A Climber’s Mind with Mat Wright

Mat Wright
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  • Self-Improvement

I’m Mat Wright - a climbing coach focused on real outdoor performance. A Climber’s Mind explores what actually drives progression on rock - beyond generic training advice. Through personal stories from my own climbing, and lessons from coaching, I break down the mental, technical, and tactical factors that separate effort from real results. This isn’t about doing more. It’s about working on the right things, at the right time. Each episode gives you practical insights you can apply immediately to your own climbing, whether you’re projecting your first 7a or pushing into your hardest routes. If you’re interested in working with me, you can find more at matwrightcoaching.com

  1. 1d ago

    Passion, Obsession & Addiction in Climbing - Ollie Stamper

    When does a passion for climbing become something less healthy? In Episode 17 of A Climber’s Mind, Mat is joined by Ollie “Stamper” Stamper, a former addiction counsellor with a fascinating perspective on the relationship between addiction, recovery and climbing. Climbing can provide purpose, structure, community, identity and an incredibly powerful source of reward. For many people, those things can have an enormously positive effect on their lives. But what happens when that relationship becomes more complicated? Mat and Stamper explore the difference between passion, obsession and addiction, and how some of the same traits that can drive high performance can also begin working against us. They discuss addictive traits, reward cycles, perfectionism, emotional regulation, grades and performance, as well as what can happen when climbing becomes someone's primary way of coping with difficult emotions. They also explore climbing's potential role in recovery, what happens when injury or circumstances suddenly remove climbing from someone's life, and how we can pursue something incredibly seriously without allowing it to define our entire identity. This isn't an attempt to diagnose climbers or label extreme commitment as addiction. Instead, it's an open conversation about understanding our relationship with climbing and recognising when something that normally adds to our lives may begin taking something away. Topics include: addiction and recovery, passion vs obsession, climbing performance, reward cycles, perfectionism, identity, self-worth, mental health, injury and developing a healthier relationship with performance. This episode discusses addiction, recovery and mental health. The conversation is for general discussion and should not be considered medical or mental-health advice.

    Passion, Obsession & Addiction in Climbing - Ollie Stamper

  2. Aug 19

    Steve McClure: Rainman, Trying Well & Life at the Limit

    In this episode of A Climber’s Mind, I’m joined by Steve McClure - one of Britain’s most accomplished and influential climbers. Steve takes us inside the long process behind the first ascent of Rainman, Britain’s first 9b. We explore what it really means to project at your absolute limit, how he continued learning from the route over many years, and why success depends on far more than simply trying harder. We also discuss the difference between trying hard and learning to try well: managing effort, refining movement, making better decisions and finding a way to perform when the opportunity finally arrives. Beyond the climbing itself, Steve shares his thoughts on sustaining ambition alongside family life, work and the everyday responsibilities that sit behind a long-term project. We talk about how his relationship with climbing has evolved, what keeps him motivated, and how to pursue extraordinary goals without allowing them to consume everything else. Steve has been a huge inspiration throughout my own climbing career, so it was surreal to have this conversation with him - not only as one of Britain’s greatest climbers, but also as a friend. Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

    Steve McClure: Rainman, Trying Well & Life at the Limit

  3. Jul 1

    When Obsession Stops Working

    I’ve always believed that obsession can be one of the most powerful tools in hard climbing. Visualising daily, thinking deeply about a project, and keeping it alive in your mind can create clarity, direction and belief. But this week, a conversation with my friend John made me question whether obsession is always useful. John told me that with his own project, Sufferance, he reached a point where he had to mentally distance himself from it completely. He stopped visualising, stepped away, and almost forgot the route existed for a month. As soon as he suggested I might need to do the same with Free at Last, something clicked. In this episode, I talk through the difference between commitment and attachment, why caring deeply can sometimes turn into pressure, and why stepping away from a project isn’t the same as giving up. Sometimes the thing that helped you progress can become the thing that keeps you stuck. Maybe the answer isn’t always to stay more obsessed. Maybe sometimes, you climb better when you let something go for a while.

    When Obsession Stops Working

  4. Jun 24

    Determination, Grades & Why We Choose Hard Things

    In this solo episode, I reflect on the last few weeks of A Climber’s Mind - including why there’s been a short break from the podcast, what I took from my recent conversation with Conrad Caddy, and how my North Wales trip made me think more deeply about determination, grades, pressure and priorities. The episode starts with an honest update on why the podcast had to take a back seat for a couple of weeks. Between a climbing trip and some personal life stresses, I needed to make space for the things that had to come first - which, in many ways, connects directly to the themes of this episode. I then look back on my conversation with Conrad Caddy, who climbed 8B within around three years of climbing. That conversation made me reflect on my own early years, because I also reached 8B within roughly my first three years. More than the grade itself, what interested me was the mindset underneath it: determination, obsession, pressure, identity, and what actually drives someone to keep showing up for something difficult. From there, I explore the question: why do some people seem to have huge determination, while others don’t? I don’t think determination is just discipline or talent. I think it’s built from meaning, belief, feedback, identity, emotional tolerance and life circumstances. It can come from love, curiosity and purpose - but it can also come from insecurity, comparison and the need to prove yourself. I also talk about my relationship with grades, which has been both motivating and volatile. Grades can be a brilliant tool for measuring progress, choosing challenges and focusing ambition - but they can become dangerous when they turn into measures of self-worth. My current view is that grades are useful servants, but terrible masters. The episode also includes reflections from my recent trip to North Wales, where I climbed Prisoners of the Sun at Rhoscolyn. That experience made me think about hard trad climbing, clear decision-making, and how the best headspace on serious routes is often quiet rather than dramatic. For me, the lesson was about separating commitment from attachment: still caring deeply, but trying not to lose myself every time the outcome is uncertain. Finally, I look ahead to a potential upcoming conversation with Steve McClure. If confirmed, I’m incredibly excited to speak to Steve about projecting, Rainman, Rainshadow, long-term motivation, and what draws someone to invest so much into one piece of rock over so many years. This episode is really about one central question: What makes us keep choosing hard things? Determination is powerful, but it needs direction. Grades are useful, but they need perspective. Ambition is valuable, but it has to sit inside a life that can actually support it.

