Meet the Community: Joey
What is your name? Joey
How did you get introduced to climbing? I used to drive boats in Tenby, Pembrokeshire and every day I would go down to the harbour to check the conditions (or at least squint and look contemplative in a convincing manner). On the slipway was a tiny climbing wall, and when it was too rough to run, I would spend an hour bouldering, so as not to waste having gotten up for work.
Where is your favourite place to climb? Despite growing up in Pembrokeshire, my real introduction to climbing and bouldering came recently during my time working the front of house at Boulders. Indoors I primarily boulder and there’s something extremely satisfying to me about moving up through the colour coded grades. That improvement almost always comes from a tip or extra encouragement from a passing boulderer or one of the staff, so Boulders has to be my favourite bouldering spot. Since getting back to Pembrokeshire I’ve been really enjoying the St. Govan’s and Lydstep areas for rope climbing and my first trad lead!
Describe your best climbing experience! Where was it, when was it, with whom and why? Probably last year, when I was skippering in St. Davids. I tagged along with some friends to Caerfai. It was late summer and we climbed as the sun set and the birds swooped around us. I was a complete newbie, but it was ridiculously idyllic and I was just so happy to be where I was.
What's your favourite piece of climbing kit and why? Nuts. I like the sound they make, jangling across the headland. Also, how good is it when you get a really good placement and you just want the world to see how fabulous and amazing you are for getting it so good? I got a pair of bright red climbing trousers for my birthday and they are sooo comfortable and make me feel extra jazzy and excited to climb, so they deserve a mention. Oh, and shoutout to my chalk bag, I couldn't climb the stairs with these clammy paws without you.
What would your advice be to someone thinking about trying climbing for the first time? I like that the point of climbing is to find something that you can’t do. At any given time at a climbing wall, you will be surrounded by people working on their own problems (both literal and existential in my case). It’s okay to not be able to flash the whole wall. It’s fun falling off and having a laugh. It’s important to me to push myself and enjoy all the failures too. My advice would be to always warm up, laugh at yourself, build your strength over time and try to climb with people who are better than you. Climbing with Ryan, James and Petar (all Boulders’ instructors) was so much fun and it really helped me to improve and feel supported. Definitely don’t do what I do and continually overestimate the flexibility of your groin…
What’s your #1 most played song? I’m playing a lot of Alabama Shakes at the moment. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Jimmi Hendrix and Janis Joplin are usually in my heavy rotation.
What is the last book you read? The Oryx and Crake series by Margaret Attwood. I went into lockdown with three books based entirely on a post-apocalyptic world that began with a virus…yeah. I’m currently reading ‘Me and White Supremacy: How to Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World’ by Layla Saad.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? I would love to go to Patagonia but I’m trying really hard to reduce my carbon footprint. So more realistically I’d like to explore more of Europe by van or train. Scotland is pretty high on the list too.
What would be your perfect day? Waking up in a van with a beautiful view, taking a longboard for a slalom along a lovely smooth, scenic road, having a surf in some lovely mellow waves with no one else in them, then climbing some lovely rocks before a quick dip in the sea to ‘de-sweatify’ and finally tumbling into my van for a big veggie burger, a glass of red and the type of sleep that only comes from a day of outdoor activity.
Please feel free to share some information about what you do - plug your business, your work, your fundraising, your Instagram, anything! I love bats, toads and birds, so if you know any please do put me in touch. Also, if you come to Pembrokeshire, please, for the love of all good things: take your rubbish home with you. And drive slowly, the badgers are my friends.