Ben Hanna - Self Medicating ADHD with Climbing

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Ben is a climber on Team USA and hold shaper for Pusher holds! In this episode we’ll get some insight into the grades of world cup boulders, how depression, anxiety, and ADHD shapes his relationship with climbing, how he balances working as a routesetter with training, and get his thoughts on hold shaping.

Guest links:
Ben’s Instagram (instagram.com/stories/hanna_smash)

Reference links:
Seoul World Champs Boulder Semis (youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5K33N2yb4)
The Boss hold (pusher.world/shop/fontainebleau/the-boss-pe-re…)

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Timestamps of discussion topics
0:00 - Intro
1:10 - Mad Rock Shoutout!!
1:53 - World champs experience
11:51 - Difficulty of semis boulders at world cups
18:33 - Getting into climbing and competing
22:36 - Climbing as self-medication for ADHD
30:20 - Training routine...or lack thereof
38:44 - Actually a lead climber
45:21 - MORE power boulders!
51:55 - Competitiveness with Colin
55:11 - Becoming a hold shaper
59:00 - Good holds vs bad holds
1:09:54 - Thoughts on no tex
1:20:05 - 2026 goals
1:21:56 - AUDIENCE Q: Did you really start climbing at 2?
1:26:19 - AUDIENCE Q: What kept you motivated to keep trying after failures at nationals
1:30:53 - AUDIENCE Q: What local climbers helped you growing up?
1:33:51 - Shoutouts + where to find Ben