If you’d like help working on your mindset check out our free mindset workbook and guided reflection. Link Don't forget to sign up to our "Thought of the week". LinkTimestamps00:00:00 – Intro: why this conversation matters00:05:43 – Aldo & Matt on what masculinity means today00:11:40 – Can we talk about masculinity without tearing it down?00:22:19 – Men and mental health: what’s really going on?00:36:39 – Male-dominated spaces: problem or part of the solution?00:44:00 – What do healthy men’s spaces actually look like?00:50:41 – How the media frames modern masculinity00:57:47 – Struggling as a man? Here’s what might help01:11:25 – The role of women: support, challenge, or both?01:19:10 – Are all men bad? And is chivalry just polite misogyny?
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The Cost of Winning: Shauna Coxsey opens up about mindset, mental health, motherhood and her time at the top
Shauna Coxsey is one of the most decorated climbers of her generation, but this conversation goes far beyond competition results. We explore her journey through high-performance sport, injury, identity, mental health, and motherhood. Shauna shares her experiences with anxiety, disordered eating, and the often unseen challenges of life as a professional athlete, including supporting her husband through depression, being dropped by her main sponsor and coming back postpartum. It’s an honest and thoughtful conversation about values, positivity, life-philosophy, vulnerability, and what it means to stay true to yourself, on and off the wall.Check out our free mindset workbook and guided reflection here.If you want to join our Thought of the week, follow this linkMental health helpline for your country findahelpine.comTimestamps:00:02:22 - Hazel’s take on some of the themes in the conversation 00:04:27 - Shauna’s climbing beginnings00:08:27 - Choosing the path of a professional athlete00:14:14 - Are you naturally competitive?00:15:39 - Balancing personal motivation in competition00:20:18 - When winning isn’t enough00:26:40 - Shauna's doubts about competition climbing00:28:16 - Injuries and the body’s messages00:32:07 - The Olympic mindset00:38:10 - The tension between performance and well-being00:40:56 - Speaking out about mental health on social media00:51:06 - Shauna and Ned’s story and relationship00:58:24 - Struggles with depression and anxiety and sharing these topics publicly01:05:07 - Managing anxiety today01:11:04 - Mental health perspectives and real life01:20:19 - Eating disorders in climbing01:36:36 - Motherhood01:45:32 - Adidas dropping Shauna
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What does it take to flash El Cap? Babsi and Jacopo talk pressure, expectation, motivation, fear, failure and flow.
In this episode, I sit down with Barbara Zangler ( Babsi) and Jacopo Larcher to learn more about their ascent of Freerider on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. They both shared the same goal of flashing the route, however, only Babsi managed to achieve this, making her the first person to have ever flashed El Capitain. Hearing the story from both sides was interesting and unique. We discuss their motivations for climbing this route, what the road to get there looked like and what they both learned from the experience.There is a movie about their ascents on the Black Diamond website, you can follow this link to check it out! Link to video If you want to join our Thought of the week, follow this link.We also have a free performance psychology webinair you can sign up for today, just follow this link.- Timestamps - 00:00:00 - Intro and updates.00:06:24 - When did you both decide to commit your lives 100% to climbing?00:14:53 - Partnership and their climbing journey.00:21:27 - Strategic approach to climbing throughout the year.00:24:10 - Struggles of the first time climbing in Yosemite.00:34:04 - When did flashing freerider become a goal for you?00:41:25 - Did this goal have more meaning to you compared to others?00:48:46- How did you manage the pressure?00:54:15 - Jacopo’s fall on the boulder problem.00:57:25 - Babsi’s flow experience on the boulder problem.01:01:10 - Jacopo on supporting Babsi and managing his emotions after he failed.01:06:34 - Jacopo’s inner critic vs. practising self-kindness.01:09:50 - Babsi’s reflections after the climb.01:14:46 - Is happiness tied to achievement?01:19:27 - What lessons have you both learned from this journey?
Long-form adventurous conversations with experts in mindset, resilience, sport psychology, fear management, presence, attention, distraction, flow-state, performance psychology, well-being and more with professional climber and coach Hazel Findlay.
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