George Brill - PhD Anthropology, Tree Climbing Tribes & Free Diving

George Brill is an anthropologist currently working on his PhD in locomotor performance at Cambridge Uni and has previously worked with the Lattice coaching team sharing his findings from the studies of the tree climbing Batek Tribes of Malaysia and also his passion for free diving.

In today’s podcast, Tom and George explore some of the evolutionary history of tree climbing, what this has taught him about movement and also some of the parallels that free-diving may have with climbing performance. 

You can find more about George and his work at:

Instagram: George Brill
Website: Georgebrill.co.uk

Key concepts and terms covered:

• What is an anthropologist and how does this possibly relate to those of us interested in climbing?
• What is locomotor performance?
• What is the “elastic concept” of the body? 

Interview Topics:

1. The Elastic Concept of locomotor performance.
2. Batek Tribe studies and practicalities.
3. What can we learn from tree-climbers?
4. What are the similarities and difference between tree climbing and rock climbing?
5. What does an ideal tree climber looks like… age, size, weight, areas where they’re strong, flexible etc. 
6. Bergmann’s and Allen’s rules and relationship to climbing. 
7. Do the Batek tribe train for tree climbing? What’s valued most in tree climbing?
8. Risk and the culture surrounding it in the Batek. 
9. Freediving Mind-body connection: visualisation, using the link to our advantage

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.