Ep 36: Gregor Vezonik - RETIRING From Comp Climbing

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Gregor was a boulder & lead climber from team Slovenia but he recently retired a few months ago from competitions. In this episode, we’ll get insight into the powerful Slovenian team, how he made the decision to retire and all the planning around it, what it’s like climbing with Janja, and we get to hear him geek out about holds and hold shaping.

Guest links:
Gregor’s Instagram (instagram.com/gregorvezonik)

Reference links:
Gregor’s hold brand (veziholds.com)

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Timestamps of discussion topics
0:00 - Intro
1:21 - Mad Rock Shoutout!!
2:08 - Spray wall noob questions
5:34 - Feeling competitive against his brother
10:45 - Why Slovenia is so dominant at climbing
17:13 - Slovenian team training and funding
19:36 - Slovenian young guns to watch out for
21:21 - Career highlights and traveling
25:35 - Being a picky eater on the road
27:57 - Competing with migraines
30:55 - Making the decision to retire
37:52 - How to be okay with "getting weaker"
42:14 - Setting vs competing
45:43 - IFSC setting aspirations
47:55 - What is hold shaping
52:52 - Do we really need more holds?
55:40 - IG Q: what's your creative process for designing a new hold?
1:02:23 - Hot takes on hold shaping and no tex
1:06:30 - Discord Q: How do you see World Cup routesetting changing in the next 10 years?
1:10:18 - DISCORD Q: Does hold shaping inspire your setting more or vice versa?
1:11:41 - DISCORD Q: What's it like climbing with Janja?
1:19:09 - Matt Groom trolling
1:20:44 - Final thoughts and where to find Gregor