Ep 25: Allen Lactaoen - "Average" Climber to IFSC Athlete

I know Allen from our climbing training class in San Diego, but he is also a boulderer for a brand new IFSC federation, Team Guam. In this episode, we'll learn about what it’s like competing on the world cup circuit as an “average” climber who only started climbing at 23 years old and works a full time engineering job. We’ll also hear about what it’s like as a NEW competitor competing in Innsbruck including the afterparties, and all about the Guam climbing scene.

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Guest links:

Instagram

Reference links:

Climbing Gems Bag

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Timestamps of discussion topics

0:00 - Our climbing sesh

2:57 - Starting climbing at 23 years old

6:59 - Why he started comp climbing at 29 years old

11:15 - Wanting to bring climbing back to Guam

19:01 - Being a weekend warrior

24:14 - Current training + work balance

29:43 - Never having a personal coach

32:27 - First World Cup experience in Innsbruck

38:31 - The difficulty going to a WC alone

45:23 - What people do in ISO for 8 hours

51:09 - Thoughts while taking on his first WC Boulder

54:07 - Least favorite comp moment

57:02 - Innsbruck afterparty

59:37 - Favorite comp moment

1:05:40 - Climbing Gems chalk bag

1:10:13 - Where is Guam

1:13:02 - Guam climbing scene

1:23:53 - Discord Q: What made you decide to participate in world cups as an average climber?

1:30:15 - Discord Q: Are you going to all future bouldering WCs?

1:35:24 - Final thoughts/where to find Allen