Ep 19: Eddie Fowke - Tales from years on the IFSC circuit

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Eddie is an ex-IFSC photographer, who worked with them from 2014-2020. In this episode, we’ll get his thoughts on the ethics and purpose of photojournalism, hear about the chaos behind the scenes traveling around for world cups, and discuss ideas on how to get athletes better paid.

Guest links:
Instagram (instagram.com/thecircuitclimbing)

Reference links:
Vail triangle pose (youtube.com/live/3zE_InotBGo?si=0gS5ddEwInC0k3…)
Mia Krampl Koper incident (youtube.com/live/dro2rTDVleM?si=F5mKznOxfRFkeo…)

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Timestamps of discussion topics
0:00 - Intro/The great photographer race
13:31 - Comp background + injury
16:29 - Starting photography
24:53 - Becoming a professional photographer
31:36 - IFSC freelance employment only
34:23 - Photography itself is a competitive sport
38:46 - Azerbaijan comp disaster
46:45 - Strange historical US comp scoring
50:30 - IFSC scoring, bringing back 4+ min
57:47 - The importance + difficulty of commentary
1:05:49 - Are there too many photographers?
1:15:20 - Demeaning athlete posing
1:17:55 - Behind the scenes portrait chaos
1:20:48 - Youth climber dating distractions...
1:23:34 - Climbers under RED-S pressure
1:32:19 - Photographing athletes in vulnerable moments
1:39:25 - Photojournalism + variety
1:41:55 - Mia Krampl Koper Incident
1:43:32 - “Losers” in sport
1:51:10 - Pro comp climbers after retirement
1:55:23 - Comparing climbing to disc golf
1:59:03 - Ways to fix athlete funding
2:06:22 - The fall of comp climbing?
2:21:35 - Discord Q: Could/should there be an alternative to IFSC?
2:23:36 - Olympics hatred
2:33:21 - Discord Q: Differences between comp climbing vs outdoor climbing photography
2:39:19 - Being more famous than Will Bosi
2:43:48 - Where to find Eddie