Carlos Tkacz is a teacher, author, and lover of literature. He also lives in a van and climbs V13. We talked about many things, including a reading list given to him by his friend, impactful quotes, lessons learned from students, starting climbing in his 20’s and discovering training, writing a training book, self-publishing sci-fi novels, public speaking advice, and sharing ideas.

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Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/carlos-tkacz

Instagram Links:

@boulderbushido

@thenuggetclimbing

Nuggets:

2:35 – The record button

3:37 – Stickers and paintings

6:37 – Books from the reading list

11:16 – James Baldwin quote

12:38 – How Carlos uses Instagram

16:16 – ‘Turbulence’ and East of Eden 

22:45 – Plans to go back to school for a Ph.D. in Literature, and living in a world of stories

26:18 – The moment Carlos knew he wanted to be a teacher

31:01 – Teaching Communication 101

34:54 – Public speaking advice #1, and the fight or flight response

38:38 – Public speaking advice #2

39:17 – “Drink deep or not at all.”

43:02 – Zen Buddhism, and being skeptical of little enlightenments

44:11 – “The sign of a true education is to be able to entertain an idea without believing it.”

47:50 – Mr. Ruff, and writing an editorial about gay marriage

49:33 – Two great stickers

49:54 – Living on public land in Bishop and taking a year off

52:05 – Quarentraining, and social connection through climbing

56:20 – Sending ‘Diabolique’ and becoming a climber at age 23

59:01 – Resonating with Patxi Usobiaga’s masochism in ‘Progression’

1:02:43 – Carlos’ climbing progression, ups and downs, and the broken pinky story

1:07:04 – Shifting to focusing on bouldering

1:08:03 – Early training iterations, Taco Bell + bananas, and moving the pieces around 

1:11:20 – Writing a training book on accident

1:14:50 – The Japanese team, and top outdoor boulderers

1:17:25 – Jimmy Webb, gymnastics, survivorship bias, and structure as a tool for resilience

1:20:43 – Overview of ‘Training 102’ and Carlos training philosophy

1:27:31 – Drills, and higher intensity core exercises 

1:30:17 – Rotating exercises and addressing weaknesses, and programming

1:32:39 – Training friends and testimonials

1:35:33 – What a typical week of training looks like, climb outside, and how Carlos trains within a year

1:38:35 – The nutrition chapter, eating disorders,  Carlos’ experience with vegetarianism and veganism, and his current way of eating

1:41:36 – Eating the same thing every day

1:42:49 – Planning nutrition, eating more, and becoming more flexible

1:45:37 – The food industry and the unique challenge of balancing a healthy outlook on food and weight

1:46:25 – The ‘Light’ documentary, and finding the line

1:47:47 – Scarcity vs. opulence, discipline as a path to freedom, and Carlos’ upbringing

1:59:26 – Carlos’ Sci-fi novels, and writing a thousand words per day

2:04:03 – Two different types of creatives, and using his first few books as practice

2:05:05 – Plot overview of The Void Within

2:10:07 – Star Trek vs. Star Wars, Captain Pips, and Carlos’ conversion story and swearing off violence

2:11:51 – Losing the mental battle in Hueco, and making a trip to Roy

2:14:52 – Gratitude

2:17:00 – Excited with sharing ideas with students

2:20:40 – Where to connect with Carlos