    Determination, Grades & Why We Choose Hard Things

  5. Jun 17

    Conrad Caddy: Obsession, Pressure and Climbing 8B in 3 Years

    In this episode, I’m joined by Conrad Caddy to explore the deeper story behind his rapid progression in climbing, including his recent ascent of Superman 8B after only around three years in the sport. Rather than reducing the conversation to talent, strength or genetics, we dig into what that kind of progression actually feels like from the inside: obsession, pressure, identity, movement learning, failure, social media, and the emotional cost of improving quickly. We also talk about how Conrad approaches hard moves, micro-beta, frustration, consistency, and what climbers can learn from his process without simply trying to copy the outcome.

    Conrad Caddy: Obsession, Pressure and Climbing 8B in 3 Years

  6. May 27

    I'm Not Anti-Training

    In this episode, I reflect on my recent conversation with Mike Boyd and use it as a starting point to clarify something important about my coaching philosophy. I think some climbers may have interpreted my message as being against physical training - but that isn’t the point at all. Physical training is absolutely crucial if you want to peak. At some point, you have to raise the ceiling, get stronger, and build the physical qualities required for the climbs you want to do. But for many climbers, physical capacity isn’t the only thing holding them back - and often, it isn’t the biggest thing either. A lot of climbers are already leaving huge amounts of performance on the table through poor tactics, rushed projecting, fear, pressure, lack of clarity, poor recovery, lifestyle stress, emotional attachment to outcomes, and an inability to properly express the ability they already have. So this episode is not anti-training. It’s anti-blind training. It’s about understanding the full picture before deciding what the next intervention should be. Sometimes the answer is physical training. Sometimes it’s tactics. Sometimes it’s technique. Sometimes it’s mindset. Sometimes it’s rest, recovery, or a better relationship with the process. As always, diagnosis comes first. Then the right intervention at the right time.

    I'm Not Anti-Training

  7. May 20

    Mike Boyd: Fatherhood, Stress & Climbing Performance

    In this episode of A Climber’s Mind, I sit down with Mike Boyd for a very honest conversation about climbing, having a newborn baby, career pressure, identity, stress, relationships, money, and what performance looks like when life changes dramatically. We use the conversation almost like a live coaching/diagnostic session. Mike initially felt like endurance might be one of the main things holding his climbing back, but as we dug deeper, the bigger bottleneck seemed to be stress, life load, and the effect this can have on the nervous system. One of the biggest themes in this episode is that a physical symptom does not always mean a physical cause. You might feel pumped, tense or inefficient on the wall, but the deeper issue might be stress, pressure, poor recovery, fear, identity, or simply the reality of trying to perform while life is demanding more from you. This is a conversation about balancing passion with real life, managing ambition, and learning to diagnose what is actually limiting your performance. New episodes every Wednesday.

    Mike Boyd: Fatherhood, Stress & Climbing Performance

  8. May 13

    Climbing Feels Different Now

    Over the last couple of months, a lot has changed in my life. I’ve been balancing the start of this podcast alongside a fairly structured training phase, whilst also trying to organise my life and coaching in a much more deliberate way. In the process, I’ve realised how much low-level pressure and friction I’d been carrying around for years without fully noticing it. In this episode, I speak more openly about where I’m currently at psychologically with climbing, performance, identity and motivation. I talk about: why climbing feels different to me right nowthe relationship between attention and performancehow organisation changed my mindset more than I expectedinsecurity, pressure and emotional attachment to climbingwhy I no longer feel threatened by stronger climbersand where I want to take the podcast moving forwardsThis episode is also a transition point for the podcast itself. The first 10 episodes were a chance for me to explore ideas, learn how to record/edit and slowly find my voice. The next phase will involve more collaborative and exploratory conversations with other climbers - looking deeper into the psychology, identity, fear, obsession and motivations behind performance. I’m really excited to see where it goes from here.

    Climbing Feels Different Now
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I’m Mat Wright - a climbing coach focused on real outdoor performance. A Climber’s Mind explores what actually drives progression on rock - beyond generic training advice. Through personal stories from my own climbing, and lessons from coaching, I break down the mental, technical, and tactical factors that separate effort from real results. This isn’t about doing more. It’s about working on the right things, at the right time. Each episode gives you practical insights you can apply immediately to your own climbing, whether you’re projecting your first 7a or pushing into your hardest routes. If you’re interested in working with me, you can find more at matwrightcoaching.com

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